Good python/automation books

matt333

Hey Guys,
I looking for a good python book for Network Engineers. We use mostly Juniper switch/routers at work so I was thinking about getting this book and see where it takes me:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1491928883/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=IVIFTKYA8YKB&coliid=I1Y2QNB8K22AE2

There are a ton of books out there and I'm not sure which one are the most useful.

Any experienced engineers out there that have done a lot of automation at their company and have some pointers?

Any help would be awesome!

ande0255

I posted this in another thread, but if you follow this youtube video (2 hours) as an introduction to intermediate understanding of Python with a laptop in front of you to follow along with the lesson, you will have a great foundation to then move into advanced skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkx5_MRAV3A

I don't know what your level of python familiarity is, but if you are new to the language, this video is seriously a gift from youtube to future Py gurus.

globalenjoi

This may have already been linked somewhere on the forums, but I just bought this to have.

www.humblebundle.com/books/python-book-bundle

I'm not actively learning Python right now and I already own a copy of Black Hat Python, but it seems like a really good deal on some beginner-level Python knowledge.

shochan

There are several on Udemy.com for free - also on edx.org

https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:Microsoft+DAT208x+2T2016/info
https://www.udemy.com/python-for-absolute-beginners-u/

DoubleNNs

Check out Kirk Byers' stuff. Haven't gone thru it myself, but he's supposed to have some good Python and Ansible (maybe Salt too) resources specifically aimed at Network automation.

NEODREAM

I'm currently using codeacademy and Learning Python The Hard Way which has already been mentioned here.

That humblebundle deal posted above looks pretty interesting too.....

OfWolfAndMan

DoubleNNs wrote: »

Check out Kirk Byers' stuff. Haven't gone thru it myself, but he's supposed to have some good Python and Ansible (maybe Salt too) resources specifically aimed at Network automation.

Kirk Byers is the man. In addition, the python module he wrote, Netmiko, which is a modified version of paramiko, is good for automation of Junos, Cisco IOS, Arista EOS, and many more. However, it really depends on what you want to do. Show config output and parse it? Use the regex module called re along with netmiko. Want to push configs out to many devices in a structured manner? Use ansible. In some cases, you may not even find it necessary, but there's ALWAYS something to be automated. Inventories? Use netmiko and re, and then export it into a SQL database. Winning! Even a small network tool on the fly is fun to have. I recommend checking out black hat python for that.

eten

OfWolfAndMan wrote: »

Kirk Byers is the man. In addition, the python module he wrote, Netmiko, which is a modified version of paramiko, is good for automation of Junos, Cisco IOS, Arista EOS, and many more. However, it really depends on what you want to do. Show config output and parse it? Use the regex module called re along with netmiko. Want to push configs out to many devices in a structured manner? Use ansible. In some cases, you may not even find it necessary, but there's ALWAYS something to be automated. Inventories? Use netmiko and re, and then export it into a SQL database. Winning! Even a small network tool on the fly is fun to have. I recommend checking out black hat python for that.

Didn't want to hi-jack the thread, sent you a PM. Thanks for reading.

ccie14023

I don't like Learning Python The Hard Way myself. I highly recommend "Automate the boring stuff with Python" by Sweigart. It's not network-specific but it is a great introduction. I also really like the Real Python online course. Again, not network-specific, but a good general introduction. You really only need part one, but parts two and three are useful as well.

hurricane1091

ande0255 wrote: »

I posted this in another thread, but if you follow this youtube video (2 hours) as an introduction to intermediate understanding of Python with a laptop in front of you to follow along with the lesson, you will have a great foundation to then move into advanced skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkx5_MRAV3A

I don't know what your level of python familiarity is, but if you are new to the language, this video is seriously a gift from youtube to future Py gurus.

I watched this and did the code academy exercises today. Thank you.

NEODREAM

hurricane1091 wrote: »

I watched this and did the code academy exercises today. Thank you.

+1 for this!

OfWolfAndMan

Also, once you're familiar enough with it, start sniffing through Github. Lots of good quality code on there.

Danielh22185

I recently saw that Kevin Wallace put out an intro video to it as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21sD7n3M8Ew&t=454s