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Jun 08, 2023 networking Twitter GitHub info@caci.co.uk
Cisco have recently complemented their various Training and Learning Platforms (including Cisco Digital Learning, Cisco Learning Network and Cisco Live) with a new user-friendly offering - Cisco U. While some of the content is pricy, we've found some completely free-of-charge Network Automation Courses that we think you should know about.
Unlike other Cisco training platforms, no special User Account is required - just use the same Cisco Connection Online (CCO) account you currently use as a NetEng today to login to the main Cisco Portal for activities such as Cisco Certification Tracker, Cisco Software Downloads and Cisco TAC Case Manager.
Pricing
Cisco U currently has three Pricing Plans:
- Cisco U Free - £0 per year
- Cisco U Essentials - ~£1,200 per year (or 15 Cisco Learning Credits)
- Cisco U All Access - ~£3,800 per year (or 48 Cisco Learning Credits)
Generally the difference between the subscription levels is around the specialism of content available, and for more interactive and live tutorial content, the higher subscription levels are required. As a summary of the differences:
| Subscription | Yearly Cost (GBP) | Yearly Cost (CLC) | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco U Free | £0 | 0 CLC | - Podcasts - Webinars - Videos - Tutorials - Skill Assessments - Communities - Network Automation Learning Path |
| Cisco U Essentials | ~£1,200 $1,500 |
15 CLC | As per Free tier, as well as: - IT Training - Some multi-vendor Training - Soft Skills Training - Associate-level Certification Learning Paths - Some self-paced Online Labs |
| Cisco U All Access | ~£3,800 $4,800 |
48 CLC | As per Essentials tier, as well as: - All multi-vendor Training - Professional-level Certification Learning Paths - In-depth Cisco Product Learning Paths - In-depth Cisco Solution Learning Paths - All self-paced Online Labs |
Note: Cisco Learning Credits (CLC) are prepaid vouchers that you may already have an allowance of if you act as a Cisco VAR (Value Added Reseller) or have a large enough Cisco Contract
Amazing free stuff
Although some of those prices may seem a little steep for individuals, there is a great deal of free content available within the Network Automation realm, especially for those looking to learn about topics such as:
- Practices - NetDevOps, Pipelines, Pull Requests, Version Control, CI/CD
- Data Structures - YANG, YAML, JSON, XML
- Coding - Python, PIP, PyPI, Netmiko, pyATS, Genie, EXPRESSO, Bash
- Tooling - Ansible, Terraform, Cisco NSO, Vim, Linux, API
- Protocols - gNMI, RESTCONF, NETCONF, REST API
Here's a curated summary of some of our favourite completely free of charge Courses:
| Course | Duration | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Implementing Model-Driven Telemetry | 1 hour | Telemetry, NETCONF, gNMI |
| Data Encoding Formats - XML, JSON, YAML | 1 hour | XML, JSON, YAML, APIs |
| Introduction to Source Control and Git | 1 hour | Version Control, Git - Push, Pull Request, Commit, Branch, Clone |
| Introduction to APIs | 2 hours | APIs, Async, REST, HTTP - GET, PUT, POST, PATCH |
| Importing Python Modules | 25 mins | Python, PIP, PyPI |
| Introduction to Linux and Bash | 2 hours | Linux, Shell, Bash, CLI, grep, awk, sed, cat, Piping |
| Introduction to Vim Text Editor | 20 mins | Vim, vi, nano, Text Manipulation |
| Introduction to Network Automation | 1 hour | CI/CD Pipelines, Playbooks, Orchestration, NetDevOps |
| NETCONF and RESTCONF | 1 hour | NETCONF, RESTCONF, CLI |
| Understanding YANG Models | 2 hours | YANG, Data Models |
| Advanced Automation for a NetDevOps Pipeline | 4 hours | NetDevOps, CI/CD, Pipelines |
| Network Automation with Ansible | 2 hours | Ansible, Playbooks, YAML |
| Orchestrating Network Services with Cisco NSO | 5 hours | Cisco NSO |
| Network Automation Testing with pyATS | 3 hours | pyATS, Genie, EXPRESSO |
| Using Python for Network Automation | 1 hour | Python, PIP, Netmiko |
The future of Cisco Learning
This looks like a promising step in consolidating all the disparate Cisco Learning platforms, systems and content into one centralised, easily-searchable, visually-appealing and well-organised place. Sure, the pricing may seem steep at present - and as an individual general Network Engineering Learner, you'd get better bang for your buck going via CBT Nuggets, INE, Pluralsight or Udemy - but for Network Automation-specific content, for free, Cisco U, this is a surefire winner for anyone wanting to break in to the world of NetDevOps.
Help supplement your Network Automation efforts
In the middle of a Network Automation initiative and struggling to get the right NetDevOps-qualified professionals to help drive your latest Automation, Dashboard or Observability Project forward? Let us help and see how we can help your business fully utilise our talented NetDevOps NRE, SRE, Developer, Automation and Coding experts to cut through your Engineering Backlogs.