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Introducing Automation for Cisco Solutions (CSAU)

Length 3 days
Version 1.2

Course overview

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Why study this course

The Introducing Automation for Cisco Solutions (CSAU) course gives you a broad overview of network automation skills. Through a combination of lecture and hands-on labs, you will learn the fundamentals of automation such as working on model-driven programmability solutions with Representational State Transfer Configuration Protocol (RESTCONF) and Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) protocols. The training also covers data formats and types, including Extensible Markup Language (XML), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), Yaml Ain’t Markup Language (YAML), and Yet Another Next Generation (YANG), and their value in network automation, along with DevOps tools such as Ansible and Git.

This training also earns you 16 Continuing Education (CE) credits toward recertification.

Digital courseware: Cisco provides students with electronic courseware for this course. Students who have a confirmed booking will be sent an email prior to the course start date, with a link to create an account via learningspace.cisco.com before they attend their first day of class. Please note that any electronic courseware or labs will not be available (visible) until the first day of the class.

Exam Vouchers: Cisco exam vouchers are not included in the course fees but can be purchased separately where applicable.

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What you’ll learn

Upon completing this course, the learner will be able to meet these overall objectives:

Articulate the role network automation and programmability play in the context of end-to-end network management and operations
Define and differentiate between waterfall and agile software development methodologies
Interpret and troubleshoot Python scripts with fundamental programming constructs built for network automation use cases
Describe how DevOps principles, tools, and pipelines can be applied to network operations
Understand the role of network automation development environments and associated technologies such as Python virtual environments, Vagrant, and Docker
Understand and construct HTTP-based Application Programming Interface (API) calls to network devices
Articulate the differences among and common use cases for XML, JSON, YAML, and Protocol Buffer (protobuf)
Construct and interpret Python scripts using the Python requests module to automate devices that have HTTP-based APIs
Understand the role YANG plays in network automation
Understand that a number of tools exist to simplify working with YANG models
Describe the functionality of RESTCONF and NETCONF and the differences between them
Construct Ansible playbooks to configure network devices and retrieve operational state data from them
Build Jinja2 templates and YAML data structures to generate desired state configurations

Cisco at Lumify Work

Lumify Work is the largest provider of authorised Cisco training in Australia, offering a wider range of Cisco courses, run more often than any of our competitors. Lumify Work has won awards such as ANZ Learning Partner of the Year (twice!) and APJC Top Quality Learning Partner of the Year.

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Who is the course for?

Automation Architect
Automation Engineer
Consulting Systems Engineer
DevOps Engineer
Network Administrator
Network Architect
Network Consulting Engineer
Network Design Engineer
Network Engineer
Network Operator
Network Reliability Engineer
Sales Engineer
Site Reliability Engineer
Systems Engineer
Technical Solutions Architect
Application Developer
Collaboration Developer
Collaboration Solutions Architect
IT Director
Mobile Developer
Network Operations Center (NOC) Manager
Software Architect
Web Developer

Course subjects

Examining Network Management and Operations
Exploring Software Development Methodologies
Using Python for Network Automation
Describing NetDevOps: DevOps for Networking
Managing Automation Development Environments
Introducing HTTP Network APIs
Reviewing Data Formats and Data Encoding
Using Python Requests to Automate HTTP-Based APIs
Exploring YANG
Using YANG Tools
Automating Model-Driven APIs with Python
Introducing Ansible for Network Automation
Templating Configurations with Jinja2

Lab outline

Use Network Automation Scripts
Enforce Python Fundamentals on the Interactive Interpreter
Automate Networks with Netmiko
Use the Git Version-Control System and Collaborate on an Internal Project
Build Reproduceable Automation Environments
Use HTTP-Based APIs with Postman
Explore YAML and JSON Data
Consume HTTP-Based APIs with Python Requests
Explore YANG Tools
Explore RESTCONF with Python
Explore NETCONF with Python
Configure Network Devices with Ansible
Collect Network Data with Ansible
Build and Deploy Configurations with Ansible

Prerequisites

Before taking this course, you should have the following knowledge and skills:

Routing and switching including Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and basic configuration features such as interfaces, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), and static routes
Fundamentals of Python data structures and programming constructs such as loops, conditionals, and classes, or the equivalent of 3–6 months of experience writing Python scripts
Basic Linux commands for navigating the file system and executing scripts
Knowledge of working with text editors

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Cisco Learning Credits Brochure

Terms & Conditions

The supply of this course by Lumify Work is governed by the booking terms and conditions. Please read the terms and conditions carefully before enrolling in this course, as enrolment in the course is conditional on acceptance of these terms and conditions.