Best Network Automation Software of 2024

Use the comparison tool below to compare the top Network Automation software on the market. You can filter results by user reviews, pricing, features, platform, region, support options, integrations, and more.

Overview of Network Automation Software

Network automation software is a system designed to automate and streamline the management of networks, including tasks such as configuration, deployment, monitoring, and troubleshooting. With network automation, network administrators can spend less time on mundane and repetitive tasks—allowing them to focus on more high-level issues.

Network automation software simplifies the process of managing complex networks by automating processes that would otherwise require manual intervention. With an automated solution in place, networks can be managed more efficiently and errors can be identified quickly. Automation also helps ensure compliance with security policies by automatically enforcing rules across all network devices.

Network automation enables organizations to manage their entire network infrastructure from one central console. This includes routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, wireless access points, and other networking devices. Network automation tools provide comprehensive visibility into all aspects of network infrastructure—including topology maps and various reports that provide insights into any issues or trends on the network. Automation also provides detailed reports showing how changes have impacted performance or security over time—so administrators can identify problems before they become serious incidents.

A wide variety of different tools can be used for network automation depending on the needs of the organization. Some of these include command line tools like Ansible or Python scripts; graphical user interfaces (GUIs) such as Cisco’s SDN Controller; or powerful orchestration platforms like Puppet Enterprise or Chef Server — which allow users to easily provision servers and configure services across multiple machines simultaneously without needing to write code manually each time.

In addition to providing automated task execution capabilities, many modern solutions are also equipped with AI-driven insights that help administrators anticipate faults before they occur and optimize resource utilization for maximum efficiency across the entire network infrastructure.

What Are Some Reasons To Use Network Automation Software?

1. Improved Network Visibility: Network automation simplifies and streamlines network configuration, providing enhanced visibility of the network and its components. Real-time device monitoring and alerting on issues help administrators catch problems before they become major failures.
2. Reduced OpEx Costs: Automation tools can save time with manual administrative tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more critical areas of IT operations. Automation also reduces workloads in cases such as configuring VLANs, deploying new applications and services, or even provisioning new users across multiple devices quickly and easily. This leads to reduced operational expenses (OpEx).
3. Increased Agility: With automation, networks are able to respond to changing business requirements faster than ever before since automated processes have fewer errors due to redundancies when updating configurations across systems. This helps organizations stay competitive by allowing them to scale their infrastructure quickly if needed without requiring extra manpower or additional capital expenditures (CapEx).
4. Enhanced Security: By using automated processes for software patching, system backups, security testing, authentication management and data protection measures, companies can ensure that all necessary security protocols are met without sacrificing the performance or availability of IT services. Automated network security deployments make it easier for admins to keep track of access rights as well as create set rules for handling suspicious traffic on endpoints within the organization's infrastructure.

Why Is Network Automation Software Important?

Network automation software is becoming increasingly important as the scale of IT infrastructures continues to grow. With more organizations relying on digital technology both internally and across remote or distributed networks, it’s no longer feasible for administrators to complete network processes manually. Automating repetitive tasks can greatly speed up system configuration, reduce network downtime, and improve overall reliability.

Network automation software helps administrators maintain control over multiple connected devices, ensuring that all components remain properly configured during any changes or updates. It also enables organizations to quickly respond to evolving business needs by automating redundant processes such as test deployments and patching procedures. This ensures that admins have visibility into the entire system from a single platform and can make the necessary adjustments in real-time with minimal disruption to other components of the network.

The move towards cloud platforms has made network automation even more critical for businesses of all sizes. By coordinating manual activities with automated scripts, companies can easily move applications or services between data centers without needing specialized personnel or dedicated hardware resources every time a change needs to be made. Furthermore, running scripts at regular intervals enables administrators to automate routine requests like launching new virtual machines or scaling up memory usage on existing infrastructure while reducing latency in the process.

Overall, automated networks provide greater flexibility in configuring and managing large-scale IT environments while simultaneously improving performance outcomes and security standards within budget constraints. Network automation software gives administrators total visibility into their systems so they can focus on truly innovative projects instead of performing mundane maintenance tasks manually; thereby helping them achieve higher efficiency levels in less time.

Features Provided by Network Automation Software

1. Automated Provisioning: Network automation software provides automated provisioning, allowing users to quickly and easily spin up new services or change existing ones with minimal manual effort. This speeds up the process of making changes and reduces the amount of configuration needed to make them.
2. Error-And User-Logging: Network automation software can log errors, changes, and user activity automatically so that administrators can track down problems more quickly and identify any suspicious behavior in a network’s operations.
3. Compliance Monitoring: These systems provide monitoring for compliance with security policies and other regulations established by an organization or regulatory body. They will track changes to configurations as well as access control activities over time to ensure everything is secure and compliant when necessary.
4. Topology Mapping: This feature is used to visualize the connections between different devices and components on a network, making it easier to spot potential issues before they occur. Additionally, it helps reduce confusion among teams working across multiple networks at once by helping them understand network topologies quickly and accurately without having to manually diagram each one out separately first.
5. Automated Backup & Recovery: Network automation software also has built-in backup capabilities that help ensure no data or settings are lost in case of an unexpected power outage or system failure event occurs on a device monitored by this system's toolset.. In such scenarios, administrators can use these backups to restore hardware settings or retrieve data from a previous state if necessary - saving valuable time from otherwise manual labor processes like port configurations.

Types of Users That Can Benefit From Network Automation Software

• IT Administrators: IT administrators can benefit from network automation software by being able to make significant changes to their networks with less manual labor. Automation tools can speed up processes, reducing the amount of time they spend on maintenance tasks and freeing them up to focus more on improving business operations.
• Network Architects: Network architects need reliable data in order to design efficient networks that are well suited for the needs of the organization. Automation software can help them gather essential information for designing or upgrading a network, as well as easily create diagrams and reports detailing how components work together.
• Cloud Engineers: Cloud engineers benefit from automation software thanks to its automated orchestration capabilities which allow cloud infrastructure deployments to be redeployed quickly and reliably without manual intervention. The software can also assist in identifying where cost savings can be made within cloud environments.
• DevOps Teams: Network automation software is a must-have for DevOps teams who strive to improve code development and deployment cycles by ensuring consistency between environments through automation. It helps automate tests, optimize workloads, detect anomalies, identify bottlenecks, and more all while providing real-time visibility over an organization’s entire system topology.
• Security Professionals: Network automation tools provide security professionals with better visibility into their large networks while also allowing them to quickly deploy security patches across multiple systems with just a few clicks or commands. This helps prevent potential vulnerabilities and reduce IT overhead costs associated with manually deploying security measures throughout the entire network infrastructure.

How Much Does Network Automation Software Cost?

The cost of network automation software can vary greatly depending on the features and capabilities it offers. Some basic packages may be available for free, while others may cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars per license. Factors that affect pricing include the number of nodes, security measures, usage requirements, support & maintenance services, deployment options, cloud hosting costs, and more.

Generally speaking, monthly subscription fees start at around $50 and go up to $500 or more per month depending on the number of users. Many vendors also offer annual plans offering discounted prices compared to their monthly plans. These annual rates typically range from $400 to over $10 000 per year. When considering a vendor’s offerings and prices there are a few important details to keep in mind such as whether that price includes: ongoing customer support; premium editions with additional features; upgrade fees for new versions; training for staff; usage-based models; user licensing fees; hosting/maintenance charges etc., so it is important to read through all material related from any potential vendor before selecting one.

Network Automation Software Risks

• Security risks – Automation software can introduce new security vulnerabilities into the network, as each system comes with its own set of security requirements that need to be properly configured and managed. If not done so correctly, unauthorized users may gain access to sensitive information or disrupt network operations.
• Human error – Misconfiguration of automation processes can lead to disastrous and costly mistakes. Accidentally executing automated commands on the wrong systems or in the wrong order can cause serious damage and disruption.
• Lack of customization - Network automation software may not offer enough flexibility and customization options for administrators to tailor their networks according to their exact needs. This may result in inefficient workflows and limited functionality.
• System compatibility – Not all automation tools are compatible with all existing systems, applications, protocols and tools used within a network environment which could significantly limit its potential effectiveness.
• System downtime - Automation software requires additional resources (hardware/software) and may require periodic maintenance leading to frequent system downtimes.

What Software Does Network Automation Software Integrate With?

Network automation software can integrate with a variety of different types of software. These include network configuration management systems, security and performance monitoring systems, cloud orchestration platforms, public and private cloud infrastructure systems, IP address management (IPAM) tools, application delivery controllers (ADCs), and more. By connecting with these various types of software, network automation tasks such as provisioning new devices and services on the network can be performed quickly and consistently. Additionally, having access to real-time data from other sources allows for automated decisions to be made that would otherwise require manual intervention which can make managing networks much easier.

What Are Some Questions To Ask When Considering Network Automation Software?

1. What automated network management capabilities does the software provide?
2. Can you illustrate how it reduces operational costs?
3. Does the software support multiple protocols, like SNMP and CLI?
4. Are there rest API’s available to customize scripting tasks?
5. How easy is it to use and how long does it take to set up?
6. Is there a way for me to monitor user activity on the network using this software?
7. What security protocols are in place to protect my data from unauthorized access or manipulation?
8. Does the vendor offer technical support such as training, troubleshooting and bug fixes if needed?
9. Are there any additional per-user licensing fees or hidden costs associated with using the software that I should be aware of upfront?