New low-code environment helps deliver network automation

With more programmable features and APIs being introduced, networks have shifted in recent years from being hardware-focused to software-centered functions.

This has changed the network management techniques and skillsets required to keep pace with the changing environment. To address this, network automation specialist Itential is launching its Automation Studio which allows developers and network engineers to manage increasingly complex networks regardless of their level of knowledge or coding skills.

"Itential's primary mission is to provide software that enables network engineers, software developers and IT operations to participate in network automation, bridge the skills gap and enable the largest participation needed to rapidly and efficiently execute their day to day network management activities," says Chris Wade, chief technology officer at Itential. "Automation Studio's drag and drop low-code interface combined with out of the box pre-built automations enable organizations to shift from manual, CLI approaches toward programmable network management without needing to re-tool and re-train their workforce."

Automation Studio's features include a Graphical Automation Canvas for arranging and connecting tasks in a workflow to define operations and maintenance processes, cutting the complexity of software development and further simplifying network automation.

Users can employ drag and drop methodology or dynamically generate forms based on standard modeling languages such as YANG, TOSCA and YAML. There are also Intelligent Templates to enable NetOps teams to define robust and rigorous checks for network changes as well as creating configuration models that use data to dynamically generate device configurations.

Open APIs and standards compliant data structures allow large teams to collaborate and develop network automation workflows, while built-in network intelligence eliminates the complexity required to build automations across multi-domain networks and technologies.

Pre-Built Automations for common use cases such as software upgrades, compliance, SD-WANs and more to help NetOps teams with their network automation efforts and embed automation design best practices to ensure modularity and reusability.

You can find out more on the Itential site.

Image credit: d3images/Shutterstock