Network Automation & DevOps
Network teams still rely on manual CLI changes and tribal knowledge, making every deployment slow, risky, and dependent on specific engineers who hold the undocumented context.
Our Approach
Replace manual CLI workflows with repeatable automation — starting with the highest-toil, highest-risk tasks — and build a delivery model the whole team can own and extend.
What This Service Covers
Network automation advisory and engineering for teams that want to reduce manual toil, accelerate delivery, and make network changes safer — without rebuilding the whole operating model overnight.
Engagements cover Python-based network operations scripting, Ansible playbook development for provisioning and change, Terraform modules for cloud and on-premises network resources, CI/CD pipeline design for network changes, pre/post-change validation automation, and NetDevOps operating model design.
Scope areas
Python for network operations Device interrogation and data collection scripts. Automated compliance checks — compare running config to golden standard. Change pre-validation and post-validation scripts. Report generation from network telemetry. Multi-vendor abstraction using Netmiko, NAPALM, Nornir, and PyATS. BGP, OSPF, and interface state monitoring scripts.
Ansible for network provisioning and change Playbook development for multi-vendor environments (Cisco IOS/NX-OS/IOS-XR, Arista EOS, Juniper Junos). Role-based playbook structure for reusability. Inventory design for dynamic and static environments. Change workflow playbooks — pre-check, change, validate, rollback. Idempotent configuration management. Network-as-Code templating with Jinja2.
Terraform for network infrastructure Terraform modules for AWS VPC, Azure vNET, GCP VPC, and Cloudflare. Network resource lifecycle management — creation, change, decommission. State management and remote backend design. Provider selection and version pinning strategy. Integration with Ansible for day-2 configuration after Terraform provisioning.
CI/CD for network changes Pipeline design for network change delivery (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins). Automated lint, syntax, and diff checks before merge. Lab or staging environment validation before production push. Approval gates for high-risk changes. Change evidence collection for audit trails. GitOps patterns for network configuration.
NetDevOps operating model Source control adoption for network configurations (Git). Network-as-Code principles and repository structure. Branch and merge strategy for network change control. Documentation-as-Code for runbooks and topology. Team enablement — working with network engineers to build the automation habit.
Auto-remediation patterns Event-driven automation — alert to remediation workflows. Safe auto-remediation with human approval gates for high-risk actions. Integration with ITSM (ServiceNow, Jira) for ticket-driven automation. Escalation logic and exception handling.
Delivery Models
Remote Consultation
Automation strategy sessions, toolchain selection, code review, or pipeline design advisory. Half-day or full-day blocks. Deliverable: written recommendations and code review notes.
Automation Assessment (Fixed Scope)
Current state review of network operations workflows. Identify automation candidates, estimate effort/impact, and produce a priority backlog. Typically 1 week.
Remote Support Retainer
Monthly hours for ongoing automation engineering support — code review, new script development, pipeline troubleshooting, and playbook extension as the network evolves.
Engineer Basis (Project)
Full automation engagement: assessment, toolchain setup, script and playbook development, pipeline build, and team enablement. Remote-led. Typical scope: 4–10 weeks depending on environment size.
Typical Engagement Formats
| Format | Best for | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Automation Assessment | Identify what to automate and in what order | 1 week |
| Python Script Development | Specific operations tasks or compliance checks | 1–3 weeks |
| Ansible Playbook Build | Provisioning or change automation for a platform | 2–5 weeks |
| CI/CD Pipeline Design | Git-based change delivery for network ops | 2–4 weeks |
| NetDevOps Foundation | Full toolchain + pipeline + team enablement | 6–10 weeks |
| Retainer | Ongoing automation engineering support | Monthly |
Tools and Platforms
Python, Ansible, Terraform (HashiCorp), Nornir, Netmiko, NAPALM, PyATS, Genie, Jinja2, Git, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Docker, Cisco IOS/NX-OS/IOS-XR, Arista EOS, Juniper Junos, Palo Alto PAN-OS, Fortinet, ServiceNow, Jira.