NetOps is an approach to network management that draws inspiration from the principles of the renowned DevOps methodology. It allows companies to maintain a competitive edge in the era of Software-Defined Networking and network functions virtualization. Discover everything you need to know about this practice, its benefits, and the future prospects it offers!
With the digital explosion, computer networks have become the backbone of modern enterprises. Without them, many organizations are completely paralyzed in their activities. Consequently, while the management of these networks was once a purely manual and reactive task, it has evolved to meet the new demands in terms of performance, security, and flexibility. It is in this context that a new approach aimed at automating and optimizing network operations continuously emerged. Inspired by DevOps principles, this method is called NetOps.
What is NetOps?
The term NetOps is a contraction of “Network Operations.” It has its roots in the evolution of traditional network management practices. Historically, network operations were centralized in what were called NOCs: Network Operations Centers.
In these spaces, dedicated teams monitored and managed infrastructures in a purely reactive manner. However, network experts witnessed the advent of DevOps: the methodology that merges development (Dev) and operations (Ops) to promote agility and collaboration.
They realized that a similar approach was necessary in the network domain. That’s why NetOps was created, with the ambition of integrating automation, collaboration, and operational efficiency in network management.
While DevOps focuses on the synergy between software development and IT operations, NetOps specifically focuses on network operations by applying the principles of automation, continuous integration, and proactive infrastructure management. This approach allows companies to better respond to modern challenges related to the increasing complexity of networks and to maintain optimal performance.
DevOps principles applied to network operations
Just like DevOps, NetOps is based on three main pillars: automation, continuous integration, and monitoring. Automation aims to reduce manual interventions, often sources of errors, by automating repetitive processes such as equipment configuration, update management, and network service deployment.
This not only saves time but also ensures greater consistency and reliability in network management. On its part, the principle of continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) is directly inspired by DevOps. It involves adopting an agile approach to deploy configuration changes, security updates, and new features in an iterative and controlled manner.
Thus, network teams can make changes more frequently, limiting the risks of service interruption and ensuring a rapid adaptation to the company’s needs. Proactive monitoring is the third key element of NetOps. Instead of reacting to incidents after they have occurred, it emphasizes the early detection of anomalies using advanced monitoring tools and predictive analytics. Thanks to this approach, it becomes possible to anticipate potential failures and significantly reduce incident resolution time.
The best NetOps tools and technologies
This methodology relies on a combination of technologies and practices to achieve its objectives. Among the main tools are automation platforms like Ansible, Puppet, or Chef. They offer the ability to manage network configurations centrally and automatically.
Software-Defined Networking (SDN) separates the network control plane from the data plane, allowing centralized management of network resources and dynamically adjusting them according to needs. Similarly, NFV allows the virtualization of network functions traditionally performed by hardware equipment such as routers or firewalls. These technologies offer increased flexibility and centralized management of network resources.
For proactive network management, advanced monitoring tools such as Prometheus, Nagios, or Zabbix are used to monitor real-time performance. Like DevOps, this approach also encourages team collaboration, adopting an iterative approach, and continuously improving processes.
Best practices include using CI/CD pipelines for network changes, implementing automated tests, and adopting policy-based management to standardize configurations. However, beyond adopting tools and practices, implementing NetOps requires a cultural change within network teams. Collaboration between departments, openness to innovation, and adopting a mindset focused on continuous improvement are essential points to successfully transition to a NetOps model!
An approach offering many advantages
The automation of repetitive tasks and the integration of agile processes into network management brought by NetOps helps reduce human errors. Often, these errors are the cause of network malfunctions. For example, tasks such as router configuration, firmware updates, or firewall rule management can be fully automated.
This frees up time for network teams to focus on more strategic tasks. Additionally, using CI/CD pipelines allows for quickly testing and deploying new configurations or network updates, minimizing disruption risks. This method thus leads to operational efficiency gain.
Another advantage brought by NetOps is unprecedented flexibility and agility in network management. Technologies like SDN and NFV allow teams to dynamically adjust network resources in real-time without needing physical intervention. They can also swiftly and securely deploy new network features like VPN or QoS (Quality of Service). Previously, this required several hours or days with traditional methods.
A third area where NetOps brings significant improvements is network incident management. Thanks to proactive monitoring and predictive analysis, it becomes possible to detect issues before they turn into major incidents.
Advanced monitoring tools can track real-time network performance, identify anomalies, and trigger alerts even before users experience the effects of a failure.
Moreover, resolution time is significantly reduced thanks to the automation of responses to common incidents. For instance, in case of network link overload, the system can automatically redirect traffic to a less loaded link.
Network availability is increased due to this responsiveness, while service interruptions are minimized. For businesses whose operations heavily depend on network connectivity, this is a real advantage!
How to adopt NetOps within a company?
For many companies, the transition to NetOps from traditional network management approaches, such as the NOC, represents a significant challenge. It requires not only adopting new technologies but also a fundamental change in how network operations are perceived and managed.
One of the first obstacles to overcome is convincing existing teams of the importance of moving to NetOps. It is often necessary to overcome resistance to change, such as reluctance to abandon well-established processes.
The entire existing infrastructure must also be reassessed, and investment in technologies compatible with NetOps principles as well as monitoring or automation tools is required. Therefore, it is better to opt for a gradual transition, with partial implementation in certain segments of the network before full adoption.
Generally, the success of NetOps largely depends on the skills of network teams. They must be trained on new technologies and methodologies. This learning can be done through a continuous training program and by obtaining specific certifications such as those offered by Cisco or Juniper. A comprehensive training plan should be established by the organization.
An essential role in the companies of the future?
In the future, several technological developments should continue to enhance the NetOps approach. We can expect AI, which is booming, to play an even more significant role. It can help improve proactive network monitoring through algorithms that detect complex anomalies and predict failures with increased accuracy.
Artificial intelligence can even automate incident resolution by proposing solutions based on analyzing large amounts of historical data. NetOps will also need to evolve to effectively manage increasingly complex networks, particularly due to the rise of IoT and the deployment of 5G and future generations of mobile networks.
Already at present, 5G requires finer network management and advanced automation to meet the ultra-low latency and high bandwidth demands. Ultimately, the ultimate goal of NetOps could be the total automation of the network. All operational tasks, from configuration to incident management, would be fully automated.
For the company of the future, NetOps will therefore not just be a support function but a central element of the technological strategy. It will be increasingly integrated with other emerging IT practices like DevSecOps and AIOps. This convergence will enable more coherent, secure infrastructure management while leveraging the synergies between these different approaches.
This methodology is poised to become a major competitive lever for companies, enabling them to offer more innovative and responsive services to customer expectations. That’s why skills in automation, programming, and data analysis will become essential for network professionals!
Conclusion: NetOps, a methodology that revolutionizes network management
By combining automation, agility, and innovation, NetOps represents a true revolution in network management to meet the challenges of the digital age. Adopting this approach allows companies to enhance the efficiency of their operations while gaining flexibility and responsiveness to technological environment changes.
It’s not just about automating repetitive tasks but fundamentally transforming how networks are designed, deployed, and managed, integrating practices such as predictive analytics and continuous integration.
Beyond mere modernization of networks, NetOps redefines their role within the company by aligning them with strategic objectives and preparing them to face future challenges. To master the full range of NetOps techniques and tools, you can choose DataScientest. Our systems, networks, and cloud administrator training will provide you with genuine expertise rooted in the modern reality of the profession.
You will discover the fundamentals of SysNet administration, but also Cloud and virtualization, automation with Git, Docker and Ansible, cybersecurity tools, and hybrid IT infrastructure design.
Oriented towards practice with a 100-hour capstone project, this training allows you to validate the RNCP title “Administrator of Secure Infrastructures” and take the AWS Cloud Practitioner and AWS Solutions Architect certification exams.
Moreover, if you want to discover the DevOps principles, we also offer dedicated training that will equip you with all the skills to become an engineer. The program covers application development with Python, Linux system administration, Agile project management, databases, CI/CD, monitoring, and AWS cloud.
You now know all about NetOps. For more information on the same topic, check out our complete article on DevOps and our article on the role of SysAdmin!
