Introduction xxiii Chapter 1 Introducing Netmiko, NAPALM, and Nornir 1 The 3 Ns: Netmiko, NAPALM, and Nornir 1 Automation and Programmability for All Levels 4 How Much Cisco IOS and Python Do I Need to Know? 4 What Do I Need to Get Started? 5 Using AI as an Alternative to Physical Equipment 6 Summary 7 Part 1 Netmiko Chapter 2 Getting Started with Netmiko 9 Why Start with Netmiko? 9 A First Look at a Netmiko Program 10 The Basic Netmiko Framework 11 Optional: Exploring Python Classes, Objects, Instances, and Methods 15 Your Turn 17 Sending Command Output to a Variable 19 The send_command_expect() Method 23 The save_config() Method 26 Debugging Netmiko by Using the Session Log 28 Summary 34 Chapter 3 Configuring Devices with Netmiko 35 The send_command() Method 35 Summary 50 Chapter 4 Accessing Multiple Devices with Netmiko 53 Using a Variable to Store an IP Address 53 Understanding Python for Loops 54 Iterating Through Multiple Devices 56 Using Dictionaries to Store Device Connection Parameters 65 Using Python''s getpass() for Secure Password Input 71 Using Netmiko Exceptions for Troubleshooting 73 Maintaining Multiple SSH Connections Simultaneously 77 Summary 81 Part 2 NAPALM Chapter 5 Introducing NAPALM and Structured Data 85 What Is NAPALM, and How Is It Different from Netmiko? 85 Installing the NAPALM Library 88 Basic NAPALM Framework 88 How NAPALM Retrieves Data Without an API on Cisco IOS 91 Good News, Bad News: Understanding Structured Data 92 get_facts(): Our First NAPALM Method and Dictionary 95 Assigning the Dictionary to a Variable 97 Understanding Different Types of Values in a Dictionary 99 Creating a NAPALM Dictionary Without a Device 100 NAPALM Methods 102 Using Python Interactive Mode to Experiment with NAPALM 105 Summary 107 Chapter 6 Understanding Python Dictionaries with NAPALM 109 How NAPALM Organizes Data 110 A Single Dictionary 110 A Dictionary of Dictionaries 115 A List of Dictionaries 122 Sample Program Using All Three Types of Dictionaries 127 Comparing the Three Types of Dictionaries 131 Methods by Type of Data Structure 133 Summary 135 Chapter 7 Iterating Through NAPALM Dictionaries 137 Live or Simulated Data 138 Working with .keys(), .values(), and .items() in NAPALM Dictionaries 140 Using a for Loop with Dictionary Methods 143 Determining the Type of Value 147 Looping Through Key/Value Pairs with .items() and Processing Values with isinstance() 153 Iterating Through a Dictionary of Dictionaries 167 Iterating Through a List of Dictionaries 173 Summary 176 Chapter 8 Configuring Devices with NAPALM 179 A Quick Overview of NAPALM Configuration Methods 179 Introducing Our Example Scenario 180 Configuring a Device with load_merge_candidate() 182 Using the cli() method 188 Using load_replace_candidate() to Replace the Configuration 193 Displaying Running and Startup Configuration Files 199 Next Step: Nornir 200 Summary 201 Part 3 Nornir Chapter 9 Introducing Nornir: A Pythonic Framework for Network Orchestration 203 What Is Orchestration? 204 How Does Nornir Compare to Netmiko and NAPALM? 205 How Nornir Uses Netmiko and NAPALM 206 Installing Nornir 207 Basic Nornir Framework: Python and YAML 207 Your First Nornir Program and YAML Files 208 What''s Next? 218 Summary 219 Chapter 10 Using Nornir with Netmiko 221 Installing Support for Netmiko: nornir_netmiko 221 Using Nornir and netmiko_send_command() 222 Sending Configuration Commands with netmiko_send_config 236 Summary 246 Chapter 11 Using Nornir with NAPALM 247 A Quick Review 247 Installing Support for NAPALM: nornir_napalm 249 nornir_napalm Tasks 250 Advantages of Using These Tasks with Nornir 251 Using Nornir and the napalm_cli Task 251 Using Nornir and the napalm_get Task 261 Using Nornir and the napalm_configure Task 268 Summary 276 Chapter 12 Inventory Management with Nornir 277 A Quick Overview with a Focus on Inventory 278 Where Inventory Data Comes From 280 A Note on Filtering 281 Inventory Management Core Architecture 282 Hosts 282 Groups 289 Effective Values After Inheritance 292 Using Group Data for Filtering 295 Defaults 296 Accessing Inventory Data 298 Inventory Plugins 300 Inventory Plugin Options 301 Summary 319 Part 4 What''s Next Chapter 13 What''s Next 321 Why Network Automation Became Necessary 321 Netmiko, NAPALM, and Nornir in Context 324 Ansible, NETCONF, and RESTCONF: Expanding the Automation Comparisons 331 Understanding YANG Models 332 Understanding APIs 334 Artificial Intelligence and Network Automation 336 Closing Thoughts 338 Appendix A Python Virtual Environments 341 Appendix B Understanding expect_string with send_command() 345 Appendix C Using Python Dictionaries as NAPALM Outputs 347 Appendix D The Relationship Between Python Dictionaries and JSON 353 Appendix E Understanding Objects and Variables in Python 355 Appendix F Using a Recursive Function to Handle Nested Dictionaries of Any Depth 357 Appendix G Using Tabular Output 359 Appendix H Using Public and Private Keys 361 Appendix I Netmiko-Supported Network Operating Systems 365 9780135463192, TOC, 3/25/2026.