Network Automation Tool

Network Configuration Manager as your all-in-one network automation tool

Why do network configurations need a network automation tool?

• Avoid misconfigurations, which can lead to network outages, poor performance, inconsistencies, non-compliance, and loss of access to a particular subnet or network.
• Prevent security-related disasters due to failure to stay compliant with industry standard policies.
• Leverage network automation tools to finish labor-intensive tasks in minutes, for example, enabling SNMP v3 to 20,000 devices at once.
• Enable 24/7 network monitoring to keep track of vital network information even when out of the office.

Why Network Configuration Manager is a top network automation tool?

With features such as comprehensive dashboards, informative reports, automated firmware updates, and much more, Network Configuration Manager stands above the competition in managing today's complex network configurations. With Network Configuration Manager's iOS app, you gain the power of managing configurations in the palm of your hands. Some of the critical features of Network Configuration Manager include:

Network Configuration Manager features

Here are some of the network automation features of Network Configuration Manager:

• Configuration backups
• Configuration change management
• Firmware vulnerability management
• Automated compliance auditing for CIS, SOX, HIPAA, and PCI DSS
• Configlets as automation templates

Configuration backups

Every change made in configurations carries a possibility of an error. In some cases, it even leads to network outages disrupting the normal functioning of crucial network devices. This is why changes made to crucial device configurations should be detected and backed up instantly. With Network Configuration Manager as your automated network configuration automation tool, you can take backups of configurations in three ways:

• Manual backup: Instantly back up whichever device you want with the click of a button.
• Scheduled backup: If you want certain backups to run at a particular time or day, you can schedule it accordingly and Network Configuration Manager will take care of it.
• Syslog-based automated backup: If a user logs off after using Network Configuration Manager, the tool will use syslogs to check if any new change has been made. If yes, then configurations are backed up. If not, then the backup operation is discarded.

Configuration change management

The major role of a network administrator is to effectively monitor and manage network configurations. But, it is quite a task to gain complete control over a network environment consisting of a large number of network operators working on several configurations. Network automation via a network automation platform eliminates the need to track changes manually. Some of the change management features Network Configuration Manager has are:

• Real-time change notifications: Network Configuration Manager instantly triggers change notifications in the form of email, SMS, SNMP traps, and syslog notifications whenever there is a configuration change.
• Role-based access control (RBAC): As a admin, you can assign specific roles and devices to operators. Only those roles assigned will be accessible by operators. The admins can choose to accept or reject any changes made by operators.
• Configuration versioning and labelling: Label configurations as baseline or stable so that you can use them during a sudden downtime to restore services immediately.
• Diff View for configuration comparison: Compare two configurations of the same device or two configurations of two different devices side by side. Here, differences and changes are color-coded for better readability.

Firmware vulnerability management

Firmware security is one of the key parameters in a network environment. Managing firmware manually is a hectic task and, in most cases, not efficient. With Network Configuration Manager, you can seamlessly handle firmware vulnerabilities. It collects updated data from NIST and provides a list of devices that are vulnerable along with website links containing patch downloads. Here, the severity is categorized with base scores.

Automated compliance auditing for CIS, SOX, HIPAA, and PCI DSS

With enterprises finding more and more ways to attain growth in the corporate world, it has only increased the probability of security threats to their network resources. This is why it is mandatory to adhere to both internal and external policies to avoid loopholes and legal issues. Network Configuration Manager, as your enterprise network automation tool, helps administrators achieve compliance with default policies for industry-specific compliance requirements like CIS, SOX, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. You can also create policies from scratch.

Configlets as automation script templates

Quite often, admins need to carry out changes to the running configurations of devices, which becomes a repetitive task. The same set of changes might have to be applied to multiple devices, making it a tedious and a time-consuming process. Network Configuration Manager provides Configuration script templates, also known as Configlets, that let users execute access control lists (ACLs) and other troubleshooting commands in bulk, paving the way for increased network security.

Two-factor authenticaton for Configlets

To improve security and reduce errors, two-factor authentication (2FA) has been added for Configlet execution. Here, the user is prompted to enter an OTP. Only with the right OTP can the user can proceed with Configlet execution. This works only if the user has enabled 2FA. If the user has not enabled 2FA, then the user can execute Configlets normally without entering an OTP.