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Programming for Network Engineer

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  • 02-12-2013 9:45pm
    #1
    nellocono
    Registered Users Posts: 419 ✭✭


    This question is aimed at the more experienced network engineers/software engs out there... As a network engineer I personally can see the rise of DevOps role in an organisation becoming increasingly important...Someone who can glue together the whole network from an Sdn point of view...

    http://www.plexxi.com/2013/06/the-death-of-network-engineer-long-live-network-engineers/#sthash.zrozoRBm.w42dEMAH.dpbs

    I have always been interested in software development but never pursued it. Would it be possible for network engs to skill up as a software engineer in light of the Sdn movement?
    And if so which languages do you see as the more important ones?


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    #2
    Cuddlesworth
    Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Cuddlesworth


    I can see it simply being another buzzword thrown out by people.

    While I'm sure there are jobs out there for a cross breed between true engineering and software development, I should know I work beside two of them. The fact is its a description for a job role that large company's are throwing money at now. When the Dell/IBM/HP etc cloud venture fails(which it will), those people will be out of jobs.


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    #3
    moc moc a moc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,299 ✭✭✭moc moc a moc


    It's important to bear in mind that programming is not necessarily the same thing as software development. I've done a fair bit of programming in my time, but I wouldn't have the neck to call myself a software developer, for the same reason as someone who tinkers around with routers occasionally shouldn't call themselves a 'network engineer'.

    This 'DevOps' paradigm definitely leans more towards the 'programmer' description than 'software developer', i.e. you're talking quick-and-dirty apps and scripts that get the job done more efficiently than doing it by hand, rather than a whole product or suite of apps designed as a product. Anyone who's been involved in sysadmin (particularly *nix) for a while has probably already ventured into this territory with bash scripting, perl, python, etc, but even seasoned network engineers would be likely to have dabbled (particularly in the likes of TCL).

    I think it's in the interest of any contemporary network engineer to at very least look at scripting to reduce their workload, and preferably to get an idea of the whole SDN thing. I predict it will be the big thing at very least in the DC/SP arena (big-name 'cloud computing' facilities pretty much run off SDN already).


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    #4
    nellocono
    Registered Users Posts: 419 ✭✭nellocono


    I agree that the SDN 'thing' is going to be big...Just not sure how it will play out yet. In the next few years I imagine it will be mostly consigned to the DC and SP areas as mentioned above. Cisco will certainly defend their market share in the network space and their take on SDN is switches will have an API built into them to allow programmability....

    I still am not sure of the exact use of this. Sure it may be handy to automatically provision things like QOS etc, but how will organisations approach this?

    Will they start to hire in programmers to start writing scripts and have network people interact and implement them?

    Personally, I have little to no programming skills since college and I think to be relevant in IT, you need to have some awareness. I am considering signing up to a Python course


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