Chapter 11: Production Deployment Runbook

Step-by-step production deployment procedures including deployment sequence, pre-deployment checklists, change window execution scripts, and post-deployment validation.

What You'll Learn

Deployment Sequence

Phased rollout approach:

1. Phase 1: Terraform provisioning (DNAC, ISE infrastructure)
2. Phase 2: Ansible Day-N configuration (sequential by layer)
3. Phase 3: Validation and smoke testing
4. Phase 4: Monitoring and stabilization

Pre-Deployment Checklist

Critical prerequisites:

• Change ticket approval obtained
• Rollback plan documented
• Lab validation completed successfully
• Stakeholder notification sent
• Maintenance window scheduled
• Backup configurations captured
• Monitoring alerts configured

Change Window Execution

Production deployment script:

• deploy-production.sh wrapper script
• Terraform apply with approval gates
• Ansible playbook execution (IS-IS → LISP → BGP → 802.1X)
• Error handling with set -euo pipefail
• Progress logging and timestamps
• Automated validation checks

Chapter Navigation

• 11.1 Deployment Sequence - Phased rollout approach
• 11.2 Pre-Deployment Checklist - Prerequisites verification
• 11.3 Change Window Execution - Production script

Deployment Principles

Sequential Dependency Ordering

Deploy fabric layers in strict sequence: 1. IS-IS underlay (routing foundation) 2. LISP/VXLAN overlay (control plane) 3. BGP handoff (external connectivity) 4. 802.1X/TrustSec (security policy)

Never enable 802.1X before ISE NADs are configured - this locks users out.

Change Window Timing

Schedule deployments during maintenance windows with: - Low user activity (weekends, holidays) - Support staff availability - Minimum 4-hour window for rollback margin

---

Previous: ← Validation & Testing
Next: Operational Automation →