Network Automation

What is Network Automation?

Network automation involves automating the various stages of the network lifecycle, including planning, deployment, operations, and optimization, as well as the services provided by the network. Network automation is the combination of software and processes to provision, configure, and manage all physical and virtual devices within an organization's network.

By automating daily tasks and optimizing repetitive processes, network service availability increases, consequently enhancing the overall user experience.

And by implemented across various types of networks, including data centers, service providers, and enterprises, leveraging both hardware and software solutions, it can enhance efficiency, minimize human error, and decrease operating expenses.

Why Automate Your Network?

Network managers face a significant challenge with the escalating costs associated with network operations. Data and device growth continues to outpace IT capacity, yet most network changes are performed manually, resulting in higher operational costs than network costs. Enhanced IT automation, managed both centrally and remotely, is imperative for businesses to remain competitive in the digital era.

• Today, most network changes are done manually.

• Scaling network changes on a massive level can pose challenges.

• Manual changes can lead to configuration errors and inconsistencies in the network.

• Network downtime and the time spent on troubleshooting that cannot be done remotely are harmful.

The Problem Network Automation Solve

Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), cutting-edge network automation solutions now analyze metadata and utilize model-driven network programmability to understand network behaviors. They offer predictive analysis and furnish recommendations to network operations teams. These advanced automation solutions can be configured to autonomously take remedial action, providing closed-loop remediation of network issues, sometimes even preemptively. Through these capabilities, network automation enhances operational efficiency, minimizes the risk of human error, boosts network service availability, and ultimately elevates the customer experience.

Presently, network automation solutions are capable of performing a wide range of tasks, including:

• Network planning and design, e.g.,scenario planning and inventory management.

• Testing devices and verifying configuration.

• Deploying physical devices and services, as well as provisioning virtual devices.

• Real-time collection of network data, covering devices, systems, software, network topology, traffic, and services.

• Employing data analysis, such as AI and ML predictive analytics, to gain insights into both present and future network behavior.

• Ensuring configuration compliance to maintain the intended operation of all network devices and services.

• Managing software updates, including the ability to rollback if necessary.

• Engaging in closed-loop remediation to address network issues promptly, including troubleshooting and rectifying subtle gray failures.

• Offering insights through reports, dashboards, alerts, and alarms.

• Enforcing security compliance measures.

• Continuously monitoring the network and its services to uphold SLAs and ensure customer satisfaction.

Benefits of Network Automation

With the ongoing transition to cloud-based solutions, enterprise clients and their applications are increasingly reliant on network infrastructure for their performance and success. When organizations automate their networks and services, they gain the following advantages:

• Reduce Risk

Human errors can lead to risk. By utilizing low-code and playbook-driven workflows, along with the effectiveness of closed-loop, intent-based operations, typical network problems are addressed automatically. This approach also diminishes the likelihood of human errors associated with manual processes, which may lower the possibility not only of a data breach. While the automation of compliance processes reduces the risk of compliance violations.

• Lower Costs

As automation streamlines the intricacies of your infrastructure, the demand for human labor significantly diminishes in tasks such as configuring, provisioning, and overseeing services and the network. This simplification of operations, along with the consolidation of network services and the optimization of space by cycling underutilized devices off, results in reduced staffing needs for troubleshooting and repairs. Additionally, it leads to considerable energy savings.

• More Reliable Network

As time progresses, an automated network develops predictive capabilities to anticipate and mitigate potential issues. It gathers data from various sources such as routers, switches, event logs, configuration files, and employee devices, enhancing network reliability significantly. This advancement results in overall improvements in performance, efficiency, security, and resource management.

• Greater Insight and Network Control

Automation enhances the agility of IT operations in responding to changes swiftly. It provides greater insight into the network, enabling a precise understanding of network activities and facilitating adaptable control as required.

• Simplify Network Management

Network automation technology allows for more frequent and simplified network management, ensuring optimal operation with minimal downtime. Applying configurations consistently across the infrastructure requires less effort, simplifying the management of employee, network, and IoT devices and facilitating faster and more scalable operations.