capabilities to ensure the network’s security and
compliance. Because the projects are read-only,
gathering the information has minimal risk of impacting
a network negatively. You could, for example, use
programmability to do a side-by-side configuration
comparison to see what has changed in the configuration
on a device. Using tools like this would be the next step
past using the DevNet sandboxes to write code in a
production environment.
The Run in Automation Exchange is where read/write
actions start taking place in the network environment,
such as when a network operations team begins to
activate policies and signify intent across different
network domains. These types of projects can also allow
for self-service network operations and ensure
compliance with security policies and operational
standards. Automation tools are key to ensuring
consistency and simplicity in day-to-day operations.
Finally, the Fly category is for proactively managing
applications, users, and devices by leveraging a DevOps
workflow. With such projects, you can deploy
applications using continuous integration and delivery
(CI/CD) pipelines while at the same time configuring the
network and keeping consistent application policies. By
combining machine learning capabilities with
automation, a business can shift from a reactive
application development approach to a more holistic
proactive approach—which lowers risk and increases
agility. Each of the Automation Exchange use cases
adheres to the automation lifecycle, which consists of
Day 0–2 operations. Table 1-6 lists the functions of the
automation lifecycle.
Table 1-6 Automation LifecycleDayFunctionDescription