350-901: Developing Applications using Cisco Core Platforms and APIs (DEVCOR) certification video training course by prepaway along with practice test questions and answers, study guide and exam dumps provides the ultimate training package to help you pass.

Cisco DevNet Professional 350-901 DEVCOR Exam Preparation Guide

Course Overview

The Cisco Certified DevNet Professional 350-901 DEVCOR Exam is designed for professionals who want to validate their skills in software development, automation, and network programmability within Cisco environments. This course offers a comprehensive preparation guide, focusing on core development concepts, Cisco platforms and APIs, application deployment, and infrastructure automation.

This training equips candidates with the knowledge needed to design, develop, and maintain applications built on Cisco platforms. It covers the necessary programming languages, tools, and workflows used to automate network infrastructure and services. By the end of this course, learners will be ready to take the DEVCOR exam with confidence.

Course Modules

This course is structured into several detailed modules that systematically cover the exam objectives. Each module builds on previous concepts, ensuring a thorough understanding of the material.

Module 1: Software Development and Design

In this module, learners explore fundamental software development concepts. Topics include programming languages such as Python, software development methodologies, version control using Git, and debugging techniques. Understanding these basics is crucial for developing scalable and efficient network applications.

Module 2: Cisco Platforms and APIs

This section focuses on Cisco’s wide range of platforms and their APIs. Students will learn how to interact with Cisco devices programmatically. Topics include REST APIs, NETCONF, RESTCONF, and gNMI, and how to use tools like Postman and Swagger for API testing and development.

Module 3: Application Deployment and Security

Deployment strategies and application security are critical parts of the DevNet professional’s role. This module covers containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, and best practices for securing applications and APIs.

Module 4: Infrastructure and Automation

Automation is at the heart of network programmability. This module teaches infrastructure as code (IaC) concepts, tools like Ansible, Terraform, and Puppet, and how to automate network tasks. It also covers Cisco DNA Center, SD-WAN, and how to automate Cisco network devices.

Module 5: Network Fundamentals and Security

A solid grasp of network fundamentals is necessary for developing network applications. This module reviews network protocols, models, and security practices. Topics include IP addressing, routing, switching, and securing network devices and data.

Course Requirements

Before starting this course, learners should have a basic understanding of networking concepts and familiarity with at least one programming language, preferably Python. Experience with Linux command-line interfaces and software development workflows is helpful.

Candidates should be comfortable with general network architecture and protocols. Some exposure to APIs, automation tools, and version control systems will make the course material easier to grasp.

Course Description

This course is an intensive preparation program tailored to the Cisco Certified DevNet Professional 350-901 DEVCOR exam. It blends theoretical knowledge with practical labs and real-world scenarios. The curriculum is aligned with Cisco’s official exam topics to ensure relevance and comprehensiveness.

Throughout the course, learners will engage with hands-on exercises to reinforce concepts. These include coding challenges, API interactions, and automation workflows. The course also integrates troubleshooting and debugging sessions to develop problem-solving skills.

The focus is on producing candidates who not only pass the exam but also can apply their skills in professional environments. Emphasis is placed on automation, programmability, and software lifecycle management within Cisco networking contexts.

Who This Course Is For

This course targets network engineers, software developers, system administrators, and IT professionals aiming to advance their careers in network automation and programmability. It is ideal for individuals seeking to validate their skills through the Cisco DevNet Professional certification.

Those interested in bridging the gap between software development and network operations will benefit significantly. It is also suitable for professionals involved in DevOps practices within network environments.

If you are looking to expand your expertise in automating Cisco infrastructure, developing network applications, and integrating network services with software systems, this course is designed for you.

The Importance of Software Development in Network Automation

Software development is an essential skill for professionals aiming to automate and program modern networks. The Cisco DevNet Professional exam evaluates a candidate’s ability to write code that interacts with network devices and platforms. Through software development, network engineers can automate routine tasks, reduce manual errors, and enable dynamic, scalable network operations. As the network landscape evolves towards software-defined infrastructure, knowledge of programming and software design is indispensable.

Python as the Language of Choice for Network Programmability

Python is the predominant programming language within Cisco’s DevNet ecosystem. Its readability and simplicity make it ideal for rapid development and automation of network tasks. Python supports extensive libraries and modules that facilitate SSH connectivity, API interaction, data parsing, and more. Developing fluency in Python syntax, data structures, and control flow is a foundational step for all aspiring network automation engineers.

Understanding Python Syntax and Data Types

Python employs indentation to define code blocks instead of braces, emphasizing code readability. Variables in Python are dynamically typed, which means they can hold values of any data type without explicit declarations. Core data types include integers, floating-point numbers, strings, and booleans. Containers such as lists, dictionaries, tuples, and sets enable efficient organization of complex data sets. Lists are ordered and mutable, useful for storing sequences. Dictionaries store key-value pairs and are particularly effective for representing device configurations. Tuples are immutable sequences, while sets contain unique elements, useful for eliminating duplicates.

Control Flow Constructs in Python

Control flow structures guide the execution of code based on conditions or repetitive tasks. Conditional statements like if, elif, and else check for specific states and execute corresponding code blocks. Looping constructs such as for and while allow iteration over collections or continuous execution until conditions change. Effective use of control flow is critical for dynamic automation scripts that respond intelligently to network states or user inputs.

Functions and Modular Programming

Functions are reusable blocks of code designed to perform specific tasks. They improve readability and maintainability by encapsulating functionality into logical units. Functions may accept parameters and return values, enabling flexible and modular programming. Designing small, focused functions adhering to the single-responsibility principle simplifies testing and debugging.

Object-Oriented Programming Concepts in Network Automation

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) organizes software design around objects representing entities like network devices or interfaces. Classes define blueprints containing attributes (data) and methods (functions). Object instances maintain state and behavior. Key OOP principles include encapsulation, which protects data by restricting access; inheritance, which promotes code reuse by deriving subclasses; and polymorphism, which allows methods to behave differently based on context. OOP facilitates the development of scalable and extensible automation solutions.

Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) in Network Automation Projects

The Software Development Lifecycle provides a structured approach to developing automation tools. It encompasses requirement gathering, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Requirement analysis aligns automation efforts with organizational goals. Design involves architectural planning of scripts or applications. Implementation is the coding phase following best practices. Testing ensures correctness through unit, integration, and system tests. Deployment moves code into production environments safely, often automated via CI/CD pipelines. Maintenance involves ongoing monitoring, bug fixes, and enhancements.

Agile Methodology and Its Benefits for DevNet Projects

Agile development emphasizes iterative progress with continuous feedback, making it well-suited for network automation projects where requirements may evolve rapidly. Agile promotes collaboration, adaptability, and frequent releases, helping teams deliver valuable automation functionality incrementally.

Version Control with Git for Collaborative Development

Git is a distributed version control system that tracks code changes, supports branching for parallel work, and facilitates merging of contributions. Basic Git operations include cloning repositories, staging changes, committing snapshots, and pushing updates to remote servers. Branching allows isolated development of features or fixes, while merging integrates these changes back into the main codebase. Remote platforms such as GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket enable collaborative workflows with pull requests, reviews, and issue tracking.

Debugging Techniques and Tools

Debugging is essential to identify and resolve errors or unexpected behaviors in automation code. Simple techniques include adding print statements to inspect variables or code flow. Advanced methods involve using interactive debuggers like Python’s pdb module, which supports stepwise execution, breakpoints, and variable inspection. Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) like Visual Studio Code or PyCharm provide graphical debugging capabilities. Comprehensive logging is crucial for diagnosing issues, recording runtime events, and post-mortem analysis. The Python logging module allows developers to capture messages at various severity levels such as info, warning, and error.

Error Handling and Exception Management

Proper error handling prevents automation scripts from failing abruptly. Python’s try-except blocks catch exceptions and allow developers to define recovery or alternative actions. Handling exceptions such as network timeouts, authentication failures, or malformed data gracefully improves script resilience. Custom exception classes provide fine-grained control for domain-specific error conditions, making code easier to maintain and extend.

Key Python Libraries for Network Automation

Several Python libraries simplify network automation by abstracting complex device interactions: Netmiko provides an easy-to-use interface for SSH connections to a wide range of network devices, supporting command execution and retrieval of outputs. Paramiko offers a low-level SSH protocol implementation, allowing customized remote operations including command execution and secure file transfers. Nornir is a robust automation framework designed for parallel task execution across multi-vendor inventories. It supports extensible plugins and concurrency management, enabling scalable automation workflows.

Interacting with Network APIs

Modern network automation depends heavily on APIs to access and manipulate network device configurations and state. RESTful APIs are widely used, employing standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations. Understanding how to construct HTTP requests, handle responses, and parse JSON or XML payloads is essential. Tools like Postman and Swagger facilitate API exploration, testing, and documentation, allowing developers to experiment with endpoints interactively.

Programmability Protocols and Data Models

Network devices support several programmability protocols enabling structured configuration and telemetry: NETCONF is an XML-based protocol operating over SSH that provides capabilities for configuration and state retrieval. RESTCONF exposes device resources using RESTful principles combined with YANG data models, enabling HTTP-based access. gNMI leverages gRPC for streaming telemetry and configuration management, providing efficient and secure interactions. YANG is a modeling language defining the schema for device data, facilitating consistent and vendor-agnostic management.

Implementing Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)

CI/CD pipelines automate testing, validation, and deployment of automation code, enhancing development speed and quality. Tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, and CircleCI integrate with version control to trigger pipelines on code changes. Pipelines may include linting to enforce coding standards, unit and integration tests to verify correctness, and deployment scripts to release automation tools into production environments. CI/CD practices reduce manual errors, accelerate delivery, and enable frequent updates.

Containerization and Orchestration Technologies

Containerization packages applications and their dependencies into lightweight, portable units. Docker is the leading container platform, allowing consistent environments across development, testing, and production. Kubernetes orchestrates container clusters, managing deployment, scaling, and health of containerized applications. These technologies support modern DevOps workflows, enabling flexible and scalable deployment of network automation tools.

Security Best Practices in Network Automation

Security must be integrated throughout the development and deployment of automation solutions. Credentials such as passwords and API tokens should never be hardcoded but stored securely using vaults or environment variables. API access must be secured with authentication mechanisms like OAuth or mutual TLS. Network devices should enforce strict access controls, and audit logs should capture automation activities to detect anomalies. Secure coding practices and regular security reviews mitigate risks and protect network infrastructure.

Summary of Software Development and Design for DevNet Professionals

This section explored the critical software development skills required for Cisco DevNet professionals preparing for the 350-901 DEVCOR exam. Topics covered included foundational Python programming concepts, object-oriented programming, the software development lifecycle, version control with Git, debugging and error handling, essential automation libraries, API interactions, network programmability protocols, CI/CD methodologies, containerization, and security considerations. These competencies form the foundation for designing, building, testing, deploying, and maintaining robust network automation solutions.

Overview of Cisco Platforms for Network Automation

Cisco offers multiple platforms that support programmability and automation, essential knowledge for the DEVCOR exam and real-world DevNet work. These platforms provide programmable interfaces to control and monitor network devices, services, and infrastructure. Understanding their architecture, APIs, and supported protocols allows DevNet professionals to build effective automation solutions.

Cisco DNA Center – The Network Automation Hub

Cisco DNA Center (DNAC) is Cisco’s flagship intent-based networking platform. It provides centralized management and automation of enterprise networks through a graphical user interface and APIs. DNAC supports automated provisioning, assurance, and policy enforcement.

DNAC exposes REST APIs that allow programmatic access to network inventory, device configuration, software image management, and analytics data. Using these APIs, developers can create custom workflows that integrate with other IT systems or automate complex network tasks.

Cisco SD-WAN and vManage APIs

Cisco Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) simplifies branch connectivity by decoupling control and data planes. The vManage controller manages SD-WAN devices and policies. vManage provides a comprehensive REST API for operations such as device onboarding, configuration changes, and status monitoring.

Automation through vManage APIs enables rapid deployment of WAN policies, reducing manual intervention and accelerating branch provisioning.

Cisco Meraki Cloud Managed Platform

Cisco Meraki offers cloud-managed network devices including switches, wireless access points, and security appliances. The Meraki Dashboard provides REST APIs to interact with devices and network settings remotely.

Meraki’s API enables automation of network configuration, client monitoring, and security policies. Because the Meraki platform is cloud-based, developers can integrate network automation directly with cloud services and orchestration tools.

Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) and ACI

Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) is Cisco’s data center networking solution, driven by policy and automation. The APIC is the centralized controller for ACI fabric and exposes REST APIs to manage endpoints, contracts, tenants, and other policy objects.

The ACI model is based on a hierarchical object structure, with YANG models defining data. Automating ACI workflows requires understanding APIC’s API design and leveraging tools like Python requests or the Cisco ACI SDK.

Cisco UCS Manager and Programmability

Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) manages data center compute infrastructure. UCS Manager exposes a management API called XML API or the newer REST API for automating server provisioning, firmware upgrades, and health monitoring.

Automating UCS through scripts enables faster deployment of compute resources aligned with network automation workflows.

Cisco Collaboration APIs

Cisco Collaboration platforms like Webex provide APIs for messaging, meetings, and calling services. The Webex REST APIs allow developers to integrate communication functions into custom applications, automate meeting scheduling, or create bots for collaboration.

Understanding collaboration APIs broadens a DevNet professional’s capability beyond infrastructure into unified communications automation.

Working with Cisco APIs – Authentication and Access

Most Cisco APIs require authentication mechanisms to secure access. Common methods include Basic Auth, OAuth 2.0, API keys, or token-based authentication. Understanding how to obtain, refresh, and securely store credentials is vital.

Secure API usage also involves rate limiting, error handling for authentication failures, and adherence to best practices for confidentiality and integrity.

API Testing and Documentation Tools

Effective use of Cisco APIs benefits from tools that simplify exploration and testing. Postman is widely used for manual API testing, enabling request creation, environment variable management, and automated test scripts. Swagger UI or OpenAPI specifications provide interactive documentation, helping developers understand API endpoints, parameters, and responses.

These tools accelerate development and troubleshooting during automation projects.

Building Automation Workflows with Cisco Platforms

Automation workflows orchestrate multiple steps and API calls to achieve complex tasks such as network provisioning, compliance validation, or incident response. Workflows can be implemented as Python scripts, REST API calls chained together, or through platforms like Cisco DNA Center’s Workflow Automation.

Workflow design includes defining triggers, conditional logic, error recovery, and integration points with external systems like ticketing or monitoring tools.

Using SDKs and Libraries for Cisco Automation

Cisco provides SDKs in Python and other languages that abstract direct REST API calls into easier-to-use functions and classes. Examples include the Cisco DNA Center Python SDK, Cisco ACI SDK, and Meraki Dashboard API Python library.

SDKs simplify authentication, data parsing, and error handling, enabling faster development and more maintainable code.

Automating Network Device Configuration

Direct device configuration remains a core automation task. Technologies like NETCONF and RESTCONF enable structured access to device configuration and state. Tools like Ansible and Python libraries facilitate applying configuration templates, pushing changes, and verifying compliance.

Automating device configuration reduces manual errors, improves consistency, and accelerates deployment of network services.

Network Telemetry and Monitoring Automation

Modern networks generate telemetry data for performance and fault management. Streaming telemetry uses protocols like gNMI and RESTCONF to provide real-time data from devices. Automation scripts can subscribe to telemetry streams, parse the data, and trigger alerts or remediation workflows.

Integrating telemetry with analytics platforms allows proactive network operations, detecting and resolving issues before they impact users.

Integrating Network Automation with IT Systems

Effective network automation does not operate in isolation. Integration with IT service management (ITSM), security information and event management (SIEM), and orchestration platforms is essential.

APIs enable automation workflows to create tickets, update asset inventories, or trigger security responses. This holistic approach aligns network automation with broader IT operations and business processes.

Practical Considerations for Automation Projects

Successful automation requires attention to testing environments, rollback mechanisms, documentation, and stakeholder communication. Developers should use lab environments or sandboxes to validate automation before production deployment.

Rollback strategies help revert changes safely if automation introduces issues. Clear documentation and collaboration ensure automation aligns with operational policies and team workflows.

Preparing for Practical Exam Scenarios

The DEVCOR exam includes hands-on questions that test candidates’ ability to interact with Cisco platforms programmatically. Familiarity with API calls, JSON payload construction, authentication, and basic scripting is essential.

Practice building small automation scripts using Cisco sandbox environments, exploring API documentation, and troubleshooting common errors.

This section provided a comprehensive overview of Cisco’s key automation platforms and APIs. It covered Cisco DNA Center, SD-WAN vManage, Meraki, ACI, UCS Manager, and collaboration APIs. The discussion included authentication, API testing tools, automation workflow design, SDK usage, device configuration automation, telemetry, and IT integration. Mastery of these topics prepares candidates to develop robust automation solutions aligned with Cisco technologies and prepares them for exam scenarios requiring practical API usage.

Prepaway's 350-901: Developing Applications using Cisco Core Platforms and APIs (DEVCOR) video training course for passing certification exams is the only solution which you need.