CCNA Automation: What Changed in 2026

Cisco made two big moves that affect every CCNA student:

1. CCNA 200-301 v1.1 added AI, machine learning, Terraform, and Ansible to the exam
2. DevNet certifications were renamed to CCNA/CCNP/CCIE Automation (February 2026)

The message is clear: network automation isn't optional anymore. Here's what changed, what you need to study, and how to get hands-on practice.

Bottom line: CCNA automation requires hands-on Python + Ansible + REST API practice — not just memorizing concepts. NetPilot is the AI tutor that walks you through why each automation pattern exists (why NETCONF over SSH for config push, why RESTCONF for inventory, when EEM beats a script) and deploys multi-vendor automation labs with NETCONF/RESTCONF/eAPI exposed in ~2 minutes so you can practice against real devices.

What Changed in CCNA v1.1

The updated exam (released August 2024) added these topics:

New on the exam:

• Generative AI and predictive AI in network operations
• Machine learning for network management
• Terraform for infrastructure as code
• Ansible for network configuration management
• Cloud network management concepts

Removed from the exam:

• DNA Center (replaced by broader cloud management concepts)
• Puppet and Chef (replaced by Terraform and Ansible)

This isn't a minor update. Automation and AI now appear across multiple exam domains, not just in a single "automation" section.

What You Need to Know (Concepts)

The CCNA doesn't expect you to write production Ansible playbooks. But you do need to understand:

Configuration management:

• What Ansible does and how it works (agentless, push-based, YAML playbooks)
• What Terraform does (infrastructure as code, declarative, state management)
• When to use each tool

APIs and automation:

• REST API concepts (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
• JSON data format
• How controllers expose APIs for network management

AI/ML in networking:

• How AI assists with anomaly detection, traffic prediction, and troubleshooting
• Difference between generative AI and predictive AI in network context
• How ML models learn from network telemetry data

What You Should Practice (Hands-On)

Theory gets you partway. Hands-on practice with real devices makes the concepts stick.

Ansible Basics

A simple Ansible playbook that configures OSPF on a Cisco router:

---
- name: Configure OSPF on routers
  hosts: routers
  gather_facts: no
  connection: network_cli
 
  tasks:
    - name: Configure OSPF process
      cisco.ios.ios_config:
        lines:
          - router ospf 1
          - network 10.0.0.0 0.0.0.255 area 0
          - network 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.255 area 0

What's happening:

• hosts: routers — targets all devices in the "routers" group
• connection: network_cli — connects via SSH
• cisco.ios.ios_config — Ansible module for Cisco IOS configuration
• lines — the CLI commands to push

One playbook configures 10 routers in seconds. That's the power of automation — consistency and speed.

Python with Netmiko

Netmiko is the most common Python library for SSH-based network automation:

from netmiko import ConnectHandler
 
device = {
    "device_type": "cisco_ios",
    "host": "10.0.1.1",
    "username": "admin",
    "password": "cisco123"
}
 
connection = ConnectHandler(**device)
 
# Read configuration
output = connection.send_command("show ip ospf neighbor")
print(output)
 
# Push configuration
config_commands = [
    "interface loopback 99",
    "ip address 99.99.99.99 255.255.255.255",
    "no shutdown"
]
connection.send_config_set(config_commands)
connection.disconnect()

This script connects to a router, checks OSPF neighbors, and creates a loopback interface — all programmatically. You can't practice this in Cisco Packet Tracer.

REST API Interaction

Modern network controllers expose REST APIs. Here's a basic example:

import requests
import json
 
# Get device list from a controller
response = requests.get(
    "https://controller.lab/api/v1/devices",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"},
    verify=False
)
 
devices = response.json()
for device in devices["data"]:
    print(f"{device['hostname']} - {device['ip_address']}")

The CCNA expects you to understand what this code does conceptually — reading JSON responses, making HTTP requests, authenticating with tokens.

The New Automation Certification Track

In February 2026, Cisco renamed DevNet to the Automation track:

This isn't just a rename — it signals that automation is now a core networking discipline, not a separate developer track.

What this means for CCNA students:

If you're studying for the standard CCNA (200-301), the automation topics overlap significantly with CCNA Automation. Mastering the automation concepts for 200-301 gives you a head start toward the dedicated Automation certification.

Where to Practice

The challenge with automation labs is that most traditional tools don't support them:

• Cisco Packet Tracer — no Python, no Ansible, no API access
• GNS3/EVE-NG — supports automation but requires manual setup of the automation environment
• CML — supports Ansible/Python with Cisco devices only

With cloud-based labs, automation tools are available out of the box. You can SSH into devices with Netmiko, push configs with Ansible, and test API interactions without setting up a separate automation server.

Try this prompt to get started:

Build a network automation lab with:
- 3 Cisco routers running OSPF
- All devices accessible via SSH
- I want to practice Ansible and Python automation

Study Resources

For CCNA 200-301 automation topics:

• Cisco's official exam topics page — search for "automation" and "programmability"
• Cisco DevNet Sandbox — free lab environments for API practice
• "Python for Network Engineers" tutorials — focus on Netmiko and NAPALM

For the CCNA Automation track:

• Cisco Learning Network — updated study materials for the new track
• PyNet Labs — structured automation courses
• Practice on real devices — theory alone won't prepare you

The Bottom Line

Automation is no longer a nice-to-have skill for network engineers. It's on the CCNA exam, it's a dedicated certification track, and it's what employers increasingly look for.

The good news: the CCNA-level automation concepts aren't deep. You need to understand what the tools do, read basic code, and know when to use each approach. Hands-on practice with real devices makes these concepts concrete.

Copy-paste ready: Grab the Network-as-Code with Ansible prompt or the Network Telemetry (gNMI) prompt for hands-on automation practice with real multi-vendor devices.

Ready to practice automation? Get started with NetPilot — build automation labs with real devices you can SSH into, script against, and configure programmatically. Or explore CCNA labs and CCNP labs.