Beginner
Netmiko Fundamentals
Connect to real devices over SSH with Netmiko — a real, read-only health check, built on the project from Your First Network Automation.
Netmiko Fundamentals is where your project stops being simulated. You'll install and use Netmiko to open a real SSH connection with ConnectHandler, run real show commands with send_command() and parse the raw text that comes back, and handle the failures that only show up against real devices -- multiple hosts, timeouts, and unreachable connections. There's also a lesson on making configuration changes safely with send_config_set(), kept strictly optional and lab-only rather than part of the main project. The module closes by assembling everything into the same health-check project from Your First Network Automation, now genuinely running against real devices instead of a simulation.
Next up
What Netmiko Is and Why Network Engineers Use It
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- 1
What Netmiko Is and Why Network Engineers Use It
What Netmiko actually is, why it exists, how to install it, and the connection parameters every Netmiko script needs — the start of turning your simulated project into a real one.
Beginner11 min readNext up - 2
Connecting to a Device with Netmiko
Open a real SSH connection with ConnectHandler, supply credentials safely at runtime, and handle the two connection-time exceptions every Netmiko script needs to expect.
Beginner13 min read - 3
Running Show Commands with Netmiko
Use send_command() to run a real show command and get back raw CLI text — then parse that text into the same kind of fact simulate_connection() used to hand you for free.
Beginner14 min read - 4
Making Configuration Changes Safely
How send_config_set() pushes configuration changes with Netmiko — and why this lesson's examples are strictly optional, lab-only material, never part of this module's main project.
Beginner12 min read - 5
Multiple Devices, Failures, and Timeouts
Build connect_and_check() — the real, Netmiko-based replacement for the connection/check seam in this module's project — and loop it safely over an entire inventory.
Beginner14 min read - 6
Your First Real Device Automation Project
The capstone lesson: assemble the real Netmiko connection into the Phase 2.6 project for a complete, read-only network health check — with a fully usable path for learners without a device.
Beginner16 min read
Practice this module
Apply what you just covered -- hands-on practice and a knowledge check for this module.
Hands-on Labs
Netmiko-Style Fleet Health Check
Given sample show version text for several devices -- as if send_command() had already returned it -- check that each device is actually who your inventory says it is, and report which ones aren't.
Safe Configuration Backup Workflow
Complete a small, real workflow that writes a device's running configuration to a timestamped local backup file and verifies the write actually succeeded -- entirely offline, with an explicit, clearly-labeled note on the one thing that changes for a real device.
Apply your skills
Device Inventory & Fleet Health Report
Combine JSON inventory validation, a simulated per-device health check, and report design into one build: parse a messy device export, classify every valid device's health across two independent signals, and produce one structured fleet report -- deciding its shape yourself.
Network Configuration Backup Analyzer
Combine multi-device text-config validation, structured fact extraction, and line-by-line comparison into one backup analysis pipeline that safely handles a missing or corrupted backup instead of crashing on it.