AI Just Took Over My Cisco Network (NSO + Claude + Docker + Grafana + Tiaga)
Network engineers talk about automation constantly — but very few actually show what a real, end-to-end automation stack looks like. In this video I walk through the full network automation lab I built running entirely in Docker.
This lab simulates a multi-vendor enterprise network and demonstrates how modern network engineering is moving beyond manual CLI configuration into API-driven automation, observability, and AI-assisted operations.
Inside the lab:
Cisco NSO orchestrating the entire network
8 simulated devices using NSO Netsim
Multi-vendor environment: Cisco IOS, Cisco IOS-XR, and Juniper Junos
Docker-based infrastructure for repeatable lab environments
Taiga ticketing system for change management workflow
Prometheus + Grafana dashboards monitoring NSO health and device sync
Claude AI integration allowing network changes using plain English
RESTCONF APIs for automation and verification
Rollback safety nets for safe configuration changes
During the demo you’ll see:
• The full containerized automation stack
• How Cisco NSO manages multi-vendor devices
• A live VLAN deployment across four switches in seconds
• Automated configuration verification and rollback tracking
• Real monitoring dashboards for network automation systems
• An AI assistant interacting directly with NSO APIs
Everything you see is running on a single home lab server using open tools and the Cisco NSO DevNet evaluation license.
This is the type of architecture used by service providers, large enterprises, and network automation teams managing thousands of devices.
If you’re a network engineer learning automation, this series will cover:
Cisco NSO fundamentals
Network service modeling
Automation workflows
Containerized lab environments
Observability for network automation
AI-assisted network operations
Tech Stack
Cisco NSO
Docker
NSO Netsim
Prometheus
Grafana
Taiga
RESTCONF APIs
Claude AI / MCP integration
Future videos will include
Building NSO service packages
CI/CD pipelines for network automation
OSPF and BGP automation
Compliance checks and drift detection
AI-driven network operations workflows
https://primenetwork.me/docs
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🔴 IMPORTANT LINKS — START HERE
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📅 Book a Free Automation Strategy Call (limited slots):
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📊 Take the FREE Autonomous NOC Maturity Assessment (find out what level your NOC is at):
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📘 Get My Book — From McDonald's to Financial Freedom:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRWV4T64
🌐 Prime Automation Solutions:
https://primeautomationsolutions.com
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👋 ABOUT THIS CHANNEL
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I'm Erik Anderson — Principal Network Automation Engineer actively building Autonomous NOC systems at a satellite internet company competing with Starlink.
On this channel I document everything I know about:
→ Cisco NSO + Ansible for real production environments
→ AI agent workflows for network operations
→ Building Autonomous NOC / AIOps architecture from scratch
→ Translating automation into business ROI your leadership will approve
→ The entrepreneurship journey behind it all
This isn't theory. Everything I teach I'm building right now at scale.
New videos every week. Subscribe so you don't miss them.
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🤝 WORK WITH ME
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I take on a small number of consulting engagements each quarter helping network teams build Autonomous NOC operations using Cisco NSO, Ansible, and AI agent frameworks.
If you want to eliminate manual network changes, build closed-loop automation, or need help making the business case to leadership — let's talk.
📅 Book a free 30-minute strategy call: https://calendly.com/primeportfolio/1...