Do You Need NetOps Engineers in Your Company?

What is NetOps

NetOps is short for network operations. Like DevOps and SecOps, it is a separate process involved in application software development. This article will introduce the NetOps landscape and agile tools for managing and orchestrating the network, outline the differences between NetOps and DevOps, and share expertise in bringing NetOps engineers to the company.

WHAT IS NETOPS
NetOps is an operational framework that helps to design, operate and maintain IT infrastructure.

NetOps became significantly important with developing cloud technology. Moreover, it uses some DevOps tools to make the infrastructure more programmable and automated. At the same time, there is no clear definition of what is NetOps. That is why we will focus on the differences between NetOps and DevOps and define the core aspects and tools in implementing this process.

Also, there are two approaches for this kind of operation, known as NetOps 1.0 and NetOps 2.0.

  • NetOps 1.0. This is a traditional approach to managing networks. With this approach, the network team works separately from application and security teams. NetOps 1.0 is IT-driven and focused on CLI scripting. Also, it is not automated.
  • NetOps 2.0. With this approach, teams incorporate their operation core DevOps values such as network automation, network orchestration, and agility. With DevOps and SecOps, it helps businesses to achieve their goals in a short time. NetOps has faster app delivery and network functionality and stands on network modernization.

NetOps 2.0 teams need to work in cooperation with DevOps and SecOps teams to ensure fitting business aims. This approach allows DevOps and SecOps to have some control over the network. With NetOps 1.0, they depend on network engineers.

NETOPS VS. DEVOPS: ARE THEY THE SAME?
NetOps use some DevOps tools, and there are many other similarities between those two processes. Those processes are closely related but distinct at the same time. DevOps is independent of NetOps, but NetOps is dependent on it, using DevOps principles and tools to network infrastructure. Most of DevOps tools (source code managers, CI servers, automation suites) don’t fit in NetOps ideology.

DevOps

  • DevOps’ goal is to ensure continuous and fast app development.
  • DevOps is focused on automation tools that will help clients achieve business goals
  • The scope of work in DevOps is based on the app’s design, remodeling, and delivery.

NetOps

  • NetOps’ goal is to create safe and secure network infrastructure.
  • NetOps concentrates on detecting network limitations and making them more scalable and flexible
  • NetOps works with maintaining and upgrading the app’s network infrastructure.

NETOPS CORE ASPECTS
Switching to NetOps can improve and optimize project design. To implement this process correctly, you need to understand three core aspects of NetOps.

1. Security-considered aspect

The network must be flexible, but it also must be secure. In many cases, the network can be attacked because of vulnerabilities in the infrastructure, configuration fault, or load balance. If you do not fix network security issues in time, it can cause a severe problem for the app in the future. It makes the NetOps teams work closely with SecOps to ensure the safety of the network.

2. Analytics-driven aspect

To make a network-related decision, you need to have all the data about network operations. It can be data on network performance during traffic surges, the network quality, loading time of application, etc. Also, network analysis helps to have accurate predictions, optimize operations and catch the problems before they occur.

3. Automation-friendly aspect

The main principle of NetOps 2.0 is to ensure automation and orchestration of the network. It would help if you decrease the manual work of network changes, as it can be a reason for mistakes. Automation of the processes makes the network agile and protected from errors by removing the need for human attention and increasing the pace at which network services are deployed.

NETOPS TOOLS
As we already mentioned, NetOps uses some DevOps tools to manage and operate networks, as these processes have related concepts and philosophies. Those tools were created to help DevOps teams set pipelines and upgraded to ensure network automation.

In the first place, several platforms help to manage the network. Those platforms have a graphic UI that makes them easy to use for engineers without broad experience in programming. At the same time, it can be expensive to use one platform for multiple network vendors.

Moreover, some tools make the whole managing process easier by NetOps software automation. They use a single-pane of control for all network components. For example, it can be Ansible Tower, Resolve, or AppViewX platforms.

To decide on using NetOps tools, you need to focus on the process philosophy. Next, we will point out the basic principles that are necessary to note while using NetOps tools:

  • Tools need to work in local, private, or hybrid cloud environments and not depend on vendors.
  • Can ensure network automation, orchestration, and data analysis.
  • Ensure network safety.
  • It can be integrated with existing IT systems and services.
  • Allow DevOps and SecOps to have access to specific network components.
  • Provide real-time network performance monitoring.
  • Support collaboration between NetOps, DevOps, and SecOps teams.
  • Allow a quick detection of network problems.

NetOps also has a goal to grow the enterprise in sophistication and capability. Understanding the needs of NetOps and the specifics of tools can help to modernize the whole development process. In practice, we can see how organizations with advanced NetOps programs could quickly pivot to the remote work model without serious problems.

WHEN DO YOU REQUIRE NETOPS ENGINEERS?
If your company needs to hire NetOps engineers, you need to have clear business goals and a strategic view of the future processes. According to an Opengear poll, 57% of organizations already introduced the NetOps automation approach for their network optimization. 87% of these companies argued that this introduction made their networks more reliable. This data shows the importance of implementing NetOps processes into the development. It has become even more critical when the product works with cloud services.

NetOps also include offensive and defensive security teams and more that ensure data privacy. Cooperation between NetOps, DevOps, and SecOps provides a secure, quick, and quality app design. It means that nowadays, for efficient work, you need to have all those teams involved in the development process.

At the same time, the role of network engineers is changing with technology development. Historically, they followed a manual process. Now they have shifted to a graphical user interface that does not require specific commands. NetOps are used to automate the process entirely.

NetOps is essential for the teams that work with cloud platforms. At the same time, to introduce NetOps to the company, you need to have a network modernization, invest in mobility and virtualization. Only a complex decision will maximally improve the app’s performance.

Switching to NetOps will bring some other benefits to the development process, such as:

  • boosting the productivity,
  • increasing collaboration between teams
  • accelerating app performance

To start with, the team can choose a manageable project and explore the shallows of NetOps without risk. For example, you can start with automating troubleshooting.

NetOps engineers became prevalent because of the growing complexity of modern IT networks. Many enterprises have more shared networks than before. To automate and orchestrate these networks, they need to hire NetOps teams. Similarly, it would help if you thought about NetOps engineers removing human error in a complicated web.

CONCLUSION
In the last few years, NetOps has become an essential process in application development. Some experts say that NetOps is an evolution of DevOps. As we see from the article, it is related and integrated processes, and switching to NetOps increases DevOps productivity also. This article describes the differences between NetOps and DevOps and helps figure out the importance of shifting to NetOps.

This approach fosters NetOps communications, automation of the network processes, and collaboration between developers teams. As we noticed, DevOps tools can be applied to NetOps. As a result, it can automate all the functions and boost app development. The demand for NetOps engineers shows the importance of this approach in the IT sector.

NetOps brings DevOps automation, orchestration, and virtualization of network operations and allows it to be a part of the development process.

If you still have questions on implementing NetOps principles into your enterprise or looking for NetOps engineers, you can contact Cprime specialists. Our company has broad experience in this field, and we can help you with managing network operations.