Beyond the CLI is a series for network engineers ready to put the console cable down and lean into modern DevOps practices - Git, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, and AI-assisted workflows.
Whether you're just getting started or looking to fill in the gaps, this series covers the concepts, benefits, and hands-on application of DevOps in network engineering.
Tools we'll be using;
- GitHub & GitHub Actions: Git hosting and CI/CD pipelines (with self-hosted runners)
- Cisco IOS-XE on CML: Lab environment for network infrastructure. EVE-NG, Containerlab, or similar will work too.
- Terraform: Infrastructure as Code for defining desired network state
- Claude Code: For the AI section only; optional, and more exploratory than prescriptive.
Git Fundamentals
Git Fundamentals - For Network Engineers
As network engineers, we’ve been solving version control problems badly for years, dated backup files, manual comparisons, config files named final_v2_WORKING.txt. Git exists because developers hit this wall decades ago. It’s time we caught up.
Dan Jones
Git in Practice - Version Control For Network Engineers
Time to get practical. Set up Git, version control your network configs, learn branching and merging the hard way (by breaking things), and open your first pull request on GitHub.
Dan Jones
- Git Mastery - For Network Engineers
- Optional
- APIs & Network Programmability – REST, NETCONF, gRPC. The "why" before the "how" of automation.
- Interacting with APIs by Example
- Terraform (IaC) for Network Infrastructure - Managing network resources as code
- Managing infra with IaC by Example
- CI/CD Pipelines - Automating testing and deployment for network changes
- Using Pipelines by Example
- AI in NetDevOps - Exploring practical use cases and emerging patterns