Step 0: Test the Network! - Danny Wade

Many network engineers make configuration management their first use case for automation, but this can lead to significant mistakes. It’s easy to understand why-automating configuration changes at scale is a requirement for many network engineers these days. Besides time savings, automation brings consistency in how configuration changes are deployed across the network. However, any simple errors (i.e. a typo) are amplified with automation, which can lead to unexpected, widespread network outages. Given the risk associated with configuration changes, not to mention possible coding logic errors, it doesn't make sense that network engineers start with automating configuration changes. Instead, why not focus on read-only tasks that provide a wealth of information and have minimal risk of causing network outages? Automated network testing is a low-risk, high-reward activity within network automation that provides valuable insight into the current operating state of the network. Network testing performs predominantly read-only tasks that collect data from the network, which keeps it a low-risk activity, and executes assertions against provided network standards and other parameters, providing pass/fail results. In this presentation, we are going to dive into real-world success stories of how automated network testing can validate the state of branch office networks within minutes and how it can be incorporated with configuration management to lower the risk of unexpected network outages and other failures.

[@RogerPerkin]

Been waiting for this one - thank you Danny and to NAF for posting all this amazing content!

[@kaon7229]

Nice work Danny!