Next-Generation Network Engineering Skills
Published on 28 Dec 2015 · Filed in News · 373 words (estimated 2 minutes to read)There’s no question that the networking industry is undergoing significant changes. Sparked in part by software-defined networking (SDN), this sea change now includes an expanded focus on application programming interfaces (APIs), automation frameworks and toolkits, and improved manageability. As the industry undergoes this change, though, networking engineers must also undergo a change.
To help address this change, I’m very excited to announce a new book project targeting “next-generation network engineering skills.” I’ve joined forces with two folks that I really admire—Jason Edelman and Matt Oswalt—to write a new book focusing on the skills we believe are essential for the next-generation network engineer:
The Early Access edition of the book is available now. If you’re familiar with O’Reilly’s Early Access program, you know that this is an incomplete version right now, but you’ll get regular updates and the final version of the book once it is complete. Plus, you get to provide feedback to us (the authors) while we write, which in turn helps improve the book. (And we greatly desire your feedback!)
So what’s in this book? Here’s a quick look at some of the topics we’re tackling:
- An introduction to Linux, written from a networking perspective
- Scripting with Python, using only networking-centric examples
- Templating network configuration with Jinja2
- Source code control for network configuration
- Using configuration management tools to manage networking devices
…and more! If there’s something more you think we should include, then we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to contact us on Twitter (Jason, Matt, or me).
On a more personal note, writing an O’Reilly book is something of a “bucket list” item for me. If you’ve heard the story behind how Mastering VMware vSphere 4 happened, then you know that writing a book was something that I’d always wanted to do. Wiley/Sybex is a great publisher, and it’s been tremendous working with them (something I’ll continue to do, as I have another book project in the works with them). O’Reilly has an outstanding reputation in the technical community, and I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity to join forces with Jason and Matt on this title.
Here’s hoping you find this new book helpful and informative! Remember, the Early Release edition is available now from O’Reilly’s web site.