CiscoFoundation2 daysUpdated: July 2026

CSAU Training for Your Team — Introducing Automation for Cisco Solutions

Every network team knows automation is coming; far fewer know where to start, and the gap fills with anxiety and stalled tooling projects. CSAU (Introducing Automation for Cisco Solutions) is the two-day answer to the starting problem: what automation actually changes about network operations, how Python, APIs and structured data fit together, and what controllers and configuration management look like when they work — all hands-on, none of it assuming a programming background.

The course carries no exam, and that is the point. It is the honest first step before committing a team to the DevNet track: after CSAU, engineers know whether they want DEVASC and the certification path, and managers know what an automation practice would take. Teams typically book it at the start of an automation initiative, or when a controller platform has landed and nobody quite trusts it yet.

We organize delivery through authorized partners with instructors who automate networks for a living — live online in your time zone, on site, or as a private group using your estate as the running example.

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Who this course is for

Network engineers making first contact with automation and programmability
Operations teams drowning in repetitive CLI change work
Team leads deciding what an automation practice should actually look like
Engineers testing the water before committing to the DevNet certification track

What your team will learn

Topic areas below are grouped in our own words. The full official agenda is available on request — it comes from the authorized partner as part of your quote.

Why CLI-at-scale fails — the case for automation, made honestly
Reading and running Python for network tasks without becoming a developer
Talking to devices over APIs instead of screen-scraping SSH sessions
Data that machines can parse: JSON, YAML and why structure beats regex
A first working look at controllers and configuration-management tooling
Choosing what to automate first — and what to deliberately leave alone

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Key facts

Duration	2 days
Level	Foundation
Prerequisites	Basic routing and switching knowledge; no programming experience required
Formats	Live online (VILT), On-site at your location, Private group, Seats in scheduled groups
Languages	English + local-language instructors on request

Formats and how we organize it

Live online (VILT)
On-site at your location
Private group
Seats in scheduled groups

One request → three options

Fill in the form below — it takes a couple of minutes. Within 5 business days you compare 2–3 concrete offers — provider, instructor, dates, price below the public list. We contract and administer the delivery end to end. Details:how we work and vendor training.

CSAU vs alternatives: which to choose

Factual criteria only — level, duration, audience and certification. The right choice depends on your team's starting point and stack.

Cisco DEVASC (DevNet Associate)

The full five-day associate course behind exam 200-901: Python, APIs, infrastructure as code, taught to certification depth. Choose DEVASC when the team has decided to build automation skills seriously; CSAU is the two-day orientation that helps a team decide.

Cisco ENAUI (Enterprise Automation)

The implementation-level course: automating IOS XE, Catalyst Center and SD-WAN through their APIs, hands-on. Choose ENAUI for engineers who already script and need to automate a real enterprise estate; CSAU for those still at the starting line.

A custom intensive

An automation kickoff built around your own network — your platforms, your most repetitive changes, your tooling constraints — often lands better than a generic introduction. A custom 2–3 day program on our materials does exactly that.

Need only part of CSAU?

If your team needs a subset of this program — or a mix of topics from several courses — we build a custom 2–4 day intensive on our own materials, shaped by your infrastructure. One custom program typically replaces 2–3 catalog courses.

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CSAU: frequently asked questions

Do participants need to know how to code?

No. CSAU assumes networking knowledge, not programming. Python appears from the first day, but as something to read, run and modify — not write from scratch. Engineers leave able to use automation tools and judge them, which is the realistic two-day outcome.

Does CSAU prepare for a certification exam?

No exam maps to CSAU — it is deliberately an orientation course. Teams that want certification continue to DEVASC (exam 200-901) for the DevNet Associate track. CSAU makes that decision cheaper: two days instead of five to find out who wants more.

Is two days enough to learn network automation?

Enough to stop being intimidated by it — which is the actual goal. Participants run Python against devices, call APIs, and see controllers and configuration management working. Building production automation takes longer; knowing what to build, and whether your team wants to, takes two days.

Is the course useful for teams on non-Cisco networks?

Largely yes. The concepts — APIs, structured data, model-driven programmability, configuration management — are vendor-neutral, though labs and examples run on Cisco platforms. Mostly-Cisco estates get the most direct value; mixed estates still take away the working method and the vocabulary.

How do we organize CSAU training?

Fill in the request form on this page — team size, format, timing. Within 5 business days you receive 2–3 options from authorized partners with vetted instructors, dates and prices below public lists.

Request 2–3 CSAU training options — quotes within 5 business days

No commitment — describe the task and we come back with concrete options, dates and prices.

Cisco, CSAU and course names are trademarks of their respective owners. Uptime Skills is an independent training operator and is not affiliated with or endorsed byCisco. Official courses are delivered by authorized training partners.