2nd Edition · Fully rewritten

Run a modern network management platform — entirely on open source.

From source of truth to full observability, on your own infrastructure, on your own terms. Thirteen hands-on chapters, one coherent stack.

Get the book → See what you'll build
Digital $17.99 · Print $39.99 · Bundle $49.99 — available now
SECOND EDITION Open Source Network Management A hands-on guide to a modern, open source management stack. Josh VanDeraa Network · Source of Truth · Secrets Management Automation · Metrics · Logs · Visualization & Alerting
The architecture

What you'll build

One coherent platform, assembled layer by layer — each chapter adds a capability, and they all run together by the end. No islands, no point solutions.

Visualization & AlertingDashboards and unified alerting for metrics and logsGrafana
LogsSyslog from the network, queried with LogsQLVictoriaLogs
MetricsSNMP + gNMI collection into long-term storageTelegraf · VictoriaMetrics
AutomationConfig generation & golden-config complianceAnsible · Golden Config
Source of TruthNetwork inventory, the system of recordNautobot
Secrets ManagementCredentials out of files, into a vaultHashiCorp Vault
NetworkA real lab topology to manageContainerlab · cEOS · SR Linux
13 chapters · complete

What's inside

Every chapter is hands-on: real commands, real output, a real lab you keep running from chapter 3 onward.

01Introduction✓
02Docker & Compose✓
03Containerlab✓
04Source of Truth (Nautobot)✓
05Golden Config✓
06Secrets Management✓
07Metrics Gathering✓
08Metrics Storage✓
09Log Management✓
10Visualization & Alerting✓
11Reverse Proxy✓
12Putting It Together✓
13Summary & Next Steps✓
+Appendices & companion lab files✓

Want a preview? Read the full Chapter 1 and the complete table of contents before you buy.

Look inside (PDF) →
Who it's for

Built for engineers who run networks

Network engineers

Stop managing infrastructure by hand. Drive monitoring and config from a source of truth.

Teams evaluating OSS

A working, opinionated alternative to commercial NMS platforms — end to end.

1st-edition readers

The fully modernized stack: Nautobot 3.x, VictoriaMetrics, VictoriaLogs, Golden Config.

Pricing

Get the book

The digital edition is available now and delivered instantly. Buy it here and updates are included — as the tools evolve and chapters are revised, you'll get every digital release of the Second Edition at no extra cost. Print and the bundle are open for pre-order — print copies ship in August 2026.

Digital

$17.99
  • PDF + EPUB
  • Every 2nd Edition digital release included, free
  • Companion lab files
Buy digital
Delivered instantly by email
Best value

Digital + Print

$49.99
  • Everything in digital
  • Paperback edition
  • For the shelf and the screen
Pre-order the bundle
Digital delivered instantly · print ships August 2026

Print

$39.99
  • Paperback, 7×10
  • Full color interior
  • The cover you see up top
Pre-order print
Ships August 2026
Stay in the loop

Updates & alternative chapters

This book is actively maintained. If you bought the digital edition here, you already own every digital release within the Second Edition — revised chapters ship to you as the tools evolve. The companion site also hosts alternative chapters (swap a different secrets manager, metrics backend, or source of truth into the same architecture) and the Clabernetes guide. Drop your email and I'll keep you posted when new releases land.

Author

About Josh

Josh VanDeraa is Services Director at Network to Code and author of multiple books on network automation and open source network management. He writes at josh-v.com.