Area 3 · Orchestration

NetOps training

We train the network team to work with Git, Ansible and an orchestrator, so every change to switches, routers and firewalls is reviewed, repeatable and tracked.

Request the check-up

Who it is for

Network and systems teams that configure devices by hand, over the console or by pasting commands from a file, and need to show who changed what.

Where

Pavia and Lombardy on site by appointment, across Italy and Europe remotely.

How it starts

A call, then a written proposal with scope, timing and cost.

Problems we solve

• Manual changes across many devices: one wrong or forgotten command is enough for an outage.
• Configurations that differ from the documented ones (drift): nobody knows what the right state is.
• Audits and compliance: evidence of who changed what, and when, is rebuilt by hand.

What you get

• Git repository with inventory, variables and playbooks for your device fleet
• Change flow: request, review, check-mode test, apply from the orchestrator
• Scheduled backups and drift reports, ready for audits
• Course material and exercises that stay with the team

In practice

We bring the same GitOps method used for servers and applications to the network: the desired configuration of switches, routers and firewalls lives in a Git repository, every change goes through a review, Ansible applies it and an orchestrator (Ansible Automation Platform or AWX, Jenkins or the CI you already use) runs it, repeats it and keeps the record. The course is hands-on, on your devices or a virtual lab, and ends when the team can do it on its own. The goal: fewer manual errors, more resilience, reports and evidence ready for audits.

• Network as code: Git repository, reviews and tracked releases
• Ansible for Cisco IOS XE, NX-OS and IOS XR, firewalls and other vendors
• Orchestrator: Ansible Automation Platform or AWX, Jenkins or existing CI
• Backups, comparison with the desired state (drift) and rollback
• Reports and evidence for audits and compliance (NIS2, ISO 27001)

Our approach

1. We start from a device inventory and the most frequent and risky changes.
2. We set up the repository: inventory, variables per site and per role, first configurations read from the devices.
3. We automate one change at a time (VLANs, ACLs, NTP, users), first in test and then in production, always from the orchestrator.
4. We add backups, drift checks and reports; the team repeats the exercises until it works on its own.

Reference diagrams

What success looks like

• No network change reaches production without a review and a record in Git.
• The same change applies identically to one or a hundred devices, and is rolled back the same way.
• Drift and backups are checked automatically and audit evidence is extracted without manual work.

Technologies

• Git
• Ansible
• cisco.ios
• cisco.nxos
• cisco.iosxr
• Ansible Automation Platform / AWX
• Jenkins
• NETCONF / RESTCONF

How we work

1. Listening A call to understand the context, the problem and the constraints. No commitment.
2. Proposal Scope, timing and cost written clearly, before anything starts.
3. Delivery Small shippable steps, regular updates and code in your own repository.
4. Handover Documentation and training: the work ends when your team can run it alone.

Related services

• Kubernetes and cloud native platforms

  Clusters and platforms designed, secured and upgraded without fear.

• Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform

  OpenShift in the enterprise: installation, security, operators, application migration.

• Orchestration and automation

  CI/CD with Jenkins, Ansible, infrastructure as code and GitOps: repeatable releases.