Python Network Automation Labs - Basic Telnet

This chapter introduces a series of Telnet labs that utilize Python's telnetlib library, providing an exploration of the network engineer’s thought process behind selected networking tasks and translating them into actionable lines of Python code, all from a single point of control. Although Telnet, as a protocol, has fallen out of favor due to its insecure features, this provides you with an opportunity to use this outdated protocol to master converting network engineer’s tasks into actionable lines of the Python programming language. Even though Telnet is not as enticing as SSH and APIs, this chapter contains some exciting network automation topics, including establishing network topologies, discussing network engineer’s tools to interface with network devices, configuring VLANs using loops, adding role-based user accounts to restrict access, performing backups of multiple devices’ running configurations to a local server directory, and carrying out post-change verifications all through a single pane of glass—Python server.