CiscoProfessionalOn requestUpdated: July 2026

DCNAUTO Training for Your Team — Automating Cisco Data Center Networking Solutions

Data center networks have quietly crossed the line where manual operation stops scaling: fabrics with hundreds of switches, ACI policy trees deep enough to get lost in, and change windows that cannot fit the change backlog. The teams coping are the ones treating the network as code — versioned, reviewed, tested, deployed. DCNAUTO (Automating Cisco Data Center Networking Solutions) is the course that builds that capability on the Cisco data center stack.

The program covers NX-OS programmability, ACI automation through its API, infrastructure-as-code tooling, controller-level operations and the telemetry and validation practices that make automated change safer than manual change ever was. It also prepares the automation concentration on the CCNP Data Center certification track, alongside the DCCOR core. The skills compound quickly in 2026, when AI-cluster buildouts force fabric changes at a pace no CLI workflow survives.

As a training operator, we arrange delivery through authorized partners with instructors who automate production fabrics — live online in your time zone, on site, or as a private group aligned to your toolchain.

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Who this course is for

Data center network engineers automating their own daily work
NetDevOps and platform teams bringing fabric changes under version control
ACI and NX-OS specialists whose estates outgrew manual change windows
Engineers pursuing the automation concentration on the CCNP Data Center 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.

From CLI muscle memory to code: the automation toolchain for data center networks
NX-OS programmability — APIs and on-box options that beat screen-scraping every time
Automating ACI through its API: the policy model as code, not clicks
Infrastructure-as-code with the standard tooling: playbooks, plans and repeatable fabric changes
Controller and dashboard APIs for fleet-wide operations instead of per-switch sessions
Telemetry and validation: pipelines that catch a bad change before the fabric does

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Key facts

Duration	On request
Level	Professional
Prerequisites	Data center networking knowledge at roughly DCCOR level and basic Python familiarity
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.

DCNAUTO 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 DCACI (ACI Implementation)

The ACI implementation course (exam 300-620), which builds the policy-model understanding automation code manipulates. Choose DCACI first if ACI itself is still new; DCNAUTO assumes platform knowledge and teaches the programmatic layer on top.

Cisco DCAI (Data Center AI Infrastructure)

The AI infrastructure course — GPU fabrics and the systems around them. The pairing is deliberate: AI clusters get rebuilt and rescaled constantly, which is precisely the operational load automation exists to absorb. Many teams book the two together.

A custom intensive

Already automating, but inconsistently? A custom 2–4 day program on our materials can target your exact stack — your fabric type, your CI tooling, your change process — and turn scattered scripts into an operated pipeline.

Need only part of DCNAUTO?

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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DCNAUTO: frequently asked questions

How much programming background is required?

Basic Python literacy — reading and modifying scripts comfortably — plus willingness to live in an editor for the week. The course teaches automation patterns and platform APIs, not programming from scratch; engineers with zero coding exposure should spend a few evenings on Python basics first.

Does DCNAUTO count toward CCNP Data Center?

It prepares the automation concentration exam of the CCNP Data Center track, which pairs with the 350-601 core exam (the DCCOR course) to complete the certification. Verify the current exam number when scheduling — Cisco has refreshed its automation exam lineup — and we confirm it in the proposal.

Which platforms does the automation cover?

The current Cisco data center stack: NX-OS programmability, the ACI API, and controller-level automation via dashboard APIs, driven through Python and standard infrastructure-as-code tooling. The methods transfer — a team automating only NX-OS today still uses the same patterns when ACI arrives.

Is this useful if we already use Ansible for servers?

Very — the tooling will feel familiar, and the course adds the network-specific layer: how fabric APIs differ from host management, how to validate changes against a live control plane, and how to structure network code so a bad merge does not become a bad outage.

How do we organize DCNAUTO 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 DCNAUTO training options — quotes within 5 business days

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

Cisco, DCNAUTO 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.