Programming for Network Engineers course on CLN

I recently completed the Programming for Network Engineers course from the Cisco Learning Network (CLN) and I must say I was really impressed. I’ve mentioned similar courses in the past but I was really impressed with this particular one for multiple different reasons:

• As per it’s name, it’s even more focused on from programming FOR network professionals than other comparable courses – with lots of relevant examples from IOS, NX-OS, XR, etc.
• the on demand labs in each section are amazing (as opposed to the other courses where I would have to go through hurdles to setup my own lab)
• great course organization – things build up as you go appropriately (something lacking in the other courses – where sometimes many things are left unexplained, or the instructor jumps from simple scripts to complex programs without explanation)
• the course is concise – it’s focused on network related programming – and didn’t try to teach me the entire Python programming language which may not be relevant to many network professionals.

Now compared to the other options, there are downsides too:

• The course costs $499 USD. You’ll note that it’s quite a bit more than the $25 USD course I covered in another blog. Regardless, if you are short on cash, the other course is still a great alternative. (Note: If your organization regularly purchases Cisco gear, you may already have some Cisco Learning Credits (CLCs) that you may be able to utilize towards this course.)
• The instructor, Chuck Black, has done an amazing job with the course organization, structure and content, however, he also has a very sleep inducing voice! :p – Luckily for you however, you can change the video playback speed, which helps! 🙂

Overall, I would however very much recommend this course over other comparable options.

Note, you need to have at least CCNA equivalent knowledge for this course to be useful to you. Some basic Linux knowledge would also be useful, although you could pick up the required basic skills while going through this course.

Some screenshots of the course contents: