Network Automation – Zero to Hero Introduction

Welcome to Network Automation – Zero to Hero! In this workshop we will build a fully functioning intent-based network automation stack. While most vendors do a great job of showing you how to use their tool, network automation is a multi-tool adventure and there is lack of tutorials and documentation showing how everything fits together.

This workshop is intended to teach you the high-level concepts around intent-based networking, while also delivering you a fully functioning stack you can continue to experiment with. The workshop is split into sections covering different elements of the story. You should follow them sequentially.

0. Installation – Getting set up to follow the rest of the guide
1. Managing Networks the Hard Way – A look at a “traditional” network management stack, and some of its drawbacks
2. Introducing Intent-Based Network Automation – A brief introduction to the high-level concepts that we’ll be building through the rest of the workshop.
3. Source of Truth: NetBox – An introduction to NetBox, our Network Source of Truth that will drive our intent-based networking
4. Discovery and Reconcilliation: Slurpit – An introduction to the concepts of discovery and reconciliation with Slurpit
5. Monitoring: Icinga – An introduction to how monitoring can be made significantly easier when using intent based network automation
6. Configuration Assurance: Netpicker – A look at how configuration assurance in Netpicker can be driven by our intent in NetBox
7. Automated Network Changes: Ansible – And finally… we look at pushing updates to the network, using Ansible
8. Summary – A final recap of what we’ve learned