Internet2 and the research and education network community are continually innovating through the development and operation of advanced cyberinfrastructure. Especially important in today's network environment is the identification and implementation of automation and orchestration practices. This repository is a community-driven location to capture these practices - that in many cases are unique to the needs of R&E networks - and connect the community. Although other great sources of tools and processes are documented elsewhere such as Network to Code's Awesome Network Automation, this site will highlight those practices and specifics that will help the campuses, the research networks and Internet2 all successfully become more efficient, secure and resilient via automation and orchestration.
During the 2018 Technology Exchange, four break-out sessions were held to allow attendees to have more in-depth conversations regarding the topics discussed.
The four break-outs included (1) optical, (2) software and automation, (3) security and (4) routed services futures. Summaries of the comments are:
Software and Automation Breakout at TechEx Recommends Regional Workshops
A break-out discussion session on Next Generation Infrastructure (NGI) Software and Automation was held during the Technology Exchange.
Initially, the discussion focused on how to start automation efforts. There was consensus as to why we should automate and what could be automated but, for some, it was unclear how to get started. The groups decided that the community would collaborate on a central repository of automation workflows. Internet2 will host the repository and develop documentation to help members bootstrap their automation efforts.
-- 2018 Internet2 Blog Post
Post-pandemic, during the 2022 Technology Exchange in December, there was revitalized energy around the network automation topic. Internet2 and the community came together to launch monthly automation NTAC meetups and formalize the long-standing Internet2 #i2-network-automation Slack channel into #i2-ntac-networkautomation. Now an established Special Interests Group, the NTAC Network Automation SIG was then published to the community group list.
It is easier than ever to connect with the SIG. See Get Connected! for more information.
- NTAC Network Automation
- NTAC Network Automation Slack
- Mailing List
- Monthly Meetups
- Collaboration Project Folder
- Faster Network Config - Growing collaboration of interested organizations learning and developing together
Resources related to network automation and orchestration are located in the Resources folder in this git.
Events that are upcoming as well as those that have already occurred which provide materials. Ultimately, some of these materials could be pulled into the repository for continued refinement and development.
- Internet2 Tech Exchange 2022 - Announcement of GÉANT's Network Automation eAcademy
- Internet2 Tech Exchange 2022 - Beginning Automation: An Autobiography - Slideshow depicting a story of doing automation for the first time at a university.
- Internet2 Tech Exchange 2022 - Selecting a Network Source of Truth - Research comparison slideshow of NetBox and Nautobot as of 11/2022.
- Internet2 Global Summit 2018 - Network Automation at the University of Michigan - Presentation at Internet2
- Network Automation Workshop - UMich 2018-06-27 - Workshop with presentation links
Internet2 NTAC Network Automation has multiple ways to get connected with the community. This Google form may be used to request invites to Slack, the mailing list, and monthly NTAC Network Automation meetups.