Network optimization through automation and modernization

The network infrastructure is expanding to multiple cloud platforms. Although cloud computing promises ease of use and seems to be gaining popularity among developers, engineers, and companies, migrating to a cloud platform is not an easy task. The challenge brought by the expansion of multiple cloud platforms is how to synchronize the management of cloud-based network infrastructure and services with the existing internal equipment of the enterprise. As a result, it is becoming more and more difficult to ensure that every network device and service in today's network and cloud infrastructure meets regulations-causing some networks to deviate from accepted standards. In order to effectively face and manage the ever-expanding network, companies should evaluate whether their current network configuration and compliance management tools and processes prevent them from achieving true network optimization. The network team must ask themselves what will make the enterprise pay more in the end, maintain existing strategies and measures, risk potential security threats/interruptions, or move towards full network automation and modernization. The network team should consider the following questions to help determine whether it is time to adopt a new modern approach to automate the organization’s network configuration and compliance management.

How to backup configuration files?

As more and more enterprises start to move to the cloud, traditional network configuration and change management (NCCM) solutions cannot automatically back up modern network equipment and services that use application programming interfaces (API) instead of command line interfaces (CLI). This makes the network team have to manually back up files, which is not scalable. It left a gap in the scope of the backup. And in the long run, its cost is very high. This resulted in unnecessary long network outages. If the network team finds itself in this situation, modernization and automation may be the only influential solutions.

How to confirm compliance?

In order to determine whether the network meets the requirements, a series of configuration checks must be performed on each device in the network on a regular basis, and the results of the checks must be reported to the team in order to remedy the problem. Without automation, this is a real challenge for companies because they manage a large number of devices and these checks need to be run frequently.

Is it necessary to manually remedy configuration changes on non-compliant devices?

When the compliance check detects that the device does not meet the requirements, it is important to safely remedy the change as quickly as possible. It is too time-consuming and error-prone to manually repair every configuration on every device that does not meet the standard. Network teams can use automated tools throughout the organization to ensure effective and efficient changes and updates.

How does compliance reporting help network teams prevent outages?

The network team can gain valuable insights by reviewing compliance reports over a period of time. These reports can reveal the details of historically problematic network areas, or discover problems that may become problems in the future, enabling the network team to resolve these problems before they become faults. A network must be modernized to provide compliance reports whenever problems arise.

How to roll back configuration changes?

The ability to intelligently roll back to previous configurations on network devices is a must-have tool for every network practitioner. Rollback can be used for laboratory testing, troubleshooting, or quick recovery from a network outage. However, if the network team must view a backup configuration file and then manually modify the device, it will waste time. This is an inefficient way to roll back configuration changes in situations where automation can have immediate effects.

Does the team have to rotate between multiple systems and sources?

When someone in the network team needs to review previous configuration files, the key is that they can find the information quickly. People always have an urgent need for information, whether it is because they need to refer to a function in the past to solve a problem that occurs now, or because they need to determine what changes have recently been made that may cause problems. The network team does not have time to get involved in dozens of files and folders. It may be looking for a needle in a haystack in different systems. They need a solution that automates the configuration backup process and organizes them so that the network team can find what they are looking for immediately. As the speed of network changes increases, it becomes more difficult to maintain regular maintenance of the network because it can detect whether the changes that have been made to the network make it non-compliant. This maintenance process should also provide the ability to verify the proposed network configuration changes before application, ensuring that the network will never deviate from the defined standards. The answers to the above questions will make it clear to us whether the network team should start modernizing and automating their network, especially when they find that these standards are not being met.