In the rapidly evolving landscape of community management and management, community automation has emerged as a critical strategy for streamlining operations, enhancing efficiency, and improving agility in coping with network infrastructure. Network automation refers to using software program tools, scripts, and technology to automate the configuration, management, tracking, and troubleshooting of network devices and offerings.
What is Network Automation?
Network automation is the method of automating the configuration, management, testing, deployment, and operation of physical and virtual network devices. Network service availability improves when daily network operations and functions are automated, and repetitive processes are regulated and handled efficiently. Network automation is also important in software-defined networking (SDN), network virtualization, and network orchestration, allowing for the automatic deployment of virtual network tenants and tasks like virtual load balancing.
Working on Network Automation
Network Automation can be exercised in multiple ways, and a variety of network elements can also be automated. Between the two extremes of automation software and command line automation, there are most network automation solutions.
Network tasks may be combined by automation software products into ready-made programs that can be chosen, scheduled, and run from the app’s front end. By packaging application programming interfaces (APIs), plug-ins, inventories, and modules into playbooks that users can browse, select, and run to automate network configuration, security, orchestration, provisioning, and more across service providers like AWS, Microsoft, and Cisco, for instance, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform can be used to automate network permissions and networks. Below is the step-by-step process of working on Network Automation:
Types of Network Automation
- Provisioning Automation: This incredible concept involves the automation of adding new devices to a network. With this ingenious innovation, new devices can be seamlessly and expeditiously integrated into the network. All necessary configurations and settings are effortlessly applied without any manual intervention. The magic of provisioning automation does it all, making the process smooth and hassle-free.
- Orchestration automation: Orchestration automation a fascinating concept, revolves around the automation of intricate processes that entail the collaboration of multiple systems and devices. It encompasses the ability to automate complex network operations such as the distribution of applications across numerous servers. This innovative approach expedites the overall procedure while simultaneously diminishing the likelihood of errors occurring.
Purpose of Network Automation
- Streamline Your IT: Virtualize and automate network and security operations to further your digital transformation. Traditionally, these areas of infrastructure have been primarily hardware-based and have required human provisioning and monitoring.
- Quicken the Development of New Apps: Adopt DevOps workflows and new cloud-native apps with networking and security management that readily integrate into developer processes without the need for retooling.
- Perceive Clearly in Any Environment: Trade in your historically constrained perspective of network traffic and security dependencies for worldwide visibility and simple network and security policy troubleshooting.
Tools and Languages Used in Network Automation
- Ansible: Ansible is a effective automation platform that allows users to define infrastructure as code using easy YAML-primarily based playbooks. It is usually used for configuration management, application deployment, and orchestration duties in network automation.
- Cisco DNA Center: Cisco DNA Center is a centralized community management and automation platform that provides rationale-primarily based networking abilties. It allows automated community provisioning, coverage enforcement, and guarantee throughout Cisco community devices.
- Juniper Networks Junos Automation: Juniper Networks offers a suite of automation equipment for coping with Junos devices, including Junos OS scripts, Junos Automation scripts, and Junos PyEZ (Python library for Junos automation).
- JavaScript: JavaScript is regularly used for net-primarily based network automation gear and frameworks, in addition to for developing custom automation scripts and programs that engage with network APIs and internet interfaces.
- Python: Python is one of the most widely used programming languages in network automation because of its simplicity, clarity, and large libraries of network functions
Future of Network Automation
The future of network automation is poised to be transformative, pushed by means of way of technological enhancements, evolving employer desires, and moving agency dispositions. Here are some key tendencies and traits shaping the destiny of community automation:
- AI and ML: Artificial intelligence (AI) and device studying (ML) technology are increasingly more being covered into community automation solutions. These superior algorithms allow predictive analytics, anomaly detection, and clever preference-making, enhancing network optimization, fault detection, and troubleshooting capabilities.
- Intent-Based Networking (IBN): Intent-based networking is gaining traction as a paradigm shift in network automation. IBN makes a speciality of translating immoderate-level commercial corporation reason into automated network configurations, pointers, and movements. By aligning community conduct with enterprise goals, IBN streamlines operations, improves agility, and decreases guide configuration errors.
- Zero Trust Security: With the upward thrust of cyber threats and security breaches, Zero Trust Security principles are getting essential to community automation techniques. Zero Trust architectures put in force strict get right of entry to controls, authentication, and encryption mechanisms, making sure that only authorized customers and devices can get admission to network assets, regardless of their place.
- Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV): SDN and NFV technologies retain to reshape community architectures, permitting dynamic provisioning, virtualization, and automation of community offerings. These programmable and software-driven methods enhance flexibility, scalability, and agility in deploying and coping with network infrastructure.
Advantages of Network Automation
These are the advantages of automating the network and services :
- Operational efficiency is considerably increased: This happens when network tasks are automated since they can be completed in a fraction of the time it would take to accomplish them manually.
- Reduced possibility of mistakes: Because complicated network processes are no longer influenced by human interaction, mistakes brought on by carelessness and supervision are less likely to occur.
- Increased Network Resiliency: Businesses are able to offer and deliver high-quality services with more consistency across branches and regions by doing away with the requirement for a human interruption in the event of an occurrence.
- Network downtime is decreased: This happens as a result of the absence of human error, allowing businesses to provide high-quality services consistently across all branches and regions. For instance, ServiceNow from Juniper Networks is a remote, automatic troubleshooting client that enables Juniper to swiftly and proactively identify any issues in a customer’s network before they are even aware of them.
- Increase strategic workforce: Businesses may become more productive by automating routine processes that are prone to mistakes, which stimulates innovation and business benefits. As a result, the current workforce has access to new employment prospects.
- Increased network control and perspective: Automation makes IT operations more adaptable to change through analytics. With the capacity to regulate and adjust as necessary, you obtain more network visibility and a clear understanding of what is occurring there.
Disadvantages of Network Automation
- Losing the dominance of technology: The notion that automated procedures would overlook something is one factor that might make network automation a source of worry. Another is that machines will take the place of human workers, even though, without automation, mistakes are more likely to happen. Additionally, the requirement for human employees need not be eliminated by automation. Human intelligence will always be required, and automation increases efficiency.
- Complexity in modern networks: These days, the networks are intricate. The equipment required to monitor and maintain them is also highly composite. All of this intricacy also compartmentalizes data into distinct silos. Setting up network automation might seem like a significant investment when these silos are broken down.
- Customization is required: End-to-end, turnkey network automation does not exist. As per the objectives, requirements, and activities of a company, automation must be implemented gradually to be effective.
- Old school technology and systems: Many businesses continue to rely on old systems, which would be thought to be outside the purview of network automation.
- Examples of network automation: Software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) technologies are integrated when utilizing network automation with virtualization to design and alter the network in accordance with business or service objectives. The hardware devices’ operations are governed by the SDN. Administrators can use networking software to manage several physical networks or build virtual software networks between virtual computers. Because the automated network can accept these surges by automatically rerouting network traffic to servers in less damaged portions of the network, network virtualization and automation are particularly helpful for settings that encounter unforeseen use surges.
- Many open source initiatives are working to create guidelines for virtualization-based network automation. For instance, the management and orchestration of network resources in cloud-based data centers are the focus of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Industry Specification Group (ISG) for NFV Management and Orchestration (MANO). These standards will make it possible for SDN and NFV systems to communicate better and more effectively.
- There are many kinds of network automation tools, and a large range of network automation businesses provide various kinds of network automation software. Intelligent firms will begin with their most urgent network automation use cases and select a technology that will be helpful with those processes as new network automation ideas continue to emerge.
Network Configurations
Delivering the high level of service required for digital business operations can be challenging due to the inconsistencies, incorrect setups, and network instability that can come from manual network configuration. You may enforce best practices by standardizing network administration operations using automation. The mean time to resolution (MTTR) for service outages may be quickly and readily decreased by network operations teams. In order to minimize process wait time as well as maximize performance and costs, application loads must be distributed evenly throughout the infrastructure. Poor application performance and a delay in failover when system issues develop might result from manually balancing loads. By automating your load balancer, you can make continuous modifications and failovers more quickly, improving the performance and dependability of your applications.
Possible Prospects of Network Automation
Network Automation is an autonomous network that is predictive and adaptive to its environment. This future network is called the Self-Driving Network.
- AI and ML-driven networks that can perform predictive analyses, offer recommendations/corrections, and understand the purpose of network actions.
- Implement automated service movements and placement
- Utilize sophisticated probing technologies to continuously check service assurance and modify traffic patterns in accordance with service demands.
- Give particular upgrades based on the services that are specified.
- Operate autonomously while providing network operators with ongoing monitoring and reporting to make sure that network behavior and performance continue to be in line with business objectives.
Conclusion
It is possible to get the conclusion that network automation is a quickly developing subject with many advantages for businesses. Organisations can increase network efficiency, lower error rates, and free up network managers to work on higher-value duties by automating repetitive network jobs and procedures. Network automation tools and technologies come in a variety of forms, such as orchestration, SDN, scripting, and APIs. Network automation does, however, come with a number of drawbacks, including complexity, integration, security, expense, maintenance, and reluctance to change. Organisations must carefully plan and prepare for the change, invest in training and development, and adhere to best practices, which include starting small, defining goals, standardising configurations, thoroughly testing, keeping an eye on performance, and routinely reviewing and updating automation processes, in order to successfully implement network automation.
Frequently Asked Question on Network Automation – FAQs
What is Network Automation?
Network automation is the process of automating the configuration, management, testing, deployment, and operation of physical and virtual network equipment. Network service availability improves when daily network operations and functions are automated, and repetitive processes are regulated and handled efficiently.
Importance of Network Automation?
Because network automation systems operate more effectively, they will aid in achieving business objectives more quickly. It will save the organisation money by streamlining procedures, conserving resources, and optimising software for improved output.
What is Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
The ability to supply and support your computer infrastructure using code rather than manual procedures and configurations is known as infrastructure as code (IaC).
What role does network automation play in DevOps procedures?
The software development process known as DevOps places a strong emphasis on teamwork and communication between the development and operations teams. Using automation tools and scripts to manage and configure network equipment, like switches and routers, is one way to apply this strategy to network automation.