Lesson 1 of 10
Setup in 10 Minutes
The Scenario
You want to start automating network tasks but you have never written a script before. You do not need a CS degree — you need a working environment and an AI assistant. This chapter gets you from zero to running your first network script in under 10 minutes.
Step 1: Install Python
Windows:
- Go to python.org/downloads
- Download Python 3.12+
- IMPORTANT: Check "Add Python to PATH" during installation
- Open Command Prompt, type
python --version— you should see the version number
Mac:
brew install python3
Linux:
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip
Step 2: Install VS Code + AI Extension
- Download VS Code from code.visualstudio.com
- Install the Python extension (by Microsoft)
- Install one of these AI extensions:
- GitHub Copilot (paid, best autocomplete)
- Continue (free, connects to Claude/ChatGPT)
- Or just use ChatGPT/Claude in a browser tab — works fine
Step 3: Install Network Libraries
Open a terminal in VS Code and run:
pip install netmiko paramiko requests pandas
That is it. These four libraries handle 90% of network automation.
Step 4: Your First Script
Ask AI:
Write a Python script that pings 5 IP addresses and tells me which ones are up and which are down. Use subprocess, not scapy. Make it work on Windows and Linux.
AI gives you a script. Save it as ping_test.py, run it with python ping_test.py. You just automated your first task.
Try It Yourself
Replace the 5 IPs with real devices on your network. Run it. You are now automating.