The Evolution of Intent-Based Networking

In the beginning, there was the CLI, and for a (long) time the CLI was good (enough). But networks have grown and evolved since those early days. Not only have they gotten larger and more complex, networks have also become ever more critical to our lives – and our businesses. This has ushered in an evolution of network operations as well.

The first glimmers of this evolution started in the service provider networks, which became larger and more critical earlier than other networks. In the internet service provider (ISP) and network service provider (NSP) world, it has been common to use scripts to manage portions of the network for at least a couple of decades. In many cases network devices lacked proper APIs and so the earliest scripts simply logged in and executed CLI commands. These scripts made the job of managing large networks much easier, but they were obviously not the ultimate pinnacle of NetOps technology.

SDN

Networks continued to evolve, and in parallel we saw the rise of server virtualization and the beginnings of cloud and hyper-scale data centers. Against this backdrop, OpenFlow was released in 2011. While that protocol was not quite the disruptive force many of us thought it might be, it did bring the concept of software-defined networking (SDN) into the fore. The basic premise of SDN is the separation of control and forwarding planes – which isn’t necessarily a great idea, but I think it captured our imagination for other reasons.

We were starving for a better way to manage our growing networks, and the idea of using software and automation to force multiply talented network engineers was, and still is, an attractive one. And since enterprise networks (especially data center networks) have caught up to or even surpassed the size and complexity of SP networks, this idea spread among even more networking professionals over the past eleven years.

IBN

The only problem is that SDN failed to really materialize for enterprise and data center networks. It was talked about, and it made its way into many vendors’ slide decks, but it wasn’t real. At least not in the way we wanted it to be.

Enter intent-based networking (IBN) – the most modern evolution of network operations methodologies, and the ultimate evolution of many of the ideas born with SDN. Rather than try to invent new protocols or replace the highly effective, distributed control plane inherent in routing protocols, IBN provides a single management plane. One place to manage an entire network – no matter the scope or scale. And critically, this management plane is not only protocol-agnostic (you can route however you wish), but also device-agnostic – meaning that you can use IBN in a heterogeneous environment.

The multi-vendor management plane provided by IBN allows for repeatable and assured operations. This ultimately leads to a more reliable network and a faster time to market for new network-enabled products and services.

2022

Networks and network operators continue to evolve, as does the environment they must work in. Automation, cybersecurity, supply chain issues, and the “Great Resignation” are all applying pressure on IT decision makers to improve legacy approaches to many common activities.

• Automation: Automation has been top of mind for a long time now and is growing in popularity across many areas of the modern business. After all, it’s not just IT professionals who are constantly being asked to do more with the same or less resources.
• Cybersecurity: The size, sophistication, and impact of cyber-attacks continue to grow to the point that it often feels like the good guys can just barely keep ahead of the bad guys in today’s digital world. And sometimes we don’t.

Adding to these ongoing thrusts are the new challenges brought on largely by the global pandemic of the past two years – namely supply chain issues and the “Great Resignation.”

• The Great Resignation: Following the COVID-19 pandemic and two years of office and business closures, many people, including plenty of IT professionals, are choosing not to go back to work or choose alternate careers. To deliver consistent IT operations in the face of a workforce that ebbs and flows, an easy-to-understand management plane across the network will be key.
• Supply Chain Issues: Sweeping many industries, global supply chain issues are hitting IT especially hard, due to worldwide chip shortages. Lead times for certain equipment are reaching from months to years now, and these shortages are predicted by many experts to last for several more years to come.

Luckily, IBN can also help address these, at least within the realm of your network estate. The multi-vendor nature of a proper IBN platform allows you to pivot from one vendor or product to another without disrupting your network operations. If Switch A isn’t available, you can purchase Switch B and your team still uses the same interface and management plane. And of course, IBN provides that long sought-after force multiplication for the handful of skilled network engineers and network architects you are able to hire and retain.

Juniper Apstra 4.1 for Today’s Data Center Challenges

If you’ve been following along, you know that I often work with Juniper Networks when I write about network automation, and with good reason – Apstra pioneered IBN, and continues to be the only commercially available multi-vendor solution for real IBN. The other reason I like working with them is that they are focused on customer experience and they are constantly evolving along with networks, network operators, and the wider world. That remains true in their newest release 4.1 (launched today!), which brings IBN to the edge, enhanced policy assurance for traffic segmentation, and even easier adoption for customers with their new professional services.

These new features were built to directly address the challenges of today. For example, managing edge deployments can be time consuming and laborious, especially under the post-COVID staffing constraints and increased pressure to maintain high quality services for end users. Using Apstra as a common management plane across your entire estate of edge locations unifies all data center operations – extending IBN and closed-loop automation to even the smallest deployment locations. Likewise, Apstra’s enhanced policy assurance features enable a zero-trust data center with configuration drift detection and resolution.

I suggest you take a look at the product page to learn more about what Apstra IBN can do for your data center network and at the official launch announcement to get the details on what’s new in Apstra 4.1.

Oh, and be sure to tune in to Networking Field Day 28 (#NFD28) in May to learn more about IBN directly from the experts at Juniper Networks!