Introduction
In the ever-evolving landscape of IT, where software-defined networks and automation have become the norm, networking professionals need to adapt and keep pace with the transformation towards a more automated network deployment. NetDevOps, a methodology that combines network operations with modern development practices, has emerged as a solution to this challenge. NetDevOps Days New York, an event hosted by NetBox Labs, is quickly becoming a gathering that provides a platform for networking and development professionals to learn, collaborate, and explore the latest trends in network automation and DevOps practices. This event was only the second one put on by NetBox Labs, and I was fortunate enough to attend. In this blog, I will give an overview of the event and my thoughts on it.
The Venue
The event was held in the Canoe Studios office in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The space was set up nicely with plenty of room for folks to mingle and collaborate on NetDevOps topics. There was good food, drinks, and, of course, a coffee bar. I mean, can you have an IT conference without a proper espresso bar? Possibly the best part of the venue was the balcony with views that overlook lower Manhattan and the Hudson River. The views from up there were spectacular.
Opening Remarks
The conference kicked off with a talk from Mark Coleman, Chief Product Officer, NetBox Labs, and Christopher Liljenstolpe, Chief Architect – Cloud, Cisco Systems titled A DevOps retrospective: What we can learn from a decade of DevOps to make sure we all win with NetDevOps. Mark and Chris made the point that we, as an industry, have been doing some form of network automation for many years. Early in my career, I used to write Perl and Expect scripts to do fairly simple configuration updates to routers. Thankfully, the tools available to us have improved since those days but the concept of automating network changes is not something new. As a community, we can look at what has worked and what has not with some of these earlier tools to make sure we have a better approach as we build more modern automation frameworks with more modern tools.
General Sessions
The talks at this event where top notch. I will only cover the highlights here for those that missed the event. Once the talks are posted on the website, I highly recommend you check them out.
It is so hard to pick just one but probably my favorite talk of the day was Test it first! Taking a DevOps approach to network labs by Pete Crocker, Director of Product and Solution Architecture at IPFabric and Jerrod Gerth, Data Center Segment Leader, Global Webscale at Nokia. Pete talked about how far we have come when it comes to building a digital twin of your network in a virtualized environment so that you can test your network changes before you push them to production. Jerrod talked about ContainerLab and how easy they have made it to spin up containers of the most popular network operators systems (NOS) and build a topology. It’s amazing how far we have come since the GNS3 days where it took hours/days/weeks just to build a topology so you could test something out.
Another great talk was Our phased approach to network automation by Karl Fosburg, Senior Director, Network Management Systems, Hughes Network System. Karl did a great job of talking about how organizations like Hughes can start small and build an automated network in phases. It does not happen overnight and getting some small wins help you build momentum within your organization.
DISCLOSURE: I did deliver a talk titled Using Sources of Network Truth To Enrich and Understand Network Telemetry. I’d be honored if you checked out the recording and provided me with feedback on it.
Hallway Track
As anyone who has attended an IT conference knows, some of biggest value you get out of attendance is what some call the “hallway track.” What that really means is spending time visiting with the other attendees. Attendees can interact with peers, professionals, and organizations that share their passion for NetDevOps, fostering collaboration and the exchange of ideas. One key takeaway for me was that a lot of organizations are still struggling to get started. A lot of the attendees shared struggles around getting time, budget, and resources to begin an automation journey. Even once you have all of that, getting the rest of the IT team to buy in to changing their approach to more automation first approach is difficult. The consensus seemed to be that the best way to break this barrier is just get started with an easy win. By solving small challenges using network automation, you can show to your peers and leadership the value, in your own company, that network automation can bring.
Conclusion
NetDevOps Days New York, hosted by NetBox Labs, was a great event that exemplifies the power of convergence between networking and development. In a time when digital transformation is reshaping industries, the ability to adapt and adopt NetDevOps practices can make the difference between success and stagnation. This event empowered professionals to bridge the gap between these traditionally distinct domains and embrace the future of network operations.
Whether you are a network engineer, operator, or software developer, attending a NetDevOps Days event can provide valuable insights and networking opportunities that can significantly enhance your skillset and help you thrive in the age of NetDevOps. Don’t miss the chance to be a part of this dynamic, forward-thinking community. While you wait, check out the upcoming Autocon 0 conference being put on by Network Automation Forum in Denver, CO Nov 13-14. This proves to be an equally awesome event for community engagement around network automation.
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