Breaking Down Silos: Managing Complex Cisco Networks with Puppet
Cisco network hardware underpins the smooth operation of countless IT infrastructures. Renowned for their power and versatility, these devices also present a significant management challenge due to their inherent complexity.
Traditionally, dedicated teams of Cisco specialists are tasked with configuring and maintaining this equipment. While their expertise is vital, isolating them from the broader IT department can lead to a multitude of operational issues.
A Need for Collaboration and Automation
Inefficiencies can become major roadblocks. Puppet offers a solution to bridge this gap and foster collaboration within the IT department. Puppet's network device integration a framework for managing Cisco devices alongside other infrastructure elements.
Puppet: Streamlining Cisco Device Management
Puppet offers two core modules designed to simplify Cisco device management and integrate it seamlessly with the broader IT infrastructure. These modules don't aim to replace the valuable knowledge of Cisco specialists. Instead, they empower these specialists to work more effectively with other teams by utilizing the same tools, languages, and deployment pipelines. This develops collaboration, breaks down information silos, and streamlines network management processes.
Benefits for Specific Cisco Device Families
Cisco IOS Devices Module: This module caters to various Cisco Catalyst switch families, including the 6500, 2960, 4507, 3750, and 4948. It facilitates agentless automation for network configuration, testing, and application deployments. By automating these tasks, network teams can significantly reduce the time and effort spent on manual configuration, leading to faster deployments and minimized downtime during maintenance or updates.
Native NX-OS Puppet Agent: Network administrators can leverage this agent to automate the entire lifecycle of Cisco Nexus switches (Nexus 9000, 7000, 6000, 5000, and 3000).
This includes "Day One" (initial configuration), "Day Two" (ongoing configuration), and "Day Three" (maintenance) tasks. Using Puppet code, administrators can simply define the desired state of the network, and the agent will handle the configuration changes automatically. This downloadable module, available on the Puppet Forge, empowers administrators to manage complex network configurations efficiently.
By adopting Puppet, network teams can move away from time-consuming manual configuration and embrace automation. This not only reduces errors and inconsistencies — it deepens collaboration and improves overall IT agility. Network specialists can become valuable contributors to a unified IT infrastructure, enhancing the responsiveness and efficiency of the entire organization.
Further Reading:
- See the Puppet Cisco IOS module.
- See the Puppet Cisco NX-OS module.
