Network automation tools automate the process of managing, configuring, testing, deploying, and operating physical and virtual devices within a network. They increase productivity by preventing human errors and reducing operating expenses associated with manual network management. IT teams use network automation tools for secure and cost-efficient execution of complex tasks, including network configuration management, network resource provisioning or capacity planning, network device mapping, drift detection, network audits, and OS upgrades.
While network automation tools address various issues, they must not be mistaken for either software-defined networking (SDN) or software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN). SDN optimizes network resources, which helps in making a network more flexible and easier to manage. When this approach is applied to wide-area networks, the technology is known as SD-WAN.
To qualify for inclusion in the Network Automation Tools category, a product must:
Automate device configuration maintenance and provide regular backups that are encrypted and safely stored
Improve compliance by automating the process of determining if a network device meets the organization’s compliance and regulation standards
Facilitate performance monitoring by allowing IT to read and analyze network performance data on vendor hardware to provide configuration recommendations
Optimize the performance of security infrastructure
Reduce human error