The Power of Network Automation: What You Need to Know
Unlock the transformative potential of network automation with a source of truth.
Jason Edelman, founder and CTO of Network to Code, delves into the dynamic landscape of network automation, emphasizing the importance of open-source software.
Network automation is here to stay, and its adoption is only accelerating.
More than 65% of enterprise network activities are still performed manually, according to Gartner. However, in 2023, we saw a small but growing percentage of large enterprises automate more than half of their network activities.
That will only continue to grow as organizations embrace the tools, technologies, and strategies that enable network automation and unlock its full transformative potential:
- Network Source of Truth
- Automation architectures and frameworks
- Open source software
- Artificial intelligence
Source of Truth Reigns Supreme
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to manage the growing number of connected devices and their increasing complexity using legacy practices. Network automation is the key to effectively overcoming these challenges.
But you can’t have successful network automation without accurate, high-quality data that allows users to define actual and intended network states. And many enterprises lack a complete understanding of all the data they need to describe those states. It’s usually contained in multiple spreadsheets, local databases, other systems, and even in-network engineers’ heads. Typically, these systems are not sufficiently documented and don’t communicate with one another.
As more enterprises start their automation journeys and come to this realization, the need for a Source of Truth becomes apparent.
A major benefit of automation is that it increases operational speed. But if you simply move faster without a consistent and reliable source of data and documentation, you’ll create a greater liability for your organization.
In today’s heterogeneous networks, with multiple vendors, domains, and clouds, automation can’t rely on the configurations running on your network devices to be consistently and reliably accurate. And device-level configuration data is seldom maintained outside vendor-specific systems anyway, further complicating the matter.
Network automation needs a Source of Truth that is decoupled from the infrastructure to know what is running on the devices and what should be running on them. A robust Source of Truth will also contain valuable configuration backup and rollback information.
Say Goodbye to Homegrown Tools
More enterprises will realize they can eliminate the technical debt from their custom frameworks and applications by replacing them with flexible, responsive alternatives.
Enterprise networks typically contain devices from multiple vendors, with each requiring different management software, tools, and orchestrations. And no two networks are the same. That’s why homegrown tools were once considered the best way — and sometimes the only way — to address these complex, organization-specific needs.
But today, as ever-changing networks grow increasingly complex and network devices and platforms demand greater interoperability, these tools no longer cut it. They are a limited and inefficient solution to the problem of managing intricate networks with diverse infrastructure components.
In their place, enterprises will turn to Application programming interface(API)-driven solutions that are flexible, scalable, and seamlessly integrated with other platforms and tools. Organizations that rely on these established frameworks can benefit from proven methodologies, best practices, and industry standards to streamline operations, reduce costs, and ensure compatibility with the latest network innovations.
Open Source Is Here to Stay
Modern network teams need the same reusable, scalable, and software-defined automation that DevOps teams have championed over the past decade-plus. Without this approach, referred to as NetDevOps, teams will be forced to rely on manual network management tasks to manage their network operations — wasting valuable resources and time and increasing the risk of outages.
As the networking industry embraces automation and NetDevOps, open-source software will be at the forefront.
Open-source tools help enterprises manage multi-vendor devices, simplify common workflows, and power their automation. Even most commercial products today integrate with open-source platforms and have at least some open-source software under the hood, too. Organizations that use open source maintain flexibility and control of their network operations because they no longer rely on their specific vendors’ feature sets and product roadmaps.
Open source is also responsible for many recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), which leads us to…
See More: The New Network Security Debate – Best of Breed, Portfolio, or Platform
AI Will Power Network Intelligence
AI will continue to disrupt every industry, and networking is no exception. AI and machine learning (ML) are set to play pivotal roles, unprecedentedly driving innovation and efficiency.
Enterprises will increasingly employ AI and ML algorithms to streamline complex network processes, reduce manual tasks, and increase operational efficiency. This saves time and minimizes the risk of human errors in network management.
As the technology continues to evolve, the prevalence and utility of AI-generated code in automating network management will rise. AI-created code can adapt dynamically to evolving network conditions, providing flexibility and responsiveness that traditional approaches struggle to achieve.
For example, AI can generate a good configuration file for a new vendor product based on a known good configuration from an existing device from that same vendor. It can look at the config of a functioning device, compare it to a non-functioning device, and find the errors and other differences that need to be addressed.
Another key benefit of incorporating AI into network intelligence is the ability to use predictive analytics. AI-powered insights could empower teams to proactively address potential problems before they escalate and prevent network outages, ensuring a more reliable network and enhancing the user experience.
These capabilities will also greatly enhance the use of a Source of Truth. By comparing the actual state with the intended state, AI generates valuable insights to optimize procurement processes, improve cost management, and enhance infrastructure lifecycle management. This transformative ability to align network operations with strategic goals represents a major leap forward in network intelligence.
Give Yourself a Competitive Advantage
The synergy between AI and network intelligence will reshape how networks operate and pave the way for a more adaptive and efficient digital infrastructure.
To fully embrace network automation, enterprises should focus on establishing a Source of Truth with reliable, accurate data. Abandoning outdated homegrown tools and favoring flexible, API-driven solutions is crucial as it allows seamless integration and compatibility while retiring technical debt. The use of open-source software remains pivotal, facilitating multi-vendor device management, powering automation workflows for companies, and providing a pathway to success for future network engineers.
The future demands a holistic approach to automation, combining technological advancements and established frameworks for a resilient and agile network infrastructure.
How can you enhance your network’s efficiency? Let us know on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
Image Source: Shutterstock
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