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Hank Preston

Principal Engineer

Learning and Certifications

Hank’s two passions are technology and theatre. Bringing them together drives him towards a borderline obsession on creating entertaining presentations, labs and demonstrations that breakdown complex technology topics for audiences. After spending several years working on and behind the scenes on stage productions, what started as a hobby turned to a profession when Hank entered the IT industry with a focus on web and database development and engineering.

Drifting from development into infrastructure engineering brought him to Cisco as a Systems Engineer, focusing on Data Center and Cloud Architecture for large enterprise customers.

And after six years as an SE, Hank has taken up the mantle of a Developer Evangelist with DevNet where he can focus full time on reminding everyone that technology can and should be fun to work with.

Hank holds a Master Degree in Information Systems as well as several certifications including CCIE R/S 38336 from Cisco.

Find Hank at:

twitter: @hfpreston

GitHub: http://github.com/hpreston

Articles

April 8, 2022

LEARNING

Learning the Skills to Build the Learning Platform

You know that movie about dreaming within a dream within another dream? Well, that kind of inception world is what I think about whenever I take one of the Cisco Learning Courses to learn something I need to know to work on the platform that hosts those same courses. It blows my mind every time! […]

March 11, 2022

28

LEARNING

5 Reasons a Raspberry Pi Belongs in Your Network Lab

It's not just for Pi Day! From Pi-powered network services to a network sensor/traffic analysis device or home lab management station, the Raspberry Pi is a flexible workhorse that should be the next worthy addition to your lab.

September 20, 2021

DEVELOPER

Learn to Build a Troubleshooting Assistant at DevNet Create

Want to explore new ways to apply network automation skills to real world network operations and engineering activities? Register to attend Hank's session at DevNet Create.

May 27, 2021

6

DEVELOPER

Applying DevNet Associate Skills to Real World Tasks – June Webinars

Are you a network engineer turning network automation engineer? Join the DevNet Associate Prep Program for completely FREE access to materials and webinars to take your skills to the next level.

May 6, 2021

DEVELOPER

How to Deal with Multiple Keys in a RESTCONF URL

Do you have a question about network programming or NetDevOps? Why not "Ask Hank?" In this blog, let's try to demystify RESTCONF use for everyone.

April 22, 2021

2

DEVELOPER

NetBox as Inventory Source of Truth for Cisco NSO

Both Cisco NSO and NetBox offer robust APIs and well formatted data models. See how to keep the device inventory in your Cisco NSO servers accurate based on your NetBox based Source of Truth.

February 26, 2021

2

DEVELOPER

How can I automate device configurations using CML2?

Cisco Modeling Labs is a great tool for learning all aspects of networking, including automation. Hank discusses options for making the setup and management of your lab topology fast, easy, and automated.

January 19, 2021

1

DEVELOPER

Read-Only YANG Leaves: Where Does the Data Come From?

DevNet's Hank Preston digs into another user's question related to model driven programmability. Do you have a question about network automation? You can Ask Hank!

January 11, 2021

2

DEVELOPER

Native, IETF, OpenConfig… Why so many YANG models?

Which YANG model to use for your project? Ask Hank takes a look at your options, and how model driven programmability is a foundational technology for the automation engineer.