Competencies: Networking > Network Automation
Network Automation
Body of Knowledge
| Topic | Description | Relevance | Career Tracks |
|---|---|---|---|
Network Programmability Fundamentals |
APIs vs CLI, automation benefits, infrastructure as code for networks, testing strategies, change management. |
Critical |
Network Automation Engineer, DevOps Engineer |
NETCONF/YANG |
XML-based network configuration protocol, YANG data models, candidate/running datastores, get/edit-config, ncclient. |
High |
Network Automation Engineer, Network Engineer |
RESTCONF |
RESTful access to YANG models, JSON/XML payloads, CRUD operations, streaming telemetry integration. |
High |
Network Automation Engineer, Network Engineer |
Ansible Network Automation |
Network modules (ios, nxos, eos, vyos), connection: network_cli, templating with Jinja2, roles for network configs. |
Critical |
Network Automation Engineer, DevOps Engineer |
Nornir |
Python automation framework, inventory management, multithreading, plugins (netmiko, NAPALM), task-based execution. |
High |
Network Automation Engineer, Python Developer |
NAPALM |
Network Automation and Programmability Abstraction Layer, multivendor support, getters, configuration management, diff/commit. |
High |
Network Automation Engineer |
pyATS/Genie |
Cisco testing framework, testbed files, device parsing, config comparison, operational state validation, test automation. |
Medium |
Network Automation Engineer (Cisco) |
Model-Driven Telemetry |
Push-based telemetry vs polling, gRPC/gNMI, dial-in vs dial-out, streaming data to collectors, real-time monitoring. |
High |
Network Engineer, SRE, Network Automation Engineer |
Network Simulation/Emulation |
EVE-NG, GNS3, Containerlab, CML, network topology as code, pre-deployment testing, CI/CD for network changes. |
High |
Network Engineer, Network Automation Engineer |
Packet Capture Analysis (tcpdump) |
Command-line capture, BPF filters, protocol debugging, traffic inspection, pcap file generation for Wireshark analysis. |
High |
Network Engineer, Security Engineer, SRE |
Protocol Analysis (Wireshark) |
Deep packet inspection, protocol dissection, display filters, follow streams, I/O graphs, expert analysis for troubleshooting. |
High |
Network Engineer, Security Analyst |
GitOps for Network |
Version-controlled network configs, pull request workflows, automated validation, rollback strategies, config drift detection. |
Medium |
Network Automation Engineer, DevOps Engineer |
Personal Status
| Topic | Level | Evidence | Active Projects | Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Packet Capture / tcpdump |
Intermediate |
tcpdump for RADIUS debugging, DNS query tracing, 802.1X EAP exchange analysis; capture filters and display filters |
No high-volume capture analysis, no custom dissectors |
|
Wireshark |
Intermediate |
EAP-TLS handshake analysis, RADIUS attribute inspection, DHCP relay debugging; used for ISE troubleshooting at CHLA |
No Lua plugin development, no automated capture analysis |