Properly howdy everybody, it’s been a minute (or many) since my final weblog publish, however I’m excited to say that the key mission I’ve been engaged on for the final 18+ months has come to a conclusion (effectively, for me not less than 😉 ) and I’m wanting ahead to investing extra time in blogs, movies, and getting again on the market.
I’ve a number of matters I’m trying to dive into, however getting back from Cisco Dwell in Vegas final week, I figured I would as effectively soar on the AI hype practice, chugga chugga chugga, and share a little bit of my very own ideas on the subject.
Let me begin by saying that I’m simply starting to actually dip my toe into the AI pool. There are a lot of different engineers already method out within the deep finish, and I hope to swim out and be a part of them quickly.
Cisco Dwell 2024 in Vegas was simply the compelling occasion I wanted to step down on step one (to maintain up the metaphor), and I included AI in two of my talks in the course of the week. There was Learn how to be a Community Engineer in an Synthetic Age within the Cisco U. Theater, an replace to my speak, “Learn how to be a Community Engineer in a Programmable Age,” that I first delivered at Cisco Dwell in 2017. After eight years, it felt slightly bittersweet to go away the programmable age behind, however thrilling to be coming into a brand new age. Synthetic Intelligence additionally made a last-minute “bonus” look in my breakout “Programmability Expertise for Engineers Who Don’t Need to Code.”
For these talks, I spent a while considering by how community engineers must be eager about and utilizing AI proper now, and what to presumably anticipate for the longer term. I’m not going to undergo all the small print on this weblog publish, however fairly, I need to focus in on one particular use case that I discovered shocking and a bit thrilling: Utilizing AI to look evaluate your work. Buckle in, and let’s test it out.
Bridget takes Hank to Community Engineering College
One of many examples in “Programmability Expertise for Engineers Who Don’t Need to Code” revolves round creating IPSEC VPN configurations for routers primarily based on a configuration template and spreadsheet of information. I first present the way to use formulation inside the spreadsheet to create the configurations, and later use Ansible and Jinja2 templates to do the identical factor.
As I used to be rehearsing the session, I puzzled… May AI do the identical work?
If I’m trustworthy, I figured it might get shut, however should be mounted/completed to be achieved. So I crafted this immediate and despatched it to Cisco’s ChatGPT implementation referred to as “BridgeIT”.
Utilizing the information from the beneath CSV information,
vpn_name,tunnel_interface,side_1_public_ip,source_network,source_mask,side_2_outside,tunnel_destination,destination_network,destination_mask,preshared_key
VPN_101,GigabitEthernet0/1,203.0.113.101,10.98.128.0,0.0.3.255,GigabitEthernet1/1,198.51.100.33,172.28.11.0,0.0.0.255,ZA788I
VPN_102,GigabitEthernet0/1,203.0.113.102,10.98.128.0,0.0.3.255,GigabitEthernet1/1,198.51.100.34,172.28.12.0,0.0.0.255,AM285I
generate a configuration from every row primarily based on the beneath jinja2 template
! VPN {{ vpn_name }}
crypto isakmp coverage 10
encryption aes
hash sha256
authentication pre-share
group 14
crypto ipsec transform-set vpn_transform esp-aes esp-sha256-hmac
access-list 100 allow ip {{ source_network }} {{ source_mask }} {{ destination_network }} {{ destination_mask }}
crypto isakmp key {{ preshared_key }} handle {{ tunnel_destination }}
crypto map {{ vpn_name }} 10 ipsec-isakmp
set peer {{ tunnel_destination }}
set transform-setvpn_transform
match handle 100
interface {{ tunnel_interface }}
crypto map {{ vpn_name }}
I despatched it away and waited… and waited… and waited. However then this reply got here again:
Based mostly on the offered Jinja2 template and the CSV information, listed here are the generated configurations for every VPN:
For VPN_101:
! VPN VPN_101
crypto isakmp coverage 10
encryption aes
hash sha256
authentication pre-share
group 14
crypto ipsec transform-set vpn_transform esp-aes esp-sha256-hmac
access-list 100 allow ip 10.98.128.0 0.0.3.255 172.28.11.0 0.0.0.255
crypto isakmp key ZA788I handle 198.51.100.33
crypto map VPN_101 10 ipsec-isakmp
set peer 198.51.100.33
set transform-set vpn_transform
match handle 100
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
crypto map VPN_101
For VPN_102:
! VPN VPN_102
crypto isakmp coverage 10
encryption aes
hash sha256
authentication pre-share
group 14
crypto ipsec transform-set vpn_transform esp-aes esp-sha256-hmac
access-list 100 allow ip 10.98.128.0 0.0.3.255 172.28.12.0 0.0.0.255
crypto isakmp key AM285I handle 198.51.100.34
crypto map VPN_102 10 ipsec-isakmp
set peer 198.51.100.34
set transform-set vpn_transform
match handle 100
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
crypto map VPN_102
I used to be duly impressed. Bridget (as BridgeIT is affectionately referred to as) understood precisely what I wished and was in a position to create the configurations for me completely. Rating one for our artificially clever robotic overlords.
However wait… she wasn’t achieved. The message continued:
Please word that there’s a typo within the Jinja2 template, particularly within the line the place it says:
set transform-setvpn_transform
There must be an area earlier than “vpn_transform”. Right here’s the corrected line that ought to seem within the template:
set transform-set vpn_transformOh man… I had a typo in my template? Inconceivable!!! I rapidly went and checked my immediate and the supply Jinja2 template that I copied for the immediate—a template I’ve utilized in my Ansible demo on this presentation for 2 years.
Certain sufficient, I had a typo. Whoops… boy, did I really feel embarrassed. And for those who return and have a look at the configurations that Bridget offered to my immediate, you’ll see that she really mounted the error and despatched the right configs. Very, very effectively achieved. Rating two and three.
However she nonetheless wasn’t achieved…
Moreover, you may face a difficulty when making use of two totally different crypto maps to the identical interface. Often, a bodily interface solely helps one crypto map. If it is advisable to help a number of VPNs on the identical interface, you’ll sometimes use the identical crypto map identify with totally different sequence numbers for every peer.
Right here’s how one can modify the second crypto map to make use of the identical crypto map identify with a distinct sequence quantity (assuming you need to use the crypto map identify VPN_MAP for each):
For VPN_102 (with a revised crypto map identify and sequence quantity):
! VPN VPN_102
crypto isakmp coverage 10
encryption aes
hash sha256
authentication pre-share
group 14
crypto ipsec transform-set vpn_transform esp-aes esp-sha256-hmac
access-list 102 allow ip 10.98.128.0 0.0.3.255 172.28.12.0 0.0.0.255
crypto isakmp key AM285I handle 198.51.100.34
crypto map VPN_MAP 20 ipsec-isakmp
set peer 198.51.100.34
set transform-set vpn_transform
match handle 102
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
crypto map VPN_MAPDiscover that the entry listing quantity for VPN_102 has been modified to 102 to keep away from battle with the entry listing for VPN_101. The crypto map sequence quantity for VPN_102 has been set to twenty, differentiating it from the sequence quantity 10 used for VPN_101. In case you observe this method, ensure that all of your VPNs use the identical crypto map identify (VPN_MAP on this case) with totally different sequence numbers.
Okay… this reveals some critical community understanding. Combining a CSV file and a Jinja2 template collectively isn’t that removed from the code help and co-pilot use circumstances which were in place for awhile—probably not that a lot of a stretch. And discovering a typo in a configuration template that’s most likely current in a whole lot of public Web documentation, weblog posts, and coaching examples? Additionally probably not that shocking.
However making this last leap associated to community structure and design… this was actually fairly shocking. I didn’t inform Bridget that every of those configurations can be deployed on particular person routers, so she fairly “fearful” that I used to be trying to deploy the configs on the identical machine. And if I did that, it WOULD be a difficulty. Her recommended resolution is cheap, although admittedly follows examples which might be additionally effectively documented on the Web.
So what does this imply for us community engineers?
I used to be discussing this instance throughout Cisco Dwell with some attendees, and the analogy of a “peer evaluate” was introduced up. This was a use case for AI in community engineering that I hadn’t formalized in my head but, however had been dancing round with different examples.
There’s a very actual threat of engineers utilizing AI-generated configurations “as is” of their community. This can be a dangerous concept for a similar cause as copying and pasting code from Stackoverflow or one other untrusted Web supply. Earlier than utilizing configurations generated by Bridget or one other generative AI instrument, it’s crucial to confirm the accuracy. In any other case, you threat turning into one other sufferer to hallucinations or simply inaccuracies from overconfident AI assistants.
Nevertheless, I feel there’s actual potential in utilizing AI as a peer reviewer for configurations and different artifacts we create. Right here, WE, the community engineers, use our information, abilities, and expertise to construct an answer. Then, we ask AI to have a look and supply some suggestions, just like sending it to a co-worker, associate, or Cisco TAC.
This second-set-of-eyes use case is one which I feel engineers ought to take into account making an attempt out for themselves—with a few crucial caveats:
- Examine along with your firm and group’s AI insurance policies. Most of the publicly obtainable AI instruments take any immediate info despatched to them and use it for future coaching and fine-tuning. Community configurations are thought-about confidential for a lot of corporations as there’s a critical safety threat in sharing them publicly.
- I might nonetheless suggest having one other “natural intelligence” evaluate any crucial configurations. I’m excited by the potential of AI, and we doubtless will get to a degree the place AI is so correct we are able to depend on it for a lot of use circumstances, however let’s take the sluggish method to get there.
Properly, what are your ideas on this use of AI for community engineering? What different use circumstances are you exploring in your day by day work as an engineer? Let me know within the feedback. And keep tuned for extra from me as I proceed to swim into the Synthetic Age!
PS… This weblog publish was written by me, Hank Preston, and never by Bridget or one other AI instrument 🙂
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