Perl Scripting for IT Network Professionals

techie2012

I am in the process of learning Perl scripting to streamline some processes at work that I might run into in the future. There are a few people at my work that script very well and are able to incorporate it with snmp to pull information from network devices and display that information in excel spreadsheets. This is just one of the many reasons I want to learn Perl. My question is: What has anyone here used Perl for and what are some useful methods I can use with Perl as a Network Engineer?

networker050184

We have some guys that can do anything with perl it seems. I need to learn more myself as my limited bash scripting doesn't get me too far most of the time!

mapletune

i need to learn perl too... and basically everything else... haha

but yea, what i mean is, I'd like to add perl into my skillset after I get my CCNA

the_hutch

I considered trying to learn Perl, but it just seems like Python would be a better...more versatile option. If for no other reason, Perl is strictly an interpreted language, whereas Python can function as interpreted or compiled.

drkat

techie2012 wrote: »

I am in the process of learning Perl scripting to streamline some processes at work that I might run into in the future. There are a few people at my work that script very well and are able to incorporate it with snmp to pull information from network devices and display that information in excel spreadsheets. This is just one of the many reasons I want to learn Perl. My question is: What has anyone here used Perl for and what are some useful methods I can use with Perl as a Network Engineer?

I used to write perl for a small ISP back in 2000 - I'd write web apps with it, but for network engineering I usually handle provisioning and bulk config changes and the sort - ya know like say you have a 2960 and it doesnt support the range command when you need to update all the interfaces.. so I just write a perl script real quick to make the necessary modifications etc

I also use perl to connect to devices to run commands / gather data etc.. anything we can automate is better for myself and the team

techie2012

the_hutch wrote: »

I considered trying to learn Perl, but it just seems like Python would be a better...more versatile option. If for no other reason, Perl is strictly an interpreted language, whereas Python can function as interpreted or compiled.

I will have to look into Python after I tackle Perl. My team seems to use Perl for most automated tasks. I personally am building a home lab and practicing Perl scripting for SNMP. I want to also tinker around with using Perl with Visio and Excel along with my home lab. I should be studying for CCNP but I feel as though this is worthwhile and can finish up switch at the same time.