A question I get asked all the time is “Should network engineers learn Python?” The short answer is yes, but as with all things IT it depends! Here are a few quick reasons why I think you should learn Python. The networking community has chosen Python as the language of choice to use for Network […]
pyATS Genie Tutorial
pyATS was (and still is) an in-house Cisco Python testing framework that has been made open source and is now available to you to perform your network testing. Cisco currently run over 2 million test runs per month! It was released to Devnet in 2017. Genie is the library that contains all the knowledge of […]
7 Best Python Network Automation Videos on YouTube
Anyone looking to learn network automation with Python will usually turn to YouTube first. So I have put together this list of my top resources on YouTube to learn Python to perform network automation tasks. 1. Greg Mueller // Playlist Greg Mueller has put together a great playlist here that walks you through setting up […]
7 Python Scripts for Network Engineers
In this post I will cover in detail 7 Python scripts that I use as a Network Engineer to make my life easier. For each example that needs connectivity I will be using a basic topology of 20 x CSR routers. I will also be using Netmiko to connect to the network devices. If you […]
Python Virtual Environment Tutorial
In this Python tutorial I will show you how to manage different projects that might require different versions of packages or modules. By default all packages or modules are installed in the same location (this location is dependent on your system). If you are writing a project that requires version 1.0 of a certain package […]
How to perform IOS upgrade on Cisco Switch using Ansible
Have you got 100’s or 1000’s of Cisco switches or routers to perform a software upgrade on? Looking for a simple way to upgrade Cisco IOS remotely? Or perform the task without manually logging into each device? Ansible is a great way to perform software upgrades on network devices. This Ansible Playbook will upgrade your […]
What I wish I knew before starting to learn Network Automation
I reached out to leaders in the field of network automation and asked them one simple question. “What did you wish you knew before starting to learn network automation?” and or “Give me a tip on how you started to learn network automation.” The responses I got below are listed literally in the order I […]
Ansible Network Automation Course
Learn Ansible for Network Engineers Does the thought of stepping away from command line and having to become a developer worry you? My Ansible training for network engineers helps you master Ansible so you can get started with network automation within a few hours. Don’t worry, you don’t have to become a developer! This network automation course […]
Ansible Vault Tutorial
If you have been using Ansible for a while you will have wondered if there is a way to encrypt password information? There is it’s called Ansible Vault. In this Ansible Vault tutorial I will show you how to keep all your password and sensitive data in encrypted files within Ansible. For information this tutorial […]
How to Learn Network Automation
Do you want to learn network automation and network programmability but don’t know where to start? The role of the network engineer is changing, and at a rapid pace. Do you feel like if you are not using Ansible or writing Python scripts to automate your network that you are falling behind and your job […]
Nornir Training – Learn the Python Automation Framework
What is Nornir? The Nornir Python automation framework is written in Python and designed to be used for network automation tasks. It is much faster and gives you more flexibility than it’s friend Ansible. Ansible, which is also written in Python is currently the most popular network automation tool in use today but it does […]
Ansible vs Python Scripts
In the world of networking right now there are many discussions about which network automation tools are the best. But one of the most asked questions is Ansible or Python? Ansible is considered to be the tool of choice for most network engineers who are getting started with network programmability. Python is a general purpose […]
Start using Python for Networking today
The networking industry is telling us all that we need to learn Python, we need to do network programming, the CLI is dead. But for most of us nothing has changed and we are thinking what is all the fuss about? The truth is that using Python for Network Automation is a skill that we […]
What is network automation?
Network automation is the process of making configuration changes to your network devices using software tools and code rather than manually configuring each device one by one. Using tools such as Ansible for Network Automation or Python, network engineers of today are automating repetitive tasks to ensure a more consistent predictable method of making network […]