Preparing for the DevNet Associate Certification (BRKCRT-2080)

In this repository you will fine the code that has been presented during the breakout session BRKCERT-2080 during Cisco Live 2023. This README will serve as a basic set of instructions to use the files included as part of the live recording.

Cloning the Code

In order to clone this code, change to the location on your computer in which you want the code, then execute the following

git clone https://github.com/qsnyder/brkcrt-2080

This will copy all of the files from this repository and add them locally to your machine

Virtual Environments

Python's functionality can be extended through the use of packages or modules. These modules are generally installed through pip. However, because of conflicts that can occur between modules or needing to test between a variety of versions of the same module, it is recommended to separate the packages required for system operation separate from those required for coding or development projects. This is accomplished through the use of Python virtual environments.

In order to use a virtual environment, Python and PIP must be installed (PIP is required to install the required modules after the creation of the virtual environment). As of Python 3.5, it is recommended to use the venv module to create the virtual environment, and its included as part of the standard Python packaging.

cd ~/path/to/brkcrt-2080
python -m venv brkcrt2080
source brkcrt2080/bin/activate

Note: it may be required to use python3 in place of python

In the above example, the test brkcrt2080 can be replaced with any desired name that is significant to you or the project on which you are working. The venv module will install a Python operating environment within the folder bearing its name. To activate the local Python operating environment, we use the source command, pointing to the activate binary. This will change the prompt of your shell and indicate that you are working in a virtual environment and not the system environment.

In order to remove yourself from the virtual environment, you can use the command deactivate. This will remove the virtual environment tag within your shell prompt.

Installing Packages from a `requirements.txt` file

Once inside the desired virtual environment, we can install packages to support our Python code. We can do this manually, using pip (or pip3, depending on how Python is referenced within your shell), or, if a maintainer of code has included a requirements.txt file, we can use this to automatically install a set of packages without having to manually type each one. Once inside our virtual environment, we can install the packages using pip like so (assuming that you are still in the directory containing the cloned code):

(brkcrt2080)> pip install -r requirements.txt

This will install all required packages defined by the list given within requirements.txt. We can execute pip freeze to ensure the packages are indeed installed.

Running the Code

Once you have the virtual environment created and the required packages installed, we can execute the Python code using the Python binary python 10-meraki-get-orgs.py or `python 20-meraki-get-devices.py``

Sample Outputs

`10-meraki-get-orgs.py`

(brkcrt2080) qsnyder@qsnyder-devbox:~/brkcrt-2080 (main) $ python 10-meraki-get-orgs.py
[{'api': {'enabled': True},
  'cloud': {'region': {'name': 'North America'}},
  'id': '575334852396584364',
  'licensing': {'model': 'co-term'},
  'management': {'details': [{'name': 'MSP ID', 'value': '123456'}]},
  'name': 'PM_Test',
  'url': 'https://n22.meraki.com/o/HFyNGaw/manage/organization/overview'},
....

`20-meraki-get-devices.py`

(brkcrt2080) qsnyder@qsnyder-devbox:~/brkcrt-2080 (main) $ python 20-meraki-get-devices.py
[{'id': '575334852396584364', 'name': 'PM_Test', 'url': 'https://n22.meraki.com/o/HFyNGaw/manage/organization/overview', 'api': {'enabled': True}, 'licensing': {'model': 'co-term'}, 'cloud': {'region': {'name': 'North America'}}, 'management': {'details': [{'name': 'MSP ID', 'value': '123456'}]}}, {'id': '573083052582915264', 'name': 'Thisisaneworg', 'url': 'https://n18.meraki.com/o/iui3abs/manage/organization/overview', 'api': {'enabled': True}, 'licensing': {'model': 'co-term'}, 'cloud': {'region': {'name': 'North America'}}, 'management': {'details': [{'name': 'MSP ID', 'value': '123456'}]}}, {'id': '575334852396584315', 'name': 'Test 1', 'url': 'https://n22.meraki.com/o/AzTrDcw/manage/organization/overview', 'api': {'enabled': True}, 'licensing': {'model': 'co-term'}, 'cloud': {'region': {'name': 'North America'}}, 'management': {'details': []}},

Questions/Concerns

Please reach out to me via Twitter DM @qsnyder

qsnyder/brkcrt-2080