1.
Quick wins in the NetOps journey
Vincent Boon
Sales Engineer, APAC

2.
Agenda
• Overview
• What is NetOps
• How it starts
• Trends and challenges of network automation
• Pre-conditions for Automation
• Quick wins for NetOps

3.
Modern Out of Band Management
Emergency access
during a disruption,
initial configuration
over a POTS line
Connects an Operator
to a Console Port
Infrastructure as Code
enables efficient
DevOps
Connects an Operator
or Machine to
Network Nodes
An always-on, resilient
software defined
management overlay
(fabric)
Resilient serial or
IP access over any
network, for every day
“Classic” Console
Server
Smart Out of Band NetOps 2.0

4.
NetOps defined
• NetOps 1.0 = network operations, or simply running the network
• “ClickOps” and reliant on manual interaction with device CLI
• Focus on uptime and reactive interventions, risk averse
• Often slower to enable new business needs
• NetOps 2.0 = Networking + DevOps
• Modern approach leveraging CI/CD tools & IaC
• More responsive and supportive of business goals
• Shift toward risk management rather that risk avoidance
• Can include automation, but is not synonymous

5.
How it starts

6.
configure

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configure
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configure
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configure
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configure
configure
configure
configure

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configure
configure
configure
configure
configure
configure
configure
configure
configure

10.
What have
we wrought?

11.
Trouble with configuring via the CLI
• Configs applied and maintained by hand
• Vendor-specific syntax, ever-changing
• Inconsistent configurations, unexplained special cases
• Configurations are forgotten; until... reactive break-fix model
• Workarounds: brute force, diligence, hard work, RANCID
• Fragile scrapers break on upgrades
• Human-oriented interfaces are for humans

12.
Manual control
Controlled by
software

13.
Combining
the reliability of software
with
the low cost of network changes

14.
Agile practices
• Lighter but more intense teamwork
git + pull requests
• collaborative text editing, focused review
CI/CD + tests + sandboxes
• safety nets are safer
DevOps
• the best tools and practices adopted by operations
Exciting news from the world of software

15.
programmer

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configure
configure
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1:100

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program
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configure
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1:100

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program
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1:1000

19.
Automation Trends – It’s a journey
* Gartner, Market Guide for Network Automation Tools, February 2022
• >65% of network activities are manual
• Only 8% of Enterprises automate more
than half of their network tasks
• Automation is currently in the trough of
disillusionment, however…
• 25% of enterprises will automate more
than half of network activities by 2025

20.
Hype Cycle of Enterprise Networking: 2021
Network Automation is gaining traction albeit slowly due to lack of confidence in tools, limited skill set and others.
Gartner estimates
Today 65% of Network
Activities
are Manual
§ "Trough of Disillusionment"
o Interest wanes
o Technology providers shake out
o Investments become selective
§ “Slope of Enlightenment”
o More use cases & benefits
crystallize & widely understood
o 2nd & 3rd generation products
appear from providers
o More enterprises fund pilots

21.
Challenges to implementing Automation
• Network automation network is not without risk
• Mixed environment are harder to automate
• Legacy change control and lack of confidence in tools
• Limited in-house skill or lack of cross functional buy in

22.
• Inventory: do you have good detail of all devices?
• Requirements: business's expectation of function level; now & plans
• Standards: which model/vocabulary to use in automation
• Telemetry: feedback channels
• Automation: control channels; tooling
• Trust: get experience, confidently predict automation's behaviour
• other: Budget, Stakeholders, Suppliers
Pre-conditions for automation

23.
Provisioning Monitoring Security …
Requirements ? ? ? ?
Automation ? ? ? ?
Telemetry ? ? ? ?
Inventory ? ? ? ?
Standards ? ? ? ?
Suppliers ? ? ? ?
Partners ? ? ? ?
Budget ? ? ? ?
Trust ? ? ? ?

24.
Quick wins with NetOps and Automation
Read only tasks
Configuration backup / diff
Information collection and
report building
Start Simple Testing & Troubleshooting Validation
Predefine templates for
problem determination
Deploy tools on demand
Auto populating trouble
tickets with network
information.
Verifies that the network is
functioning as designed
Are the correct VLANs
configured on trunk links?
Do routing tables contain
the desired routes?

25.
Quick Demo
Let’s starts with a video

26.
# creds.py
# credentials and parameters file
#
# edit as needed to fit your environment
# OM credentials for pmshell
omHost = '10.0.0.4’
omUser = 'root’
omPassword = 'mypassword’
# Cisco device credentials
ciscoHost = '10.0.0.2’
ciscoUser = 'admin’
ciscoPassword = 'cisco’
# Cisco command
command = 'show version’
# pmshell command. edit to change serial ports.
pmshell = 'pmshell -l /dev/port23'
#!/usr/bin/python3
#
# cisco_cmd_pmshell.py
# Opengear Solutions Engineering, 6 July 2022
#
# Send a command to a Cisco IOS device through OM pmshell
# Validated on IOS XE version 16.12.04 and IOS version 15.2(7)E4
from netmiko import ConnectHandler, redispatch
import creds
import time
def connect():
device1 = {
'host': creds.omHost,
'username': creds.omUser,
'password': creds.omPassword,
'device_type': 'terminal_server'
}

27.
conn = ConnectHandler(**device1)
return conn
def command():
conn = connect()
conn.send_command_timing(creds.pmshell)
conn.write_channel('rnrnrn')
time.sleep(5)
conn.write_channel('rnrn')
redispatch(conn, device_type='cisco_ios')
conn.find_prompt()
conn.enable()
output = conn.send_command(creds.command)
print(output)
conn.write_channel('rn')
time.sleep(1)
conn.disconnect()
If __name__ == "__main__":
command()

28.
Resources
https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/12-network-automation-
ideas-to-incorporate-in-your-network
https://karneliuk.com/2018/07/openconfig-w-o-and-w-ansible-for-arista-
eos-cisco-ios-xr-and-nokia-sr-os-part-1-interfaces/
https://pynet.twb-tech.com/blog/netmiko-python-library.html