At Mobile World Congress 2021, IBM announced new hybrid cloud AI-powered automation software for communications service providers (CSPs) to help deliver on the promise of 5G, including zero-touch operations, reduced costs and the rapid delivery of innovative services to customers. Using IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation, CSPs can use AI-powered automation to stand up and manage networks quickly, in a wide range of environments, and are engineered to scale new services in days, rather than months.
CSPs provide a vital lifeline for citizens and enterprises globally, and even more so today, as unpredictable events can drive massive changes in network needs and traffic patterns. In fact, according to an IBM Institute for Business Value study, 82% of leading CSPs surveyed identified faster time-to-market of new services as the most important element for successful automation initiatives. Andrew Coward, General Manager, Software Defined Networking, IBM commented:
“As the telco industry races to capture new value from 5G and Edge computing, many are transforming their networks to software-defined platforms that can deliver on this promise. Yet our customers have identified that limited automation and the lack of real-time visibility across networks have hindered their ability to deliver innovative services to customers fast enough. To help address these growing demands, IBM’s new Cloud Pak for Network Automation software uses AI-powered automation to enable zero-touch provisioning of new services which can facilitate the simplification of the management of network functions from the core to the edge.”
IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation, which is engineered to run in a wide range of environments on Red Hat OpenShift, provides a full suite of AI-powered automation capabilities to implement 5G and edge services by managing multi-vendor software-based network functions, which supports the evolution to autonomous operations. The software brings together advanced analytics, machine learning and AIOps to help CSPs discover hidden patterns and trends in networking data, so they can continually optimize network operations and performance with minimal human intervention. With the integration of IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps and edge solutions including IBM Edge Application Manager, CSPs can automate the delivery of resources where they are needed dynamically.
With the addition of IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation to the IBM Cloud Pak portfolio, CSPs can benefit in the following ways:
IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is designed so that a network engineer could use it to turn up a site in a matter of 4-5 days. The solution enables hundreds of thousands of network functions, including hostname details, server ports, network architecture, tenants, IP address plans and more, to be organized and brought together in real-time to deliver a holistic network service.
With the recent close of the acquisition of Turbonomic, IBM plans to deliver the needed analytics and monitoring capabilities required of virtualized, automated networks. IBM plans to offer IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation with Turbonomic network performance management and assurance. Turbonomic provides the ability to ingest large amounts of telemetry information and provide insight into performance and services to manage day-to-day operations. Through this planned integration, customers will have access to network recommendations from analytics, which will become dynamic actions within the network.
IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is one of the IBM Automation Cloud Paks that include a set of shared automation services supported by more than 30 ecosystem partners that help professionals self-automate routine tasks so they can focus on high-value work. Today’s announcement follows IBM’s recent launch of IBM Watson Orchestrate to provide AI-powered automation to business professionals, and the acquisitions of Turbonomic, myInvenio, Instana and WDG Automation to build out a complete end-to-end AI-powered automation portfolio of software for transforming business processes and IT operations.
]]>“Right now, you are in the perfect position to gain new automation skills — for free. All you need is your laptop and an internet connection. DevNet has everything you need to get started, from free learning tracks to free access to Cisco platforms like ACI, NX-OS, and Meraki in the developer sandboxes”, says DuAn Lightfoot in the blog article.
Before we even get started with network automation, we have to know the basics of networking. If you are brand new to networking this is ground zero. Whit a duration of 1 hour and 20 minutes, this module breaks down the basics of networking, topologies, and IP addressing.
Developer Workstation and Environment Setup
This 3-hour module focuses on helping you set up your computer or laptop for DevNet. You will learn why you need a developer environment, how to set one up, and about version control and shells. If you are brand new to automation but already have a grasp on networking, I would start here.
Python is the most popular network automation language right now. This module teaches you the fundamentals of Python, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), JSON, and git as well. These are the core skills for programming and automation. The more you practice, the better you will git! For completion of this module, you will need 2 hours and 15 minutes.
The previous module touches on APIs and this module dives even deeper while introducing us to Postman. You will enjoy this module because you get to parse data from an actual WebEx API and it takes only 1 hour to complete.
Introduction to Model Driven Programmability
Now it’s time to get out of our comfort zone. Explore NETCONF and RESTCONF to communicate with Cisco XE IOS devices. In 1 hour and 30 minutes, you can gain some real superpowers that you can use to manage your networks.
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