As businesses tend to rely more and more on acquiring data for their competitive advantage, network infrastructure continues to play a vital role in every sector. The increasing reliance on information, driven by a rising interest in data acquisition, demands an infrastructure that is reliable and can quickly adapt to new requirements.
The traditional method used to operate network appliances, Command Line Interface (CLI), and the protocol for monitoring the status of the individual components, Simple Network Managing Protocol (SNMP), are no longer sufficient to ensure the speed of operation and the efficiency required by today’s infrastructure. CLI requires manual commands typed individually onto each box, leading to slow changes and potential human error; SNMP is slow to react and too imprecise to provide the level of information required to quickly investigate an ongoing issue.
To address the above requirements and limitations, network devices today are required to support API interfaces for access and programmability and provide a near real-time flow of information on their operating status by means of streaming telemetry. In addition, to simplify integration with third-party applications, these devices need to support standardized configuration initiatives such as OpenConfig.
The advantages of using API for the programmability of devices lead to an increased speed in the deployment of new services by means of customized command libraries or third-party applications, and a reduction in human error by automating the configuration roll-out. Streaming telemetry provides both the granularity to depict trends and patterns in the network and enables the collection of useful information to aid in network troubleshooting and speed up problem resolution.
These two features are already implemented in all modern and professional appliances. All that is left is a tailored solution to leverage this potential. Contact our team today to find out how to start implementing automation and advanced monitoring in your infrastructure.
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