Beginner
Python for Network Engineers
Just enough Python, taught with networking examples throughout — variables, data structures, loops, functions, and exception handling, ending in a real automation script.
This is where you write your first real automation code. Rather than a generic programming course, every concept -- variables, lists and dictionaries, loops, functions, and exception handling -- is introduced through a networking example first: device names, IP addresses, and inventory records, not abstract exercises. You'll learn how to store device information correctly, repeat an action across every device in an inventory, package repeatable logic into functions, and handle the kind of failure an automation script actually meets -- an unreachable device, a timeout, bad credentials. The module ends with a complete, runnable script that combines everything you've learned, taking you from zero Python experience to a working automation script.
Next up
Python Mindset for Network Engineers
0 / 8 completeLessons
- 1
Python Mindset for Network Engineers
Why Python is the language of choice for network automation, and how to think about it as a network engineer rather than as a programmer starting from scratch.
Beginner10 min readNext up - 2
Variables, Data Types & Basic Operations
How to store and work with device information in Python — strings, integers, floats, and booleans — and why the type of a value matters.
Beginner12 min read - 3
Lists & Dictionaries for Network Data
The two data structures nearly every automation script is built on: lists for collections of devices, dictionaries for structured facts about each one.
Beginner14 min read - 4
Conditions & Loops
How to repeat an action across every device in an inventory, and only take that action when a condition is actually met — the core mechanic behind almost all network automation.
Beginner14 min read - 5
Functions & Reusable Automation Logic
How to package a repeatable automation task into a reusable block of code with def, parameters, and return — instead of copying the same logic everywhere.
Beginner13 min read - 6
Working with Files & Structured Data
How Python scripts read device lists and write reports to actual files — and a first, conceptual look at CSV, JSON, and YAML before the dedicated module on data formats.
Beginner12 min read - 7
Exceptions & Safe Automation
What happens when something goes wrong mid-script — an unreachable device, a timeout, bad credentials — and how try/except keeps one failure from taking down an entire automation run.
Beginner13 min read - 8
Build Your First Python Network Automation Script
The capstone lesson: a complete, real, runnable Python script that combines everything from this module — variables, data structures, loops, conditions, functions, exception handling, and file output — into one working automation task.
Beginner18 min read
Practice this module
Apply what you just covered -- hands-on practice and a knowledge check for this module.