Infrastructure as Code & CI/CD Pipelines for Network Automation & Orchestration

Incorporate CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices into network automation and orchestration initiatives.

The Leading Edge of Network Automation & Orchestration is Infrastructure as Code

With Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) having transformed the software development process, network teams are now looking to incorporate CI/CD practices into their network automation and orchestration initiatives to gain greater velocity and improve delivery. Network engineers are beginning to leverage repositories, pipelines, and other tools to accelerate development, testing, and implementation of network automations and orchestration workflows.

Innovative teams are deploying pipelines across their network domains to streamline their network configuration lifecycle activities. They are using repositories like Git to create config code branches and maintain versions, using CI pipelines to execute automated test activities, and utilizing CD techniques to reduce risk during production deployment of the network code.

Integrating CI/CD + Network Automation for a Common Pipeline

How Itential Is Enabling Infrastructure as Code for Network Automation & Orchestration

NetOps Infrastructure as Code via Itential Orchestration Workflows

NetOps teams can design, build, and publish orchestrations using the Itential Automation Platform’s low-code and no-code workflow capabilities.

NetDevOps Infrastructure as Code via CI/CD Pipelines with Itential

Developers can incorporate pipeline calls to the Itential Automation Platform to execute automated/orchestrated network changes during testing and deployment phases.

Additionally, Itential assets like workflows, templates, forms, and data transformation can be managed via CI/CD pipelines for code control, versioning, and testing of network automations and orchestrations.

CI/CD Pipelines Orchestrate Network Automation via Itential’s APIs

Leverage CI/CD pipelines to consumes atomic network capabilities and features from the Itential Automation Platform.

Itential NetDevOps Pipeline for Network Infrastructure as Code

At Itential, we’ve been working to overcome these challenges for our customers. To help them embrace Network Infrastructure as Code methodologies, we have built a platform to better enable network engineers to achieve these goals. Our platform aligns with software engineering-oriented functionality like API exposure and ability to integrate with a wide range of CI/CD tools, while staying flexible for network engineers no matter their level of software development and scripting skill. To do that, we are continually evolving our approach towards a NetDevOps Pipeline for Network Infrastructure as Code.

Read the Blog

updated cicd pipleline to netops pipleline for network infrastructure as code with 4 phases; build, test, validate and deploy

Itential’s NetDevOps Pipeline Capabilities

Build


Use the power of the Itential Platform to automate the generation of the NIaC payloads.

  • Dynamically render configurations from a library of expert-built templates. TemplateIDE >
  • Combine reusable chunks of configuration to create composite configurations.
  • Transform data from one format into another.
  • Run optimizers to eliminate redundant or poorly designed config.
  • Utilize integrations to submit code changes to repositories and interact with pipeline toolchains.

Test


The Itential Automation Platform can enhance the NIaC pipeline test stage to improve quality, identify problem areas, and automate a wide range of testing scenarios utilizing native Itential functionality along with test functionality provided by tools integrated with IAP.

  • Simulate the change before you make it.
  • Compare simulation outputs to known desired outcomes.
  • Check to see if your change affects any pre-existing functionality.

Validate


Itential provides a range of native capabilities and Pre-Built Workflows to perform validation prior to production deployment.

  • Check that a configuration is error free before you deploy it to a device. Config Validator >
  • Run a security scan to see if you’re running compromised software.
  • Compare config changes against gold standard configuration rules to confirm compliance of the change
  • Leverage Itential integration capabilities to interact with tools such as Batfish to provide additional levels of validation.

Deploy


Deploy your infrastructure changes to the network.

  • Leverage tools like Ansible and Terraform to push changes. Automation Gateway >
  • Update operational support systems to stay in sync with your network changes.
  • Keep track of your changes by tagging and versioning them when you deploy.

What’s Next?

Try Itential’s developer tools.

Try Itential’s automation and orchestration products.

Learn more about the NetOps Pipline.

watch an on-demand networking field day 21 presentation: how itential enables network infrastructure as code
read a blog post: how you should treat the network as software