name: Ranil Fernando
role: AI and Automation Leader
domain: Cyber Security · NetDevOps · AI Agents · Telecom
location: /dev/network
currently:
- building: MCP servers that let AI agents safely drive network + security infra
- automating: FMC policy, object lifecycle & drift detection with Python + Ansible
- breaking: labs in Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) so production never breaks
philosophy: "If you did it twice by hand, you already owed yourself a pipeline."
open_to: collaboration on NetDevOps · Security Automation · Agentic Ops
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Languages & Scripting
Network & Security
Automation & IaC
AI / Agentic Tooling
Platform & Tooling
How my projects fit together — from natural language, through guardrails, into the network.
flowchart LR
subgraph HUMAN["👤 Operator"]
A["Natural language intent<br/><i>“block this host on the edge FTD”</i>"]
end
subgraph AI["🤖 AI Layer"]
B["GitHub Copilot / LLM Agent"]
C["MCP Servers<br/><small>policy search · object trace · change proposal</small>"]
end
subgraph GUARD["🛡️ Guardrails"]
D{"Read-only?"}
E["Pre-approval gate<br/>+ diff preview"]
F["Policy-as-Code lint<br/>+ CI validation"]
end
subgraph AUTO["⚙️ Automation Engines"]
G["Python SDK / REST"]
H["Ansible Playbooks"]
I["Terraform Modules"]
J["pyATS / Genie Jobs"]
end
subgraph NET["🌐 Infrastructure"]
K["FMC / cdFMC"]
L["FTD Firewalls"]
M["Cisco CML Lab"]
N["IOS-XE / NX-OS"]
end
A --> B --> C --> D
D -- yes --> G
D -- no --> E --> F
F --> G & H & I
G & H & I --> K --> L
J --> M --> N
J -. verify/learn-diff .-> F
classDef human fill:#0B486B,stroke:#00BCEB,color:#fff
classDef ai fill:#412991,stroke:#a78bfa,color:#fff
classDef guard fill:#7f1d1d,stroke:#f87171,color:#fff
classDef auto fill:#1F7A8C,stroke:#67e8f9,color:#fff
classDef net fill:#14532d,stroke:#4ade80,color:#fff
class A human
class B,C ai
class D,E,F guard
class G,H,I,J auto
class K,L,M,N net
🔁 Change lifecycle — sequence view
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
participant Op as Operator
participant Agent as Copilot Agent
participant MCP as MCP Server
participant CI as CI Pipeline
participant CML as CML Lab
participant FMC as FMC / FTD
Op->>Agent: "Where is object WEB-DMZ used?"
Agent->>MCP: tool: trace_object_usage(WEB-DMZ)
MCP->>FMC: GET /api/fmc_config/... (read-only)
FMC-->>MCP: policy + rule references
MCP-->>Agent: structured usage map
Agent-->>Op: impact report + proposed change
Op->>Agent: approve
Agent->>CI: open PR (policy-as-code)
CI->>CI: lint · schema · unit tests
CI->>CML: deploy to lab topology
CML->>CI: pyATS verification results
CI-->>Op: ✅ green — ready to promote
Op->>FMC: merge → Ansible/Terraform apply
FMC-->>Op: deployment confirmed + audit trail
🗺️ Automation maturity roadmap
gantt
title NetDevOps Maturity Journey
dateFormat YYYY-MM
axisFormat %Y
section Foundation
CLI + scripting :done, f1, 2020-01, 2021-06
SecureX orchestration :done, f2, 2021-01, 2021-12
section Infrastructure as Code
Ansible playbooks (FMC/FTD) :done, i1, 2022-01, 2024-06
Terraform modules :done, i2, 2023-06, 2025-06
CML lab-as-code :done, i3, 2024-01, 2025-12
section Validation
pyATS / Genie test suites :active, v1, 2025-01, 2026-12
CI/CD gates + drift detection :active, v2, 2025-06, 2026-12
section Agentic Ops
MCP servers for NetOps :active, a1, 2025-09, 2026-12
Guardrailed autonomous change : a2, 2026-06, 2027-12
| Project | What it does | Stack |
|---|---|---|
| 🔥 fw-automation | Automate Cisco Secure Firewall (FMC-managed FTD) with Python, Ansible & Terraform — plus 3 MCP servers so an AI agent can search policy, trace object usage and propose changes behind a pre-approval gate. |     |
| 🤖 cisco-pyats-mcp-network-automation | MCP server that lets GitHub Copilot run guarded pyATS operations against CML devices straight from natural language. |   |
| 🛡️ csap | Cisco Security Automation Platform — a unified platform for orchestrating security automation workflows. |  |
| 🧪 dcloud_secure_firewall_lab | Repeatable dCloud Secure Firewall lab build (FMC 7.7.0 / 10.0) — spin the whole environment up as code. |  |
| 🏗️ dcloud_automation | End-to-end lab pipeline: CML → FTD → FMC → GitLab CI/CD → Ansible → Terraform codebase server build. |  |
| ⚡ -secureX-ext-port-scan-blocklist-wf | SecureX orchestration workflow chaining Stealthwatch Cloud, Umbrella, CTR, ThreatGRID & Webex for automated port-scan blocklisting. |  |
| 📊 firepower-automation-inventory-visibility | Inventory & visibility automation for Cisco Secure Firewall estates. |  |
| 🎓 clmel / clmel26 / pyatscml | Cisco Live Melbourne hands-on content — pyATS, Ansible, CML, Docker, Python, Ubuntu and GitLab CI/CD end-to-end. |  |
| Capability | Level | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco Secure Firewall (FTD/FMC) automation | ████████████████████░ 95% |
fw-automation, firepower-automation-inventory-visibility |
| Python for NetDevOps | ██████████████████░░░ 90% |
csap, ftd-packet-tracer, CiscopyATS |
| pyATS / Genie test automation | ██████████████████░░░ 88% |
cisco-pyats-mcp-network-automation, pyatscml |
| Ansible / Infrastructure as Code | █████████████████░░░░ 85% |
simple_cdfmc_ansible, cisco-scc-cdfmc-ansible |
| CI/CD (GitHub Actions · GitLab) | ████████████████░░░░░ 80% |
dcloud_automation, clmel26_automation |
| Terraform | ███████████████░░░░░░ 75% |
fw-automation |
| MCP / Agentic tooling | █████████████████░░░░ 85% |
3× MCP servers shipped |
