The Everything Feed - All Packet Pushers Pods NAN104: The Art and Science of Writing a Network Automation Book
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Oct 29, 2025 In this podcast, Jeff Kala, Principal Architect at Network2Code and co-author of the 'Network Automation Cookbook, 2nd Edition,' shares his journey from networking to automation author. He highlights his visual learning style and how it shaped his writing process. The discussion dives into the book's structure, covering Ansible basics to advanced tooling and practical use cases. Jeff also addresses when to transition from Ansible to custom code and emphasizes essential skills for modern network engineers, predicting a continued focus on configuration management.
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From Technician To Automation Advocate
- Jeff started as a network technician at Verizon at age 19 and progressed into core networking roles quickly.
- Repetitive overnight tasks drove him to learn scripting and begin automating his work.
Learning Style Shaped By Experience
- Jeff is primarily a visual learner who follows videos first, then reads documentation for deeper understanding.
- His wife suggested he might be dyslexic, which re-framed how he approaches reading and learning.
Pushed Into Authorship By A Mentor
- Christian Nadele pushed Jeff to co-author the Network Automation Cookbook 2nd Edition despite Jeff's fear of writing.
- Jeff accepted the challenge to showcase Ansible as an accessible path into network automation.
