Net DevOps: Cisco Python, Automation, NETCONF, SDN, Docker

Explore network automation with NETCONF and RESTCONF using YANG models, and compare structured data from APIs to parsing CLI-style output in always-on Cisco sandbox labs via Postman and Python.

Explore data models with Yang and Netconf, focusing on IETF interfaces, state, and configuration, plus OpenConfig versus native Cisco models, with a live demonstration.

Understand model driven programmability with Yang models and transport protocols NetConf, RestConf, and gRPC. Learn where model libraries live and when to use each transport across IOS-XR and CSR labs.

Demonstrates netconf over ssh, capabilities negotiation, config retrieval and editing using python with ency client on a CSR 1000V sandbox and xml/sml yang models data exchange.

Discover how Docker containers package applications and dependencies into portable images, and how container orchestration with Kubernetes coordinates multi-container microservices across nodes for development and production.

Trace the shift from monolithic apps to three-tier and container-based microservices, with Kubernetes deployments, pods, and services, and examine network segmentation and security in containers.

Explore Kubernetes pods and deployments within a hyper-converged infrastructure and Cisco ACI micro-segmentation, linking application profiles, tenants, and EPGs to secure, scalable containers.

Set up a Windows 10 workstation for network automation by installing git, bash, Python 2 and 3, and creating Python virtual environments to manage dependencies.

Clone the python networking repo, set up a Python virtual environment, install requirements, and run netconf and netmiko examples on Windows using git bash and Atom.

Install Postman on Windows, learn to craft REST API calls, use environments, headers, and collections to test network device interfaces; compare JSON, XML, and YAML data formats.

Learn to set up Docker on Windows with Hyper-V, run Linux containers from Bash or PowerShell, and manage BusyBox images using Docker ps and Docker rm.

discover how to run ansible on Windows by using the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) with Ubuntu, turning Windows into a native Linux environment rather than a full virtual machine.

Explore Cisco SDN options from DNA Center to APIC-EM and NSO, and how DNA Center acts as a campus and data center controller with southbound protocols and assurance.

Explore data center SDN options from APIC-EM and DNA Center to ACIM and Nexus hardware, and learn API-driven automation through labs and DevNet resources.

Cisco NSO (Tail-f) is a network configuration management tool that discovers current configurations and provides a single API to automate network changes for enterprise, data center, and service providers.

Discover how Cisco DNA Center streamlines enterprise networking with automatic device provisioning, software image management, and design templates, enabling faster deployment, automation, and assurance.

Explore how Cisco DNA Center assurance enables network time travel with telemetry and automated remediation for faster troubleshooting.

Learn Nexus APIs with Hank Preston and the evolution of NX-OS programmability from Seelye commands to NX-API. Explore REST- and JSON-RPC style messaging, bash access, and data center automation options.

Explore Nexus APIs, including Seelye and Rest, and learn to convert Seelye output to parsed data, use Postman or Zorry for Rest calls, and access Bash in Linux on NX-OS.

Explore running docker containers on a Nexus switch by enabling bash shell, switching from the Nexus CLI to Linux, and using Alpine containers to host edge applications and automation scripts.

Demonstrate running docker on a nexus switch to host alpine containers and a chat bot, leveraging linux underpinnings, guest shell, and chat ops concepts.

Explore Cisco VIRL's free hosted sandboxes for network automation and net dev ops: build multi-vendor topologies via a web interface, auto net kit, and virtual devices without local installation.

Learn to use the free Cisco VIRL server to build and simulate multi-device topologies, connect via console ports, and generate Ansible and NSO inventories with viral utilize.

Explore how GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket enable versioning for network configurations. Learn about public versus private repositories, licensing, and the MIT license.

Hank Preston explains practical Git workflows for network engineers. Learn cloning repositories, virtual environments, commits, issues, and pull requests, plus forking and upstream collaboration.