How To Build Your Own DevNet Expert Lab Environment

Preparing for the Cisco Certified DevNet Expert exam can be both challenging and demanding, primarily due to the limited resources available for learning and practicing the necessary skills. As one of the few who have passed this rigorous exam, I understand the critical role hands-on experience plays in mastering the required technologies and tools. In this post, I will share insights on how to create a personal lab environment for your exam preparation.

Building your own lab lets you apply what you've learned in a practical way. It helps you understand things better and gives you the speed and efficiency you need to do well in the exam. We'll talk about the importance of hands-on experience, the tools and technologies you need, and how to set up an effective lab for your DevNet Expert exam prep.

The following software or tools are required to take the Cisco Certified DevNet Expert exam:

• Candidate Workstation (CWS)
• IOS-XE devices
• NX-OS devices
• Cisco ACI
• Cisco NSO
• YANG Suite
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• HashiCorp Vault
• TIG Stack
• GitLab and GitLab Runners
• Cisco AppDynamics
• Cisco ThousandEyes

Why hands-on experience is important

It's really important to get some hands-on experience if you want to do well in the DevNet Expert exam. Learning about all the different technologies and tools that are covered in the exam will help you understand them better and make you more able to use them effectively. If you can combine your theoretical knowledge with some practical applications, you'll really understand it and be better prepared for the exam.

One thing that's really important in the DevNet Expert exam is time management. Practising in a personal lab environment helps you build muscle memory and confidence, so you can complete tasks quickly and efficiently under pressure. Taking the DevNet Expert Training and testing code snippets yourself will also help you improve your troubleshooting skills. And with lots of hands-on learning, you can ensure you're well-rounded and prepared for the exam.

Setting up the official Candidate Workstation (CWS)

First things first - download and install the official CWS VM. This is important because it makes sure you're comfortable with the environment and that you're not caught off guard on exam day. Practicing with the same environment and tools you'll use during the exam helps you focus on completing tasks efficiently.

While using the CWS, you may want to optimize your workspace to make the most of the available screen real estate. One effective way to do this is by adjusting the settings in Visual Studio Code, a commonly used code editor.

• Remove the minimap (bar on the right side): View → Appearance → Disable Minimap
• Reduce font size by one: View → Appearance → Zoom Out

These small changes can make a big difference to your workflow and help you work more comfortably and efficiently within the CWS environment. Practicing in a setup that closely mirrors the lab environment will help you feel more prepared and confident on the exam day.

Tools Needed For The DevNet Expert Exam

To pass the DevNet Expert exam, you need to know how to use a bunch of different tools and technologies. In the Cisco Certified DevNet Expert (v1.1) Equipment and Software List, Cisco even tells us what we need. Setting up your own lab can take a while, but if you have the time, it's worth it. Especially since Cisco gives you most of the tools you need for free.

IOS-XE and NX-OS devices

If you're looking to practice with IOS-XE and NX-OS devices, the Cisco always-on sandbox is a great resource. This virtual environment lets you get hands-on experience with these devices without investing in physical hardware. Even though the devices are publicly accessible and shared by several users, they're perfect for testing simple tasks with RESTCONF, NETCONF, netmiko and so on.

There's also a reservable sandbox, but as the name suggests, you have to reserve this in advance.

Here are the links to the IOS-XE and NX-OS sandboxes:

• IOS XE on Cat8kv AlwaysOn
• NX-OS AlwaysOn
• IOS XE on Cat8kv (reservable)

Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI)

If you're looking to get up to speed with ACI, the always-on sandbox is a great place to start. It offers a great environment to practice and become familiar with ACI concepts and tools. While the web interface can be a little slow at times, using the API provides very smooth experience

Here are the links to the ACI sandboxes:

• ACI Simulator Always-On
• ACI Simulator 6.0 (reservable)

YANG Suite

The good news is that YANG Suite is already on the Candidate Workstation (CWS), so you can start practicing right away. Take some time to explore its features and learn how it works. In my DevNet Expert Full Course, I'll show you where you can find YANG models, how to add them, and how to work with them.

You can also get the YANG Suite as a Docker container if you want to run it locally:

• YANG Suite on Docker

Cisco NSO

Cisco NSO is not included on the CWS (I think due to some licensing issues). However, a free version is available that you can install for practice. You can choose to install Cisco NSO on your local machine or within the CWS, depending on your preference.

You can install NSO natively, but there's also NSO on Docker. This makes it really easy to set up NSO and get started. Setting up and creating the network element drivers (NED) can be a bit tricky. But in e-learning, I'll show you how it works step by step.

• NSO AlwaysOn
• NSO Local Installation Guide
• NSO on Docker

Docker

Docker is a must-have tool for your DevNet Expert exam prep. Not only is Docker required in the exam itself. But with Docker, you can easily set up and manage all the different components you need for your studies, like HashiCorp Vault, the TIG stack (Telegraf, InfluxDB, and Grafana), or even GitLab and NSO. If you install Docker on your local machine, you can practise building, running and managing containers effectively, which is really important for the exam. Just follow the official Docker installation guide to get started.

Use this guide to install Docker:

• https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/

Kubernetes

Docker is great for running single instances of apps, but Kubernetes takes it to the next level by letting you deploy, manage, and scale multiple containers across a cluster of machines. This is essential for creating a highly available and resilient environment, which is crucial for real-world apps and the DevNet Expert exam.

Kubernetes has some pretty powerful orchestration features, like automated deployments, scaling, and managing containerized apps. Practicing with Kubernetes will teach you how to handle complex deployments and make sure your apps run smoothly even under varying loads. This is a great way to learn about container orchestration and management, which are key skills for the exam.

Use this guide to install Kubernetes:

• https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/

HashiCorp Vault

HashiCorp Vault is a must-have tool for keeping secrets safe and protecting sensitive data. For the DevNet Expert exam, knowing how to use Vault will give you a big leg up when it comes to managing access to credentials, API keys, and other secret information.

Vault lets you store and control access to tokens, passwords, certificates, and encryption keys. It provides a single, unified interface to any secret, ensuring tight access control and maintaining a detailed audit log. One of the best things about Vault is its dynamic secrets feature. It generates secrets on-demand, so they're only valid for a short period.

For your studies, you can use my repository that I prepared for my students. This setup uses Docker Compose to run Vault, which makes it easy to get started and ensures consistency across your development and testing environments. You can access and clone the repository from the following link:

• DevNet-VAULT GitHub Repository

TIG Stack

The TIG stack, which includes Telegraf, InfluxDB, and Grafana, is a great set of tools for collecting, storing, and visualizing metrics and logs. Knowing how to use the TIG stack is helpful for the DevNet Expert exam because it lets you monitor and analyze the performance and behavior of network devices using Model Driven Telemetry (MDT).

• Telegraf - an agent for collecting and reporting metrics. It supports various input and output plugins, so you can easily extend it to gather data from different sources.
• InfluxDB - a time-series database designed to handle high write and query loads, specifically for storing and retrieving time series data.
• Grafana - a visualization tool that allows you to create interactive and customizable dashboards, providing insights into your metrics and logs.

For your studies, you can use a pre-configured setup available on my GitHub repository. This setup uses Docker Compose to run the TIG stack, which makes deployment fast and easy. The README also shows you how to create a PKI CA to securely transfer the MDT logs using grpc-tls. You can access and clone the repository from the following link:

• DevNet-TIG GitHub Repository

GitLab

GitLab is a key tool for software versioning and CI/CD pipelines. It's important to get familiar with its features for the DevNet Expert exam. The exam uses GitLab version 14, and while GitLab.com is currently on a newer version, the differences are minor and shouldn't affect your preparation much.

But if you want to, you can also run GitLab and GitLab Runners on Docker. This lets you have more control over your environment and helps you understand GitLab's configuration and management better.

• GitLab Cloud
• GitLab Docker

Cisco AppDynamics

Cisco AppDynamics is a great Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tool. It lets you monitor apps and infrastructure in real time, which is key for keeping everything running smoothly and quickly fixing any issues. Get to know AppDynamics so you can keep an eye on your apps and troubleshoot any performance issues. Please note that AppDynamics will appear for the first time in revision v1.1 of the exam (mid August).

Cisco ThousandEyes

Cisco ThousandEyes gives you a complete picture of how your network is performing from the end-user perspective. It helps you identify and diagnose issues across the entire network, including the Internet, WAN, and cloud environments. Learning how to use ThousandEyes will help you monitor and ensure optimal network performance. Please note that ThousandEyes will appear for the first time in revision v1.1 of the exam (mid August).

Final words

Preparing for the Cisco Certified DevNet Expert exam is a big deal, and hands-on experience is key to your success. By building your own personal lab, you'll not only reinforce the concepts you've learned but also develop the speed, efficiency, and confidence needed to pass this exam.

Don't forget to practice with the official CWS and get familiar with the essential tools and technologies, like IOS-XE, NX-OS, ACI, YANG Suite, Cisco NSO, Docker, Kubernetes, HashiCorp Vault, and GitLab. Practice makes perfect, so make sure you're ready for the exam by practicing in a realistic lab environment.

Keep up the good work and you'll be well on your way to becoming a DevNet Expert. If you have any questions or need further guidance, just let me know.

For a comprehensive and structured approach to your exam preparation, consider enrolling in my DevNet Expert e-learning course on DevNet Academy. My course offers in-depth coverage of all the necessary topics and provides you with the support and resources you need to succeed. Good luck with your prep!