Zero to Network Automation Journey

I've avoided Python and network automation for the past 5 years. I felt it wasn't required to get the job done.

But here's the shift: the projects I'm working on now could be completed faster if I had the right automation skills.

At day 271 of the year 2025, I decided to challenge myself to learning Python and network automation within 12 months.

Can it be done? I think so.

I'll be sharing my journey towards network automation and will be doing live stream study sessions learning Python.

Below, you will find everything related to my Zero to Network Automation journey.

5+ Years Avoiding Python…

It's been quite some time since really looking at Python. Many years have past since I've written a script. But now, I'm motivated to start learning again. It started with my daughter and then a motivating story from a peer. Read more...

From Zero to Network Automation: My First Step into Python

This is the first real step in my Zero to Network Automation journey — learning Python from the ground up. In this post, I cover the absolute basics: the data types, variables, and functions that form the foundation for everything in Python. These are my notes — concise, practical, and focused on what you actually need to know to start automating. Read more...

Python Flow Control

Everything comes down to evaluating expressions. That means our code isn't going to be ran from the start to the end of the code sequentially. Our code will use flow control to decide what to do next. And with networking, we're likely to decide what to do next after looping through a set of data to meet a condition.

I feel it is important to know about flow control to make decisions and to repeat tasks. Things we will do when dealing with networks. Flow control will start with some sort of condition that is performed by code we write. The result will evaluate to a True or False, a Boolean value.

When I think about how I can bring this back to networking, I think of the following: Is ethernet1/1 up? Is channel utilization >= 50%? Is IP address 1.1.1.1 reachable? You can say these all would evaluate to a True or False, right? Read more...

What are Python Boolean Values & Operators

In Python, Boolean values — True and False — form the foundation of decision-making. In this Zero to Network Automation lesson, you’ll learn how Boolean operators like and, or, and not control logic flow and help automate real-world network tasks. Read more...

Python Flow Control with If Statements

Python code doesn’t run from top to bottom, sequentially. It’s not a list of things the code goes through like a grocery list.

We create blocks of code and evaluate to specific conditions. Based on those conditions we can run another block of code. Read more...

Simplifying Repetitive Tasks with Python Loops

A loop is a method for us to automate repetitive tasks. If you’re always configuring 48 port switches, checking the status of network devices, or monitoring a link state, then you’re manually repeating tasks.

Have you ever had to copy and paste configuration from a template onto a network switch? We can use loops to automate that type of task. Read more...