A Comprehensive Guide to Network Automation for IT Teams

Network device management in IT refers to the process of overseeing and controlling the configuration, monitoring, and maintenance of network devices within an organization’s infrastructure. It encompasses a broad range of hardware components and appliances that facilitate communication and data exchange across computer networks. Examples of network devices include routers, switches, firewalls, access points, and various networking peripherals.

With multiple network device management, it’s challenging to ensure reliability, security, and optimal performance of network infrastructure. In this article, we will explore in detail network device management, the challenges associated with it, and how automation can enable IT teams to better manage their network devices.

Why Automate Network Management?

Network device management, while essential for maintaining the stability and security of a network infrastructure, presents several challenges that network administrators and IT teams must address. These challenges arise from the complexity, scale, and dynamic nature of modern network environments.

1. One of the biggest issues for network managers is the growth of IT costs for network operations. The growth of data and devices is starting to outpace IT capabilities, making manual approaches nearly impossible. According to a report, 95 percent of network changes are performed manually, resulting in operational costs 2 to 3 times higher than the cost of the network.
2. Manual configuration of network devices is time-consuming and error-prone. Ensuring uniformity across device configurations, maintaining configuration baselines, and enforcing compliance with organizational policies and standards require robust configuration management practices and tools. According to an industry report, around 40-80% of network failures are the result of human error.
3. Network devices are prime targets for cyberattacks, exploitation, and unauthorized access. Vulnerabilities in device firmware, misconfigurations, weak authentication mechanisms, and inadequate access controls pose significant security risks to network infrastructure.

Addressing these challenges requires a holistic approach to network device management that combines proactive monitoring, automation, security controls, and ongoing optimization efforts. Let’s move ahead and explore how network automation can enable IT teams to better manage their network operations.

How Does Network Automation Enhance Network Device Management?

Instead of relying on the traditional mode of network device management, an automation solution enables the IT operation team to better manage their network across the organization. According to a report, the network automation market is expected to hit around USD 28.63 billion by 2032. Some of the automation opportunities in network device automation are-

1. Device Block/Unblock

   Instead of manually performing this process, network automation can swiftly block or unblock devices from accessing the network. Also once this process is done, the user is notified through email whether access is granted or revoked. Additionally, the bot can also perform checks/troubleshoots when a network device is not reachable.

2. Device Configuration

   Automated configuration management simplifies the deployment and maintenance of network devices, ensuring uniformity and compliance with organizational standards. Instead of manually performing configuration, bots accept the Input- Inventory file with network devices, log into each network device, and execute the write config command. Once the output is released, the bot shares the updated Excel file over mail.

3. Device Configuration Backup

   Within any organization, it’s imperative to backup network configurations to minimize downtime during device outages. Automation and AI here facilitate backup operations, enabling swift configuration restoration in the event of a network disaster. Additionally, it offers configuration comparison capabilities, aiding in the identification and resolution of faults, ultimately optimizing network performance.

4. IP Allocation

   The allocation and management of IP addresses across devices can be simplified through network automation. The automated system allows the IT operation team to allocate server IP with the server name to use for application owners. This way it ensures efficient utilization of IP resources and minimizes conflicts.

5. Network Compliance Management

   Staying compliant with industry standards is important in network device management. Automation tools keep the network devices compliant, and on alert generation, it automatically logs into the device, checks loopholes in a configuration fixes the vulnerabilities, and avoids legal compliance.

6. Network Monitoring

   Imagine that there are many network administrators, operators, and users. As a result, it can be extremely tiresome and time-consuming to manually check configuration changes This can be resolved with automation in network device management. The automated system here helps to track changes immediately with change management and generates a change report for every device. Using AI bots, the IT operation team can get notifications on who made the configuration change and also take configuration backups once the changes are saved.

7. Traffic Management

   Automation in network traffic management operates through a combination of intelligent algorithms, predefined policies, and centralized control mechanisms to optimize the flow of data across network infrastructures. Network automation facilitates granular control over network traffic by enabling administrators to define and enforce access control lists (ACLs), route policies, and quality of Service (QoS) parameters, thereby optimizing network performance and ensuring regulatory compliance.