projects
Python Automation
Here are all of my Python based projects. Not all are networking, some are just to build tools for myself with the knowledge I have gained from my network automation.
Over the years I have observed that the traditional way of checking or gathering networking information is not always the best. Python allows for something that is repetitive and time consuming to be handled in minutes.
Again, as network engineers we have a tendency to deal with the command line only.
I have many scripts that are useful, but too complicated for wider use by the network team and other teams.
This is where Flask comes in as a web server to that we can use to present our Python scripts in a more user friendly way.
F5 Flask Dashboard
Netmiko TACACS Changes
Netmiko Cisco Device Backup
Scrapli & Flask
Personal Finance Calculator
GitLab
GitLab
Networking
I have created a lot of network labs and topologies over the years, from VPNs on ASAs to ISE labs and the more generic routing protocols for CCNP exams.
There is a lot of information for networking 101. I will concentrate on more specific networking topics.
Multicast Network
Cisco ISE
VXLAN
Cisco SD-WAN
Cisco Nexus vPC
Arista
Cisco Nexus EVPN VXLAN Fabric
Ansible Automation
Ansible is quite easy to get started with. As I am used to Python it can feel slightly constrained, but it does have some positives. I have used Ansible for checking if configuration has been applied correctly on multiple devices for a security audit and to find MAC addresses over a large estate.
I feel that applying and confirming configuration using Ansible is a strong ability. However the drawback is that you must learn the Ansible syntax.
The ios module is a really handy tool to abstract some of the complexities away from the playbook.
IP/MAC Finder
Using Ansible for NetBox
Security Audit
Terraform
A few labs created with Terraform.
Fortigate & Terraform
Cisco ASA Terraform
Using Terraform for NetBox
Cloud
Cloud is a very large part of IT infrastructure. The days of creating on premise servers and storage are not over, but the scope is narrower than it was, and as a network engineer this means less for me to do. Cloud doesn’t mean that there isn’t any more network, quite the opposite in fact. But the majority of organisations will have scaled down networks and replace that with a larger cloud environment that needs to be connected to the on premise environment.
Cloud does provide a very good framework for infrastructure as code and automation.
AWS
Deploying a Flask App to AWS
Go
My in progress Go projects are for self service web tools, that allow non technical users to Create Infrastructure as Code configuration for Network Engineers to review and merge.