Introduction

What are network programmability and network automation? Why do we need them? How do we go about to make them a reality in our environment or what tools can we use to enable those technologies? These are the type of questions that Jason Edelman, Scott S. Lowe, and Matt Oswalt are exploring  in the second edition of Network Programmability and automation.

Summary of the Content

The book starts by discussing the current trend in network engineering amongst which the famous SDN (Software Defined Network) for which it does not give a clear definition but rather a “feeling” of what SDN aspires to be, given that it is still an evolving technology with new players still entering the arena. It follows by exploring the value of Network automation and why it is imperative for all organizations to adopt it.

As a Network Engineer, Things begin to become more practical when the authors discuss the Linux environment as the most popular OS for networking in general and for network automation in particular. We then plunge into the Cloud ecosystem which the book addresses from a network perspective especially when it comes to IaC (Infrastructure As Code) and its application in Network automation with tools such as container technologies . The book continues with some recommendations on different gadgets that a network developer should have in its toolbox such as an IDE, Docker or VirtualBox.

The automation part of the book, at least from a network perspective, and in my opinion, really starts from Chapter 6 and 7 with Python and GO languages respectively. Don’t worry the book is excellent at limiting the scope of knowledge to what you need to know in your day to network automation life, of course if you are a Pythonista like myself, Python should be enough, but if you are from a network engineering background like yours truly, then you will be a bit curious to understand how GO differs from Python. The authors incrementally introduce the engineers to foundational technologies such as REST APIs, YAML, Jinja, Ansible, Nornir and Terraform. This gradual learning curve ensures that even readers intimidated by programming, like I used to be, can grasp the fundamentals of network programmability.

Towards the end, the authors have done a pretty good job of Bringing together the various topics discussed throughout the book and present a comprehensive blueprint for a complete network automation solution guided by principles such as IBN (Intent-Based Networking) and TDD (Test Driven Development). This framework integrates automation and orchestration, examines the concept of SoT (Source of Truth), and illustrates potential user interactions within such a system.

By exploring these cutting-edge topics, the book equips the engineer with the knowledge and skills needed to stay ahead in an ever-evolving field.

Evaluation of Content

Despite its many strengths, the book is not without its limitations. I think some readers will find certain chapters very technical, especially if they never dealt with the topics addressed there, while other readers seeking in-depth coverage would find it incomplete. I think the authors thought about it and in almost every chapter, provided a list of resources like books and links to open source projects.

A very important point of the book  is the emphasis on open standards and interoperability. By advocating for open-source tools and vendor-agnostic solutions, the authors empower Engineers to build flexible, vendor-neutral network automation frameworks. This approach not only fosters innovation but also ensures that readers are not locked into proprietary technologies.

Personal Reflection

When checking the book in https://learning.oreilly.com/, it is said that it will only take 22 hours and 35 min to read the book !!! What !?? Please tell me, how do they know? What kind of measurement is used to derive that value? With and average of 5 hours on each chapter, it took me about 70 hours to complete this 825 pages book, which is about 35 days of reading for 2 hours per day. But guess what, every bit of it was worth it!!!

Conclusion

I Can’t wait for the 3rd edition!!!