Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Automation and Programmability Syllabus

Automation and Programmability syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Automation and Programmability in Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Automation Impact on Networking

   3 topics

   • How automation impacts network management
     • Reduced manual configuration
     • Consistency and scalability
   • Traditional vs controller-based networking
     • Distributed control plane
     • Centralized control plane
   • Control plane and data plane separation
2. 2

   Software-Defined and Controller-Based Architectures

   3 topics

   • Southbound and northbound APIs
     • Controller-to-device (southbound)
     • Application-to-controller (northbound)
   • Cisco DNA Center / Catalyst Center overview
     • Device management at scale
     • Comparison with traditional CLI
   • Campus device management comparison
     • Per-device vs centralized management
3. 3

   APIs and Data Encoding

   3 topics

   • REST-based API characteristics
     • CRUD and HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
     • HTTP status codes
     • Authentication headers
   • Data interpretation with JSON
     • Keys, values, and data types
     • Objects and arrays
     • Identifying valid JSON
   • Comparison of JSON, XML, and YAML
4. 4

   Configuration Management Tools

   3 topics

   • Capabilities of management mechanisms
     • Agent-based vs agentless
     • Push vs pull models
   • Comparison of Puppet, Chef, and Ansible
     • Ansible playbooks and inventory
     • Tool selection considerations
   • Infrastructure as code concepts

Automation and Programmability flashcards for Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)

22 of 50 cards from the Automation and Programmability deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. How does network automation impact day-to-day network management?

   It reduces manual, repetitive CLI configuration, speeds up provisioning, enforces consistency across devices, lowers human error, and enables changes to be made at scale from a central point.

2. List three operational benefits that automation brings to a network.

   Faster deployment/provisioning, fewer configuration errors (consistency), and lower operating costs through reduced manual effort. It also improves scalability and reduces downtime.

3. In traditional networking, where do the control plane and data plane reside?

   Both planes reside on each individual device; every device makes its own forwarding decisions and is configured independently (a distributed, box-by-box model).

4. In controller-based (SDN) networking, how is intelligence organized?

   The control plane is centralized in a controller, which programs the data plane of each network device, allowing the whole network to be managed and configured from one central point.

5. What is the function of the control plane?

   It makes decisions about how traffic should be forwarded — building routing/MAC tables, running routing protocols (OSPF, EIGRP, STP, ARP) — but does not forward the actual packets.

6. What is the function of the data plane (forwarding plane)?

   It forwards actual user packets/frames through the device based on the information programmed by the control plane (e.g., using the FIB and adjacency tables).

7. What problem does separating the control plane from the data plane solve?

   It allows centralized, programmatic control of forwarding behavior across many devices, removing the need to configure each device's control logic individually and enabling SDN.

8. In an SDN architecture, what are the three layers/planes?

   Application layer (apps/business logic), control layer (SDN controller), and infrastructure/data layer (the physical/virtual network devices that forward traffic).

9. What is a southbound API (SBI) in SDN?

   The interface between the SDN controller and the network devices below it; the controller uses it to program/configure the devices. Examples: OpenFlow, NETCONF, RESTCONF, OpFlex.

10. What is a northbound API (NBI) in SDN?

    The interface between the SDN controller and the applications above it; it lets applications request services and retrieve data from the controller. Typically a REST API.

11. Name three protocols commonly used as southbound interfaces.

    OpenFlow, NETCONF, RESTCONF, and OpFlex (Cisco) are common southbound protocols.

12. What protocol/style is typically used for northbound APIs?

    REST (RESTful APIs over HTTPS), allowing applications to communicate with the controller using standard HTTP methods.

13. What is Cisco DNA Center (Catalyst Center)?

    Cisco's centralized SDN controller and network management/automation platform for enterprise/campus networks, providing design, provisioning, policy (intent-based), and assurance from a single dashboard.

14. What does 'intent-based networking' mean in the context of Cisco DNA/Catalyst Center?

    Administrators define the desired business outcome (intent/policy) and the controller automatically translates it into device configurations and continuously verifies/assures it is met.

15. What are the four main workflow areas in Cisco DNA Center?

    Design, Policy, Provision, and Assurance.

16. What is 'Assurance' in Cisco DNA Center?

    Continuous monitoring and analytics of network health that uses telemetry and machine learning to detect issues, show health scores, and suggest remediation.

17. Compare traditional campus device management with controller-based management.

    Traditional: per-device CLI configuration, distributed control, manual and error-prone. Controller-based: centralized configuration/policy via DNA Center, automated provisioning, consistent and scalable, with built-in assurance.

18. In traditional campus management, how is configuration applied to devices?

    Manually, device by device, via CLI (Telnet/SSH/console), with each device managed independently.

19. In controller-based campus management, how is configuration applied?

    Centrally through the controller (DNA/Catalyst Center) using APIs and automated workflows, pushing consistent config and policy to many devices at once.

20. What does REST stand for?

    REpresentational State Transfer — an architectural style for designing networked APIs that use standard HTTP.

21. List the key characteristics of a RESTful API.

    Client-server, stateless, cacheable, uniform interface, layered system, and uses standard HTTP methods over (typically) HTTPS. Data is usually exchanged as JSON or XML.

22. What does it mean that REST is 'stateless'?

    Each request from client to server must contain all information needed to process it; the server stores no client session/context between requests.

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