Why Automate Port Turn Ups?
Applications and services can be turned on and off at will, but even the most virtualized applications and services must transit across physical infrastructure, which often include turning up new switch or router ports or modifying existing ones that are in use. Turning up switch and router ports is a very common task that begins with deploying new servers in a data center and spans the entire lifecycle of that server.
While this may be a straightforward task for network teams, the fact that they are still using manual methods to configure network ports has become a challenge in today’s dynamic data center environment. Workloads have become increasingly dynamic, requiring network changes to occur many times every day which has created a significant backlog, and the potential for misconfigurations, for network teams who are still tied to manual processes.
Network automation helps to:
- Automating port turn up configuration changes for every network switch and router.
- Integrating data gathering from IPAMs and sources of truth with network port changes.
- Populating change request tickets and documenting the details and results of the changes.
Automating Port Turn Ups with Itential
The Itential Automation Platform simplifies the automation of network port turn up processes by providing capabilities for:
Router & Switch Configuration Management
Automate the backup of network router or switch configurations, regardless of network device, type, or vendor, before any port turn up changes and access them quickly, entirely within a central application.
Robust Pre-Check & Post-Check
Create robust pre-check and post-check policies that can validate configurations and verify proper operational state of protocols and routing.
Integrate with Network Services & IT Systems
Coordinate changes with network services like DNS, load balancing, and firewalls and integrate the automation with ITSM, IPAM, or any other IT system.
Itential Supports Any Device, Any Vendor
Itential Pre-Built Workflows for Port Turn Ups
With Itential’s Pre-Built Workflows, organizations can rapidly onboard simple and reusable end-to-end automations to support port turn ups.
