DevNet Associate study plan
DevNet Associate · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Understanding and Using APIs
Describe the request/response structure of an HTTP call and select the correct status-code family for a given failure scenario
Send GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE requests to a public REST API using both curl and Postman
Parse a JSON response in Python and extract three levels of nested fields into variables
Distinguish authentication from authorization and match basic auth, API key, and bearer token to appropriate use cases
Your checkpoint
A Git-committed Python script that calls a public REST API, prints the status code, and extracts three nested JSON fields, with a README showing the equivalent curl and Postman requests.
Understanding and Using APIs & Infrastructure and Automation
Implement the OAuth 2.0 client-credentials flow against a sandbox API and use the returned token in a subsequent call
Handle pagination and rate limiting by following next-page links and honoring 429 with Retry-After in a Python client
Read a YANG model and map its leaf and container nodes to a JSON payload
Issue a RESTCONF GET and PATCH against a sandbox device and confirm the configuration change with a follow-up GET
Your checkpoint
A Python client that retrieves every page of a paginated API with retry/backoff (log showing a handled 429) plus a RESTCONF PATCH that changes an interface description, with before-and-after GET output.
Infrastructure and Automation & Network Fundamentals
Compare NETCONF, RESTCONF, and SNMP by transport, encoding, and transaction model, then select the right one for a stated scenario
Use ncclient to retrieve the running configuration from a sandbox device and save it to disk
Diagram a small topology with VLANs, subnets, and host addressing, and verify addressing logic by hand
Explain control-plane versus data-plane separation and how northbound and southbound APIs fit an SDN controller
Your checkpoint
A working ncclient script that performs a get-config against a sandbox device and writes the XML reply to a file, paired with a one-page topology and IP-addressing plan.
Infrastructure and Automation
Write an Ansible playbook that pushes configuration to sandbox devices using ios_config and verifies state with ios_command
Build a Jinja2 configuration template and prove idempotency by running the playbook twice
Call one Cisco Python SDK to perform a read operation and a write operation
Order the stages of a CI/CD pipeline for network automation (lint, test, deploy, verify) and state what each gate prevents
Your checkpoint
An Ansible playbook with a Jinja2 template that configures VLANs on two sandbox devices, plus a second-run log showing changed=0 as idempotency proof.
Software Development and Design & Cisco Platforms and Development
Create a branch, make commits, open a merge, and resolve a deliberate conflict in a Git repository
Identify the design pattern or architectural style (MVC, observer, synchronous versus asynchronous) used in a given code sample
Parse and serialize both XML and JSON representations of the same data in Python
Compare the Meraki dashboard API, DNA Center, Webex, and ACI by authentication method, protocol, and primary use case
Your checkpoint
A Git repository containing a merged feature branch with a resolved conflict, and a Markdown comparison table of four Cisco platform APIs covering auth method, protocol, and primary use case.
Cisco Platforms and Development & Application Deployment and Security
Make an authenticated read call to the Meraki dashboard API and to the Webex API and contrast their authentication models
Write pytest unit tests that mock an outbound HTTP call and assert on the parsed result
Containerize a small Python API client with a Dockerfile and distinguish container from virtual-machine isolation
Explain secret management, least privilege, and immutable artifacts as CI/CD security controls
Your checkpoint
A containerized Python API client with a Dockerfile and three passing pytest tests, at least one of which mocks an HTTP call, plus saved test output and build log.
Application Deployment and Security & Network Fundamentals
Configure and verify one device-level security control, such as an access control list or SSH-only management, on a sandbox device
Explain how credentials and tokens can leak through logs, source control, and error messages, and remediate each case
Describe injection, insecure deserialization, and broken object-level authorization as they apply to API clients
Troubleshoot a scenario involving subnetting, DNS, DHCP, NAT, and TCP versus UDP behavior and justify each conclusion
Your checkpoint
A security review checklist applied to your own Week 6 container and script, listing at least five concrete findings with the fix committed for each.
Understanding and Using APIs & Infrastructure and Automation
Complete a timed 60-question practice exam covering all six domains and record results per domain
Reconstruct from memory a decision matrix comparing RESTCONF, NETCONF, and Meraki dashboard API for a given requirement
Rewrite your two weakest lab scripts from scratch without referencing notes or prior code
Log every missed practice item with a one-line statement of the correct principle behind it
Your checkpoint
A per-domain score report for all six domains plus a remediation list assigning each domain below 80 percent a specific retake date and study action.
Milestones
Week 2: Consume an OAuth 2.0 protected, paginated API end to end in Python and make a RESTCONF configuration change verified by a follow-up GET, without step-by-step guidance.
Week 4: Push an idempotent Ansible change to two sandbox devices from a Jinja2 template and show a second run with changed=0.
Week 6: Ship a containerized, unit-tested API client and explain out loud the auth differences between Meraki dashboard and Webex APIs.
Week 8: Score at or above 80 percent in every domain on a timed full-length practice exam, or hold a written remediation plan with dates for each domain below that threshold.