Networks are the lifeline of all modern enterprises. As organizations embrace digitalization and transformation, the focus shifts to a differentiated approach to strategy, operations, and execution, both from a technology and process perspective. Alongside the evolution of application architectures from monolithic to microservices and cloud native, there has also been increased traction in the automation of network operations.

This paper explores the gaining prominence of network automation in enterprise business processes, with special emphasis on Day 2 operations. The paper elaborates on the Wipro-NetBrain partnership in enabling new automation goals and objectives for enterprise networking and also delves on some of the key attributes and benefits of the joint offering in optimizing Day 2 operations.

Networking in the era of digital transformation

There was a time when network operations were outside the purview of business operations and not considered to be of much strategic value. The advent of SMAC (Social, Mobility, Analytics & Cloud) technologies rendered that belief obsolete more than a decade ago. With the recent global developments ushered in by the new normal, users are now connecting from home and remote locations, off the traditional/corporate network. This transition has driven businesses to reimagine service models that  necessitate digital transformation, and aligning of underlying IT modules. In other words, this implies that the network infrastructure has a direct impact on the success or failure of digital transformation initiatives.

Enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of Day 2 network operations

Network automation has gained immense traction in the recent past in the all-digital, ever-connected world of people and processes. Network automation is increasingly becoming the cornerstone strategy to enable secure, reliable, responsive, agile, and easily managed networks while maintaining costs and ensuring security. The introduction of DevOps practices has ushered in security and reliability in the software development arena, leading to the development of mature methodologies such as DevSecOps, site reliability engineering, etc. Similarly, in the world of infrastructure operations, the advent of automation has led to steady progress with orchestration, intent-based networks, and even autonomous networks. However, it is crucial to understand well the distinction between hype and reality as these new practices gain momentum.

Architecting, building and operationalizing networks whether greenfield or brownfield environments involve Day Zero, Day One and Day Two activities:

• Day Zero focuses on requirements, design, solution architecture
• Day One activities are around initial provisioning and configuration management
• Day Two focus is on everyday operations that focuses on management, maintenance and optimization

A key imperative in Day 2 network operations is the blast radius associated with any change carried out on the infrastructure. Hence, many enterprises have ‘zero’ tolerance for errors arising in the network, as the minutest of changes in the network infrastructure can have dire consequences. In such scenarios, automation plays a significant role. Holistically speaking, network automation has touchpoints through the complete lifecycle of IT systems, right from service design through transition and operations. As such, there are a plethora of solutions available that cater to the different aspects of provisioning, configuration, operations, etc. The next-gen networks deliver significant cost and productivity benefits, accelerating business goals and outcomes.

Wipro & NetBrain: A partnership to transform networks

Under the umbrella of Wipro Cloud and Infrastructure Services, MNS 2.0 (Managed Network Services 2.0) & NetOps 2.0 are offerings that provide additional impetus and focus on network automation. With the intent of delivering a superior network experience to end-users and improved business service availability, Wipro has infused automation across the spectrum of network services. The NetOps 2.0 approach drives high network efficiency in IT operations and enhances business effectiveness. Partnering with NetBrain, the market leader in network automation, and leveraging Wipro’s industry-leading AI-Platform HOLMES™, Wipro has delivered significant ROI for customers across the globe. Figure 1 shows the interface of Wipro AI platform HOLMES.

Key attributes of NetBrain automation

NetBrain’s automaton solutions drive documentation automation, troubleshooting automation, change management automation, and audit and compliance reporting. Coupled with the NetOps 2.0 approach and Wipro’s AI-Platform HOLMES™, the solution offers significant advantages. We extensively leverage NetBrain in most Wipro Insightix network solution-led network assessments.

Salient attributes of NetBrain:

• Real-time documentation updates: Keeping network documentation up-to-date is a nightmare for network managers. Even though solution architects prepare the initial documentation, keeping the network diagrams up-to-date remains an impossible task. NetBrain’s dynamic documentationenables network engineers to generate dynamic network maps on demand and parse through the configuration files. The solution displays vital metrics associated with network devices. End-to- end path visualization helps in determining the application routes, both during business-as-usual scenarios and alternate paths in the case of anomalies.
• Easy integration with ITSM tools: Network Engineers sometimes spend hours trying to find and fix the fault during outages. NetBrain’s capability to integrate with monitoring and ITSM tools enables automatic ticket creation triggering an API call to NetBrain from the ITSM tool. Building a network map of the site or region experiencing the outage, the ticket gets updated with a link to the dynamic map. This empowers the assigned network engineer to focus on solving the issue at hand.
• Quicker troubleshooting: Automated run books and troubleshooting paths highlight the change in routing and the resulting change in the application flow due to a fault. The output of the run books gets automatically updated in the ticket with a link to the dynamic map. The assigned network engineer thus has at their disposal, all the requisite information on the exact nature of the fault for a quick solution

Driving efficiencies for a global manufacturing entity

Let us look at how Wipro partnered with NetBrain to enable new efficiencies for a global manufacturing entity.

The client was a leading manufacturer of key components for the Telecom industry with world-wide operations. The client has made significant investments to modernize their network infrastructure to enable access, transport and hosting (on-premise and cloud) and also on monitoring and management platforms. However, in the absence of operational automation, they continued to face challenges in analyzing the reasons for slow application response. Other concern areas included, drawing contextual and relevant network diagrams for troubleshooting, the lack of a common set of guiding principles for managing a multi-vendor network, and the rigid mindset of network engineers to switch to an automated environment.

Troubleshooting is both an art and a science, and many times, success becomes a factor of the troubleshooter’s ingenuity and expertise. Key aspects of troubleshooting, whether it is for availability or performance-related aspects, include tracing the network path end-to-end, determining the necessary conditions for packet flow through the network (Access control lists, Firewall rules, NAT rules, Policy based routing, and so on), and verifying suitable route paths, link utilization, and device parameters to determine if end users can access applications seamlessly.

Wipro leveraged NetBrain automation tool to simplify the process of deploying run books with Qapp (Quick apps) based Scriptless visual programming. Automating the standard operating procedures augmented troubleshooting, and enabled a single pane of glass management. A salient attribute of the solution offering was the ability to integrate with multiple ecosystem partners across service desk, monitoring, management, and log analytics space.

Bringing in automation capabilities and experience led to several improvements in the client’s network environment. Benefits included availability of on-demand contextual network maps, empowerment of L1 network engineers for easy troubleshooting, significant reduction of cycle time (Mean time to resolve) for incident resolution and a comprehensive view of the entire network, enabled by quick and easy ecosystem integration.

Building resilience and responsiveness in networks of the future

Amidst the uncertainty posed by COVID-19, the workplace has evolved beyond the four walls of the office to accommodate the flexible space/time requirements of organizations. Reliable, secure networks are at the forefront of every transformation initiative, and this mandates networks to be more resilient, adding in elements of automation, personalization, and configurable services. Effective network automation must break free of traditional silos to bring together all network infrastructure elements, operations, and support systems. The Wipro-NetBrain collaboration aims to reimagine solutions, bringing in strong complementary capabilities around automation tools, processes, and solutions to excel Day 2 operations, empower key stakeholders, and accelerate business outcomes

Schedule a discussion with our experts to understand how Wipro-NetBrain partnership can support your organization in enabling automation in networking.

Shyam Sundar Venkat

Managing Consultant, Cloud & Infrastructure Services,

Wipro

Shyam Venkat is an IT professional with more than two decades of experience around Cloud Infrastructure, Network Transformation, IT Strategy, Service Management, Site Reliability Engineering, Cybersecurity etc. Settled in Dallas TX, Shyam has led several successful engagements with clients across Industry verticals in technology management, consulting, service delivery and operations. He is also a trained Indian classical vocalist with few performances to his credit. Shyam can be reached at shyam.venkat@wipro.com

Satyaki Hosmane

Senior Solution Architect, Network Practice

Wipro

Satyaki Hosmane has over 18 years of experience in the field of information technology, networking infrastructure architecture, and technical delivery. He is an expert in the field of software defined, and traditional and wireless networking. He leads projects on Insightix Network, a framework for network consulting that enables quick and easy transformation to a digital network. Satyaki holds a number of certifications in leading technologies and products like CCNA, CCNP, CCIE (W) and (VCA). Satyaki can be reached at satyaki.hosmane@wipro.com