CCNA certification prep: Automation and programmability

What percentage of the exam focuses on automation and programmability?

The Automation and Programmability section is the smallest section, covering 10% of the CCNA exam. These topics appear in the CCNA exam for the first time in this version.

What topics are covered in this section of the exam?

The topics covered in this section introduce the concept of controllers, explain the difference between traditional networks and controller-based networks and provide an explanation of overlay, underlay and fabric that are used in software-defined networks. In addition to this, knowledge of REST APIs and various configuration management tools is required in order to succeed.

High-level overview of automation and programmability topics

How automation impacts network management

You will need to know the three planes that are used to describe how programmability works:

• Data plane
• Control plane
• Management plane

A few points are covered in this section:

• Data created by the controllers allows us to automate tasks
• With the help of new operational models, the configuration and operation of the devices becomes less prone to errors
• Collected data at the controller level allows advanced analytics processing, revealing clearer behavior of the network
• Reduced time to implement a new project

Traditional vs. controller-based networking (including SDN overview)

When a controller is used, these concepts appear:

• Southbound interface: The interface that the controller is using to reach network devices
• Northbound interface: This is the interface through which the controller is accessed so that its data is processed by other analytics/reporting/logging tools

Be aware of these three potential Cisco models:

• Software-Defined Access (SDA)
• Software-Defined WAN (SDWAN)
• Application-Centric Infrastructure (ACI)

Some advantages of controller-based networks are:

• Allowing the configuration of the network rather than per-device configuration
• Allowing automation through northbound APIs
• Allowing device configuration and operation through southbound APIs

Make sure you understand these terms:

• Overlay (Read more...)