Provisioning and Managing Networks Using Common Automation Tools
Learning network automation can be challenging, especially when you have no business problem to solve. This course will start at day 0 by building up a small network, configuring it, then monitoring its performance over time.
What you'll learn
Join me as we help Globomantics stand up new branch sites to support their growing business. In this course, Provisioning and Managing Networks Using Common Automation Tools, you will learn how to automate enterprise networks, although the core skills extend far beyond the enterprise. First, you will discover the variety of Cisco day 0 provisioning techniques, choose the best one to meet specific business requirements, then implement it on the live network. Next, you will advance into day 1 operations, using tools like Netmiko, Ansible, and ncclient to configure networks after their initial provisioning. Finally, you will explore techiques to track the health and performance of your network devices using streaming telemetry transported over gRPC. When you’re finished with this course, you will have the skills and knowledge required to introduce modern automation techniques into your business environment.
Table of contents
- Course Prerequisites and Business Scenario 4m
- Utilizing iPXE for Network Device Booting 4m
- Deploying ZTP for Initial Device Configuration 4m
- Scaling and Centralizing Day 0 Operations with Cisco PnP 3m
- Exploring Cisco PnP Provisioning Flows 3m
- iPXE, ZTP, or PnP; Which Is Right for Our Scenario? 4m
- Demo: Writing the ZTP Python Script 7m
- Demo: Implementing the ZTP Network Services in Cisco IOS-XE 5m
- Demo: Provisioning New Branch Sites with ZTP 7m
- Module Summary and Homework Challenge 1m
- Introducing Netmiko for Simplified Network Automation 3m
- Demo: Collecting the Initial WAN Health with Netmiko 7m
- Demo: Configuring Routing Enhancements using Static Files 5m
- Assembling Flexible Configuration Templates with Jinja2 3m
- Demo: Configuring Routing Enhancements Using Jinja2 Templates 6m
- Module Summary and Homework Challenge 1m
- Automating Networks with Ansible 2m
- Core Ansible Components and Architecture 4m
- Demo: Ansible Installation and Auxiliary File Creation 6m
- Demo: Collecting Device State with Ansible 9m
- Demo: Configuring Routing Enhancements with Ansible 5m
- Detour: Introducing Terraform 4m
- Module Summary and Homework Challenge 1m
- Model-driven Programmability with YANG Refresher 3m
- Transporting YANG-modeled Data with NETCONF 3m
- Demo: Exploring YANG Models with Cisco DevNet's yangexplorer 6m
- Demo: Exploring YANG models with the Advanced NETCONF Explorer 6m
- Avoiding Common Migration Mistakes 2m
- Demo: Collecting Relevant Configuration Items with NETCONF 6m
- Demo: Migrating to NETCONF-based Configuration Management 7m
- Module Summary and Homework Challenge 1m
- Introducing the Telegraf, Influxdb, and Grafana (TIG) Stack 5m
- Demo: Building and Deploying the TIG Stack 5m
- Demo: Exploring Operational State YANG Models 4m
- How Does gRPC Work? 3m
- Demo: Configuring gRPC Dial-out Connections using NETCONF 7m
- Demo: Creating New Dashboard Visualizations in Grafana 7m
- Course Summary and Homework Challenge 2m
About the author
Nicholas (Nick) Russo, CCDE #20160041 and CCIE #42518, is an internationally recognized expert in IP/MPLS networking and design. To grow his skillset, Nick has been focused advancing Network DevOps via automation for his clients. Recently, Nick has been sharing his knowledge through online video training and speaking at industry conferences. Nick also holds a Bachelor's of Science in Computer Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Nick lives in Maryland, USA with his wife, Car... more