Cattledog Method - A Compromise for CLIs in the Automation and Platform Era

Learn about the Cattledog Method, a compromise approach that bridges the gap between traditional CLI interfaces and modern automation platforms in this lightning talk from NANOG. Discover how network operators can maintain their preferred command-line workflows while leveraging the benefits of platform engineering and network automation. Explore the advantages of CLI interfaces that have been refined over time and understand the challenges that GUI-based tools and platforms create for operators in terms of workflow and maintenance. Examine how emerging network APIs, useful frameworks, and graph databases create opportunities to combine the familiarity of CLI clients with the scalability of automated network management. Gain insights from Mark Prosser, a network engineer with nearly 15 years of experience in operations and design across telco and datacenter environments, who advocates for advancing automation in ways that benefit operators across organizations of all sizes.