Network Automation with Nautobot: Adopt a network source of truth and a data-driven approach to networking

Transform the way your network teams think about and deploy enterprise network automation through the power of Nautobot's open-source platform

Key Features

• Learn how documenting your network in Nautobot can accelerate your network automation journey
• Apply NetDevOps to your network by leveraging Nautobot as a network source of truth
• Minimize tool sprawl by extending, using, or building Nautobot Apps
• Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

Nautobot enables network teams to build a scalable and extensible network source of truth that provides a foundation to power any network automation stack.

With the help of this guide, you’ll learn how to deploy, manage, and integrate Nautobot as a source of truth and network automation platform. As you progress, you’ll learn what a network source of truth is, the relationship between data and network automation, and network data models. You’ll also gain a broad understanding of Nautobot and its robust features that allow maximum flexibility. A dedicated section will show you how to construct a single source of truth with Nautobot and help you explore its programmatic APIs, including REST APIs, GraphQL, webhooks, and Nautobot Job Hooks. Later, you’ll develop custom data models and custom apps for Nautobot and experience its extensibility and powerful developer API. In the last part of this book, you'll discover how to deploy configuration compliance and automated remediation once Nautobot is deployed as a network source of truth.

By the end of this book, you’ll be able to design and manage Nautobot as a network source of truth, understand its key features, and extend Nautobot by creating custom data models and apps that suit your network and your team.

What you will learn

• Understand network sources of truth and the role they play in network automation architecture
• Gain an understanding of Nautobot as a network source and a network automation platform
• Convert Python scripts to enable self-service Nautobot Jobs
• Understand how YAML files in Git can be easily integrated into Nautobot
• Get to grips with the NetDevOps ecosystem around Nautobot and its app ecosystem
• Delve into popular Nautobot Apps including Single Source of Truth and Golden Config

Who this book is for

This book is for network engineers, network automation engineers, and software engineers looking to support their network teams by building custom Nautobot Apps. A basic understanding of networking (e.g. CCNA) and knowledge of the fundamentals of Linux, Python programming, Jinja2, YAML, and JSON are needed to get the most out of this book.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Nautobot
2. Nautobot Data Models
3. Installing and Deploying Nautobot
4. Understanding the User Interface and Bootstrapping Nautobot
5. Configuring Nautobot Core Data Models
6. Using Nautobot's Extensibility Features
7. Managing and Administering Nautobot
8. Learning about Nautobot APIs – REST, GraphQL, and Webhooks
9. Understanding Nautobot Integrations for NetDevOps Pipelines
10. Embracing Infrastructure as Code with Nautobot, Git, and Ansible
11. Automating Networks with Nautobot Jobs
12. Data-Driven Network Automation Architecture
13. Learning about the Nautobot App Ecosystem
14. Intro to Nautobot App Development
15. Building Nautobot Data Models
16. Automating with Nautobot Apps
17. Appendix 1: Nautobot Architecture
18. Appendix 2: Integrating Distributed Data Sources of Truth with Nautobot
19. Appendix 3: Performing Config Compliance and Remediation with Nautobot

Jason Edelman is the Founder and CTO at Network to Code (NTC). Prior to NTC, Jason spent a career in networking developing and architecting network solutions with his last role leading efforts around SDN and programmability. Jason is co-author of O'Reilly's Network Programmability & Automation book. He is a former CCIE and has a B.E. in Computer Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Glenn Matthews is a Principal Engineer at Network to Code and is the tech lead of the Nautobot project. Prior to NTC, he worked at Cisco for more than a decade in various software roles. Glenn is committed to designing and developing quality software to help make the world a better place. His academic background includes a master's degree in computer science from the University of Georgia. He lives in North Carolina with his daughter and a very persistent cat.

Josh VanDeraa is a network veteran turned network automation geek and currently a Services Director at NTC. Josh has spent many years in large enterprise network engineering before diving into network automation. Josh is the author of the self published book Open Source Network Management and has a B.S. of Telecom Systems from University of Wisconsin, Stout.

Ken Celenza is VP of Network Automation Architecture at NTC. Ken is an experienced network and automation engineer with over 20 years of experience working in military, consulting, and enterprise environments. Ken leads client engagements at NTC as both a developer and an architect and serves as a mentor to Network Engineers.

Christian Adell is a Principal Architect at NTC. He is focused on building network automation solutions for diverse use cases, with great emphasis on open source software. He is passionate about learning and helping others to be happier, but also has more hobbies than hours in the day, so working remotely from Barcelona gives him the time and the space to achieve his dreams. Christian is co-author of O'Reilly's Network Programmability and Automation book.

Brad Haas is a VP of Professional Services at NTC. With a career spanning more than two decades, Brad has been instrumental in delivering innovative solutions, particularly in automation and the integration of software-defined infrastructure. His career is distinguished by his achievement of numerous certifications, encompassing multiple CCIEs as well as cloud certifications, demonstrating his commitment to ongoing learning and staying at the forefront of industry developments.

Bryan Culver is an Engineering Manager at NTC, where he is building the team behind Nautobot Cloud. He has served many roles in his career related to automation, andh he maintains a strong software engineering background, graduating from Oakland University with a B.S. in Computer Science. Outside of work he enjoys time with his wife and children, wielding power tools on home renovation projects, traveling, and Formula 1 races.

John Anderson is a Principal Consultant at NTC and the Nautobot Product Owner. John has 10 years of experience in networking and software development, and has been a maintainer and contributor to a number of open source projects over the years. John lives in South Carolina and is working on a Ph.D. in Computer Science with a focus on zero trust network security, at Clemson University.

Gary Snider is a software engineer with 10 years of experience in Network Automation. He is currently a core developer for the Nautobot project at NTC. Prior to NTC, he had a career in networking designing and maintaining data centers, branch offices, and large campus networks for state and federal governments.