Networking Security
Network Automation
Automating network configuration and checks with scripts, APIs and tools.
- 13 notes
- 117 minutes of reading
- Network automation: why automate, the toolchain and model-driven APIsWhy manual configuration doesn’t scale, the benefits of automation, the automation stack, how tools talk to devices (SSH, NETCONF, RESTCONF, gNMI, REST), YANG, YAML and JSON, sources of truth and idempotency. 8 min · Intermediate
- Python for network engineers: libraries and a first automation scriptWhy Python is the language of network automation, the key libraries (Netmiko, NAPALM, ncclient, requests, Nornir, TextFSM), a complete configuration backup script with a YAML inventory, safe changes and a learning path. 9 min · Intermediate
- Ansible and NetDevOps: playbooks, inventories and CI/CD for networksWhy Ansible suits network teams, inventories and variables, an idempotent VLAN playbook using Cisco IOS modules, check mode, protecting secrets, and how Git, reviews and CI/CD pipelines make network changes safer. 9 min · Advanced
- Automating the network lifecycle: discovery, zero-touch provisioning, upgrades and decommissioningHow automation applies across a device's whole life: discovering what is on the network, zero-touch provisioning of new switches and routers with DHCP, templates and standard profiles, safe automated software upgrades, and clean decommissioning. 9 min · Intermediate
- Planning network automation: benefits, risks, skills and a staged roadmapHow to introduce network automation in a real team: the benefits you can expect, the drawbacks and barriers (skills, cost, culture), the difference between automation, orchestration and programmability, a staged roadmap and how to measure success. 8 min · Beginner
- Data formats, YANG models and device programmability: NETCONF, RESTCONF and gNMIWhy the CLI and SNMP are awkward for automation, the data formats you will meet (XML, JSON and YAML), what a YANG data model is, and how NETCONF, RESTCONF and gNMI/gRPC let software read and change device configuration and stream telemetry. 10 min · Intermediate
- REST APIs for network engineers: resources, CRUD, status codes and authenticationWhat a REST API is and why network controllers and cloud platforms use them, how CRUD maps to HTTP methods, how to read status codes and JSON responses, and the common ways APIs authenticate you: basic authentication, API keys, tokens and OAuth 2.0. 9 min · Beginner
- Configuration management tools, version control and Terraform for networksHow configuration management tools such as Ansible, Puppet, Chef and Salt differ (agent or agentless, push or pull, procedural or declarative), why Git version control matters for network changes, and how Terraform builds cloud and network infrastructure as code. 10 min · Intermediate
- SDN controllers in practice: OpenDaylight, ONOS and Cisco SD-AccessHow open-source SDN controllers OpenDaylight and ONOS are built and used, and how Cisco SD-Access turns the campus into a controller-driven fabric with Catalyst Center, a VXLAN overlay, a LISP control plane and group-based policy using SGTs and ISE. 10 min · Advanced
- Controller path trace and ACL analysis: from APIC-EM to Catalyst CenterWhat a controller-based path trace does, how the legacy Cisco APIC-EM path trace and ACL analysis tool worked, what replaced it in Catalyst Center Assurance, and how to check the same things by hand on the command line. 8 min · Intermediate
- AI and machine learning in networking: concepts, real uses and safe adoptionWhat artificial intelligence, machine learning and generative AI are, the main kinds of machine learning, and how they are used in network operations: baselining, anomaly detection, root-cause analysis, Wi-Fi optimisation and AI assistants, with their limits and risks. 9 min · Beginner
- Python for network engineers: strings, f-strings, input, split and slicingThe Python text skills network scripts use most: creating and changing strings, useful string methods, formatting reports with f-strings, asking the user for input, splitting device output into fields, and slicing out the part you need. 9 min · Beginner
- Python operators for network engineers: arithmetic, comparison, logic, membership and bitwiseThe Python operators network scripts rely on, with network examples: arithmetic for bandwidth and capacity, comparison and logical operators for decisions, membership and identity tests, and bitwise operators that show how subnet masks really work. 9 min · Beginner