The state of automation among enterprise operators has been a matter of some interest this year, with several firms undertaking studies of the space. Juniper, for instance, recently released the first yearly edition of the SONAR report, which surveyed many network operators to set a baseline for a better future understanding of how automation is being used. Another recent report in this area is Enterprise Network Automation for 2020 and Beyond, conducted by Enterprise Management Associates.
While these reports are, themselves, interesting for understanding the state of automation in the networking world, one correlation noted on page 13 of the EMA report caught my attention: “Individuals who primarily engage with automation as users are less likely to fully trust automation.” This observation is set in parallel with two others on that same page: “Enterprises that consider network automation a high priority initiative trust automation more,” and “Individuals who fully trust automation report significant improvement in change management capacity.” It seems somewhat obvious these three are related in some way, but how? The answer to this, I think, lies in the relationship between the person and the tool.
For any field of study, there are some mental habits that will make you an expert over time. Whether you are an infrastructure architect, a network designer, or a network reliability engineer, what are the habits of mind those involved in the building and operation of networks follow that mark out expertise?
Experts involve the user
Experts don’t just listen to the user, they involve the user. This means taking the time to teach the developer or application owner how their applications interact with the network, showing them how their applications either simplify or complicate the network, and the impact of these decisions on the overall network.
Experts think about data
Rather than applications. What does the data look like? How does the business use the data? Where does the data need to be, when does it need to be there, how often does it need to go, and what is the cost of moving it? What might be in the data that can be harmful? How can I protect the data while at rest and in flight?
Simplification is a constant theme not only here, and in my talks, but across the network engineering world right now. But what does this mean practically? Looking at a complex network, how do you begin simplifying? The first option is to abstract, abstract again, and abstract some more. But before diving into deep abstraction, remember…
According to Roman philosophers, simplicity is the hallmark of truth. And yet, networks have become ever more complex over time. Why is this? Because complexity sells. In this short take, I talk about why complexity sells, and some of the mental habits you can use to overcome our natural tendency to prefer the complex.
A lot of people say just to save money, and watch it grow. There is more to life than just growing, though—you need to figure out what to sell, as well.