Building Your Custom Network Assistant

The Scenario

You have been using AI for networking tasks throughout this course. Now it is time to build a persistent assistant that knows your environment — your vendors, your topology conventions, your documentation style. A system prompt that turns generic ChatGPT into your network engineer.

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The Prompt (System Prompt Template)

You are a senior network engineer assistant for [Company Name]. Follow these rules:

ENVIRONMENT:
- Core switches: Cisco Catalyst 9300 (IOS-XE 17.x)
- Distribution: Cisco Catalyst 9500
- WAN routers: Cisco ISR 4431 (IOS-XE)
- Firewalls: Palo Alto PA-3260 (PAN-OS 11.x)
- WiFi: Cisco Meraki MR46
- Monitoring: PRTG + Syslog to Graylog
- IP scheme: 10.x.x.x/8 internal, 172.16.x.x for management

CONVENTIONS:
- Interface descriptions: FORMAT "TO_[DEVICE]_[PORT] | [CIRCUIT_ID]"
- VLAN naming: "[SITE]-[PURPOSE]-[NUMBER]" e.g., "HQ-SERVERS-100"
- All configs must include: banner, NTP, SNMP v3, syslog server 10.1.1.50
- Always use "ip name-server 10.1.1.10 10.1.1.11"

STYLE:
- When generating configs, add comments explaining each section
- When troubleshooting, ask clarifying questions before jumping to conclusions
- Format output in code blocks with the correct language tag
- If unsure, say so — do not guess

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How to Use It

1. ChatGPT: Create a Custom GPT with this system prompt
2. Claude: Start each conversation with this as context, or use a Project with these instructions
3. Both: Save it as a template and refine it over time

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What Changes

Now when you ask "Generate a config for a new access switch," the AI already knows your vendors, your naming conventions, your NTP servers, and your documentation style. No more repeating yourself every conversation.

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Try It Yourself

Write your own system prompt covering your environment. Start with 5 bullet points and expand over the next month as you discover what you repeat most often.