WEBVTT 0:00:02.880000 --> 0:00:06.940000 In this video, I'm going to talk about an introduction to network management 0:00:06.940000 --> 0:00:10.960000 automation. The topics that we're going to cover are two, we're going 0:00:10.960000 --> 0:00:13.240000 to talk about the goals of automation. 0:00:13.240000 --> 0:00:15.440000 What is automation really trying to solve? 0:00:15.440000 --> 0:00:16.400000 What's it trying to do? 0:00:16.400000 --> 0:00:20.220000 And what exactly can be automated? 0:00:20.220000 --> 0:00:22.220000 So let's just jump right into that. 0:00:22.220000 --> 0:00:25.000000 So what are the goals of network automation? 0:00:25.000000 --> 0:00:27.920000 If you've never heard of this concept before, maybe you've heard of network 0:00:27.920000 --> 0:00:31.380000 automation, but you're not really sure why would I use it? 0:00:31.380000 --> 0:00:34.260000 What problem is it trying to solve? 0:00:34.260000 --> 0:00:36.100000 Well, let's talk about that right now. 0:00:36.100000 --> 0:00:40.640000 Number one, reduce the box by box management model. 0:00:40.640000 --> 0:00:44.380000 So so much time can be spent, especially on a network that has hundreds 0:00:44.380000 --> 0:00:49.280000 or thousands of nodes of having to get in them one by one individually 0:00:49.280000 --> 0:00:52.900000 to make your changes, apply your software upgrades. 0:00:52.900000 --> 0:00:58.480000 Network automation is supposed to reduce or eliminate that box by box 0:00:58.480000 --> 0:01:00.420000 management model. 0:01:00.420000 --> 0:01:03.060000 Eliminate repetitive tasks. 0:01:03.060000 --> 0:01:07.500000 So something, for example, if I've got 25 different switches and I need 0:01:07.500000 --> 0:01:11.800000 to apply the exact same software upgrade to all of them to circumvent 0:01:11.800000 --> 0:01:17.080000 a bug or something, rather than log into each one one by one and type 0:01:17.080000 --> 0:01:22.040000 in the same series of five or six commands over and over and over again, 0:01:22.040000 --> 0:01:25.460000 let's eliminate that repetition. 0:01:25.460000 --> 0:01:28.940000 Standardize software types and procedures. 0:01:28.940000 --> 0:01:33.500000 So if we can eliminate repetition, if we can eliminate a box by box management 0:01:33.500000 --> 0:01:38.460000 model, hopefully the outcome of that will be some sort of standardization. 0:01:38.460000 --> 0:01:41.740000 We'll have some sort of standardized procedures, some sort of standardized 0:01:41.740000 --> 0:01:48.180000 software that we're on across the board and eliminate all sorts of variation 0:01:48.180000 --> 0:01:53.200000 of how we do things and how things are operating in our network. 0:01:53.200000 --> 0:01:56.160000 So automation can identify golden images. 0:01:56.160000 --> 0:02:02.500000 So we can identify a particular software version and feature set or platform 0:02:02.500000 --> 0:02:07.720000 type. And we can say this is what I want to apply across all of my hardware 0:02:07.720000 --> 0:02:10.100000 of a certain type. 0:02:10.100000 --> 0:02:13.560000 And then of course we can identify standard upgrade procedures. 0:02:13.560000 --> 0:02:19.160000 Instead of having John log into his switches and do three or four commands 0:02:19.160000 --> 0:02:22.940000 which are a little bit different than when Sally logged into her switches, 0:02:22.940000 --> 0:02:27.260000 let's make that consistent. 0:02:27.260000 --> 0:02:33.140000 And we can utilize scripts and tools to perform mass upgrades and changes. 0:02:33.140000 --> 0:02:39.360000 So ultimately our goal is to apply consistent policy across the network, 0:02:39.360000 --> 0:02:43.720000 where that policy be we're applying a configuration change, we're applying 0:02:43.720000 --> 0:02:49.720000 a provision to a brand new box, we're upgrading software, we should be 0:02:49.720000 --> 0:02:51.580000 consistent in how we're doing that. 0:02:51.580000 --> 0:02:56.260000 And by having network automation it can help us achieve that consistency. 0:02:56.260000 --> 0:02:59.840000 And we can reduce the time spent on troubleshooting. 0:02:59.840000 --> 0:03:04.060000 If we are doing things in a consistent way across the board, hopefully 0:03:04.060000 --> 0:03:08.740000 that will lead to less problems that we have to troubleshoot in the future. 0:03:08.740000 --> 0:03:12.680000 And some types of network automation, depending on how come, you know, 0:03:12.680000 --> 0:03:16.320000 whether they've got artificial intelligence and machine learning built 0:03:16.320000 --> 0:03:21.640000 into them, can actually identify trouble spots and suggest resolutions 0:03:21.640000 --> 0:03:26.800000 for us, which will significantly reduce the time we spend in troubleshooting. 0:03:26.800000 --> 0:03:30.520000 Now, what can be automated? 0:03:30.520000 --> 0:03:34.500000 Well, the initial plug and play of initial provisioning can be automated. 0:03:34.500000 --> 0:03:39.540000 We can use automation so that when I plug a new switch or router or possibly 0:03:39.540000 --> 0:03:44.060000 firewall into a network, it starts out with a clean slate, instead of 0:03:44.060000 --> 0:03:48.400000 me logging into the command line or logging into the GUI of that device, 0:03:48.400000 --> 0:03:52.720000 that device can reach out to the network and find for itself an initial 0:03:52.720000 --> 0:03:54.620000 configuration that can download. 0:03:54.620000 --> 0:03:57.000000 Automation can do that. 0:03:57.000000 --> 0:04:01.040000 Path segregation via dynamic overlay networks. 0:04:01.040000 --> 0:04:06.920000 Now that the network is up and running, and we've got full IP, V4 or IPV6 0:04:06.920000 --> 0:04:11.840000 reachability from any given point, with automation, we can say, hey, if 0:04:11.840000 --> 0:04:16.840000 this device connects the network, once we discover what that device is, 0:04:16.840000 --> 0:04:20.760000 is it a device in payroll, is it a device in marketing, is it some guest 0:04:20.760000 --> 0:04:24.540000 that's come into our network temporarily, we can dynamically provision 0:04:24.540000 --> 0:04:28.440000 our network and say, all right, that device now has access to these resources 0:04:28.440000 --> 0:04:33.080000 over here. He can't touch these resources over here, and we can dynamically 0:04:33.080000 --> 0:04:35.200000 segregate that traffic. 0:04:35.200000 --> 0:04:39.360000 So, his traffic is not allowed to go where it's not supposed to go, and 0:04:39.360000 --> 0:04:43.460000 that can all be done dynamically via automation. 0:04:43.460000 --> 0:04:48.640000 We can also apply automated dynamic QoS policies if a device gets on the 0:04:48.640000 --> 0:04:53.200000 network, maybe that device can tell the network, hey, my application, 0:04:53.200000 --> 0:04:56.120000 which is voice or video, isn't running right now. 0:04:56.120000 --> 0:04:58.760000 It's not meeting certain service level agreements. 0:04:58.760000 --> 0:05:01.960000 The bandwidth I'm getting is not what it should be. 0:05:01.960000 --> 0:05:04.880000 I'm getting a lot of pixelation, a lot of delay. 0:05:04.880000 --> 0:05:09.700000 Well, network automation can read that problem and apply a dynamic adjustment 0:05:09.700000 --> 0:05:14.500000 to QoS policies to give that application better performance. 0:05:14.500000 --> 0:05:17.780000 We can also have dynamic security policies. 0:05:17.780000 --> 0:05:19.640000 I've talked a little bit about that. 0:05:19.640000 --> 0:05:23.060000 And we can have scheduled software deployments. 0:05:23.060000 --> 0:05:31.240000 I can say, all right, well, I can set up in advance, maybe right now, 0:05:31.240000 --> 0:05:35.660000 at 3 a.m., I want all my switches or all my routers to be upgraded to 0:05:35.660000 --> 0:05:39.000000 this newer version of software, and it all happens dynamically in the 0:05:39.000000 --> 0:05:42.980000 background. And then a check can be performed dynamically to see, did 0:05:42.980000 --> 0:05:47.340000 that happen, or did that dynamic upgrade fail on one or more devices, 0:05:47.340000 --> 0:05:49.860000 and why did it fail? 0:05:49.860000 --> 0:05:53.360000 We can do topology visualizations. 0:05:53.360000 --> 0:05:57.640000 Instead of relying on me creating a topology diagram manually in Visio 0:05:57.640000 --> 0:06:01.240000 or PowerPoint is something which might be wrong, it might not be considering 0:06:01.240000 --> 0:06:05.840000 things or it might be blatantly wrong, we can use automated tools to discover 0:06:05.840000 --> 0:06:13.280000 our devices and create a dynamic map for us of where everything is. 0:06:13.280000 --> 0:06:17.300000 And we can intelligently create automated solutions to troubleshooting 0:06:17.300000 --> 0:06:20.400000 problems. We talked a little bit about that by using artificial intelligence 0:06:20.400000 --> 0:06:22.320000 and machine learning. 0:06:22.320000 --> 0:06:24.140000 Troubleshooting can be reduced. 0:06:24.140000 --> 0:06:26.260000 The time spent troubleshooting can be reduced. 0:06:26.260000 --> 0:06:32.400000 Now, not all automation platforms can do all of these things. 0:06:32.400000 --> 0:06:36.760000 It depends on what automation software you're using, in some cases what 0:06:36.760000 --> 0:06:40.840000 automation hardware you're using, in some cases the network itself. 0:06:40.840000 --> 0:06:45.460000 Certain switches or routers have the ability to have more or less automation 0:06:45.460000 --> 0:06:49.660000 applied to them than other switches and routers that you buy. 0:06:49.660000 --> 0:06:52.700000 This is all stuff you have to factor into when you're purchasing stuff 0:06:52.700000 --> 0:06:55.780000 and designing your network in the first place. 0:06:55.780000 --> 0:06:59.660000 What aspects of automation do I want to apply to my network and now that 0:06:59.660000 --> 0:07:03.380000 I can check off those things, I can go look for an automation solution, 0:07:03.380000 --> 0:07:09.680000 both software and hardware, that will do what I want it to do. 0:07:09.680000 --> 0:07:13.100000 So, thank you for watching this video and I hope it was useful to you.