💾 Aruba Switch Backups with Ansible

Managing backups across mixed Aruba environments? Whether you're running the modern Aruba CX (AOS-CX) or older AOS switches, Ansible provides a flexible way to automate configuration snapshots—without logging into each device manually.

📁 Step 1: Use a Structured Inventory

Create an inventory.ini with groupings for each platform:

[aruba_cx]
cx-switch-1
cx-switch-2

[aruba_aos]
aos-switch-1
aos-switch-2

[aruba_cx:vars]
ansible_connection=network_cli
ansible_network_os=arubanetworks.aoscx.aoscx
ansible_user={{ vault_username }}
ansible_password={{ vault_password }}

[aruba_aos:vars]
ansible_connection=network_cli
ansible_user={{ vault_username }}
ansible_password={{ vault_password }}
ansible_become=yes
ansible_become_method=enable
ansible_become_password=
ansible_ssh_common_args='-o KexAlgorithms=+diffie-hellman-group14-sha1'

📝 Step 2: Backup Playbook

This playbook handles both switch types using conditional logic and the appropriate command module:

- name: Backup running configs from Aruba switches
  hosts: aruba_cx:aruba_aos
  gather_facts: no

  tasks:
    - name: Get config from Aruba CX
      when: "'aoscx' in ansible_network_os"
      arubanetworks.aoscx.aoscx_command:
        commands: show running-config
      register: cx_output

    - name: Get config from Aruba AOS (fallback using raw module)
      when: "'aruba_aos' in group_names"
      raw: show running-config
      register: aos_output
      ignore_errors: yes

    - name: Save config to file (CX)
      when: cx_output is defined
      copy:
        content: "{{ cx_output.stdout[0] }}"
        dest: "./backups/{{ inventory_hostname }}.txt"

    - name: Save config to file (AOS)
      when: aos_output is defined
      copy:
        content: "{{ aos_output.stdout[0] }}"
        dest: "./backups/{{ inventory_hostname }}.txt"

▶️ Step 3: Run the Backup

Run the playbook while limiting concurrency to avoid AD lockouts:

ansible-playbook backup.yml -i inventory.ini -f 2

🔐 Step 4: Secure Credentials with Vault

Store your login details safely with ansible-vault. Create vault.yml:

vault_username: netadmin
vault_password: SuperSecurePassword
vault_enable_password: EnablePasswordIfNeeded

Then reference it in the playbook via:

vars_files:
  - group_vars/aruba_aos/vault.yml

This approach provides a clean, maintainable solution for backing up mixed Aruba environments. The conditional logic ensures each platform gets the right treatment while keeping everything in a single, manageable playbook.