Installing Python 3

Much of the code we provide here uses Jupyter notebook, pandas/numpy, requests library, and other standard Python libraries. There are some Cisco-provided Python libraries for interacting with the ACI infrastructure, but some require an older version of Python (2.7). Other libraries may work with Python 3.x, but only provide access to subset of features on the APIC controller. Some of the sample code here may use the Cisco libraries, but we strive to provide sample code to illustrate how to access objects and classes directly when the Cisco library doesn't meet your specific needs.

The Anaconda distribution is an easy way to get started with Python 3, as it includes a number of data analytics and visualization libraries, which will be convenient when generating reports from ACI.

Active State provides a Python distribution for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

macOS users can use Homebrew to install Python3, if preferred.

And of course, you can always download Python directly from the source, as well.

If you aren't sure which Python 3 distribution to install, go with Anaconda. The bundled data analytics libraries are convenient, and the code in this repository were developed using the Anaconda distribution. If you already have Python 3, you just need to [setup your environment](set up virtualenv).