Improve operations and agility in any data center, campus, LAN, or WAN Today, the best way to stay in control of your network is to address devices programmatically and automate network interactions. In this book, Cisco experts Ryan Tischer and Jason Gooley show you how to do just that. You’ll learn how to use programmability and automation to solve business problems, reduce costs, promote agility and innovation, handle accelerating complexity, and add value in any data center, campus, LAN, or WAN. The authors show you how to create production solutions that run on or interact with Nexus NX-OS-based switches, Cisco ACI, Campus, and WAN technologies.You’ll learn how to use advanced Cisco tools together with industry-standard languages and platforms, including Python, JSON, and Linux. The authors demonstrate how to support dynamic application environments, tighten links between apps and infrastructure, and make DevOps work better. This book will be an indispensable resource for network and cloud designers, architects, DevOps engineers, security specialists, and every professional who wants to build or operate high-efficiency networks. Drive more value through programma­bility and automation, freeing resources for high-value innovation Move beyond error-prone, box-by-box network management Bridge management gaps arising from current operational models Write NX-OS software to run on, access, or extend your Nexus switch Master Cisco’s powerful on-box automation and operation tools Manage complex WANs with NetConf/Yang, ConfD, and Cisco SDN Controller Interact with and enhance Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Build self-service catalogs to accelerate application delivery Find resources for deepening your expertise in network automation

Table of Contents:
Introduction xviii Section I Getting Started with Network Programmability Chapter 1 Introduction: Why Network Programmability 1 What Is Network Programmability 3 Network Programmability Benefits 4 Cloud, SDN, and Network Programmability 6 SDN 8 Is Programmability a New Idea? 9 Network Automation 10 Summary 11 Chapter 2 Foundational Skills 13 Introduction to Software Development 13 Common Constructs–Variables, Flow Control, Functions, and Objects 15 A Basic Introduction to Python 20 APIs and SDKs 37 Web Technologies 37 Web Technologies–Data Formatting 38 Google Postman 40 Basic Introduction to Version Control, Git, and GitHub 45 Git–Add a File 47 Creating and Editing Source Code 49 Getting Started with PyCharm 50 Introduction to Linux 55 Working in Linux 56 Using Systemd 61 Summary 66 Section II Cisco Programmable Data Center Chapter 3 Next-Generation Cisco Data Center Networking 67 Cisco Application-Centric Infrastructure (ACI) 70 Nexus Data Broker 74 Use Case–Nexus Data Broker 75 Evolution of Data Center Network Architecture 76 Cisco Data Center Network Controllers 80 Nexus Fabric Manager 80 Virtual Topology System (VTS) 81 Cisco ACI 81 Summary 82 Chapter 4 On-Box Programmability and Automation with Cisco Nexus NX-OS 83 Open NX-OS Automation–Bootstrap and Provisioning 83 Cisco POAP 83 Cisco Ignite 87 NX-OS iPXE 88 Bash 88 Bash Scripting 89 Bash Variables, Conditions, and Loops 89 Bash Arithmetic 90 Bash Conditions and Flow Control 91 Bash Redirection and Pipes 94 Working with Text in Bash 96 Awk 98 Bash on Nexus 9000 99 ifconfig 101 Tcpdump 101 ethtool 103 Run a Bash Script at Startup 103 Linux Containers (LXC) 106 Network Access in Guestshell 109 EEM Variables 113 On-box Python Scripting 113 On-Box Python–Use Cases and Examples 118 EEM Neighbor Discovery 121 Summary 124 Chapter 5 Off-Box Programmability and Automation with Cisco Nexus NX-OS 125 Nexus NX-API 125 NX-API Transport 125 NX-API Message Format 126 NX-API Security 126 NX-API Sandbox 127 Summary 158 Resources 158 Chapter 6 Network Programmability with Cisco ACI 159 Cisco ACI Automation 160 ACI Policy Instantiation 161 A Bit More Python 162 Python Exceptions Handling 166 ACI Fundamentals 169 ACI Management Information Model 169 ACI Programmability 174 Cobra SDK 198 Summary 213 Section III Cisco Programmable Campus and WAN Chapter 7 On-Box Automation and Operations Tools 215 Automated Port Profiling 216 AutoSmart Ports 216 Enabling AutoSmart Ports on a Cisco Catalyst Switch 217 AutoConf 220 Enabling AutoConf on a Cisco Catalyst Switch 222 Modifying a Built-in Template 224 Auto Security 227 Enabling Auto Security on a Cisco Catalyst Switch 228 Quality of Service for Campus Architectures 230 AutoQoS on Campus LAN Devices 230 Enabling AutoQoS on a Cisco Catalyst Switch 231 AutoQoS on Campus WAN Devices 233 Enabling AutoQoS on a Cisco ISR Router 234 Automating Management and Monitoring Tasks 236 Smart Call Home 236 Enabling Smart Call Home on an Cisco Catalyst Switch 237 Tcl Shell 243 Embedded Event Manager (EEM) 246 Summary 253 Chapter 8 Network Automation Tools for Campus Environments 255 Data Models and Supporting Protocols 256 YANG Data Models 256 NETCONF 258 ConfD 259 Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module (APIC-EM) 263 APIC-EM Architecture 263 APIC-EM Applications 264 Intelligent WAN (IWAN) Application 264 Plug and Play (PnP) Application 269 Path Trace Application 276 Additional APIC-EM Features 279 Topology 279 Device Inventory 281 Easy Quality of Service (Easy QoS) 283 Dynamic QoS 285 Policy Application 286 APIC-EM Programmability Examples Using Postman 288 Ticket API 288 Host API 291 Network Device API 292 User API 294 Available APIC-EM APIs 296 APIC-EM Programmability Examples Using Python 297 Ticket API 297 Host API 299 Summary 302 Chapter 9 Piecing It All Together 303 9781587144653, TOC, 8/1/2016