DevNet Professional Concepts
1. Network Programmability
Network Programmability refers to the ability to automate and manage network devices using software rather than traditional manual configurations. This approach allows for greater flexibility, scalability, and efficiency in managing network infrastructure.
For instance, consider a large enterprise with hundreds of network devices. Manually configuring each device would be time-consuming and error-prone. With network programmability, a script can be written to automatically configure all devices, ensuring consistency and reducing the likelihood of human error.
Example: Using Python and REST APIs, a network engineer can write a script to update the access control lists (ACLs) on all routers in a network. This automation not only speeds up the process but also ensures that all routers are configured identically.
2. Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the practice of managing and provisioning computing infrastructure through machine-readable definition files, rather than physical hardware configuration or interactive configuration tools. This approach allows for versioning, testing, and automation of infrastructure deployments.
Imagine a scenario where a company needs to deploy a new data center. Traditionally, this would involve manually setting up each server, network device, and storage system. With IaC, the entire data center can be defined in a configuration file, and a tool like Terraform can automatically deploy the infrastructure based on this file.
Example: A DevOps team uses Ansible to define the configuration of a web server in a YAML file. By running the Ansible playbook, the team can deploy and configure the web server in minutes, ensuring that all servers in the environment are identical and compliant with company standards.