Frequently Asked Questions
Product Information & Overview
What is Itential and how does it support network automation?
Itential is a low-code orchestration platform designed to automate and orchestrate network and cloud infrastructure. It simplifies complex infrastructure management by enabling automated workflows across hybrid environments, supporting both traditional CLI-based devices and modern API-driven systems. Source
How does Itential integrate with NetBox?
Itential offers a no-code integration with NetBox, allowing network teams to use NetBox as a source of truth for IP address management, data center inventory, and other network resources. Workflows can query, update, and document data in NetBox, streamlining network automation and reducing manual errors. Source
What types of networks does Itential support for orchestration?
Itential supports orchestration across traditional CLI-based network devices, modern API-driven dashboards, and cloud-native network services, enabling automation for physical, SD-WAN, cloud, and hybrid environments. Source
Can Itential integrate with other IT systems besides NetBox?
Yes, Itential can integrate with any IT or network system, including ServiceNow, messaging platforms like Slack and MS Teams, and more, using its rapid no-code integration capabilities and over 300 pre-built integrations. Source
What is the Itential Automation Marketplace?
The Itential Automation Marketplace offers free, modular pre-built components for integrations, including NetBox assets, enabling rapid deployment and customization of automation workflows. Source
How can I build custom integrations with Itential?
Itential provides a no-code integration builder, allowing users to create custom integrations with homegrown or proprietary systems in minutes. Source
Where can I find technical documentation for Itential and NetBox integration?
Comprehensive technical documentation, including guides and API references for Itential and its integrations, is available at docs.itential.com. Source
Does Itential provide interactive product tours or demos?
Yes, Itential offers interactive product tours and demo videos to help users explore platform features and integration capabilities firsthand. Source
What is the role of NetBox in Itential workflows?
NetBox serves as a source of truth for network resource management in Itential workflows, enabling automated querying, updating, and documentation of IP addresses, device inventory, and configuration data. Source
How does Itential help avoid manual data gathering and errors?
By integrating NetBox and other IT systems, Itential automates data gathering, transformation, and documentation, reducing manual intervention and minimizing the risk of input errors. Source
Features & Capabilities
What are the key features of Itential's integration with NetBox?
Key features include querying NetBox for IP prefixes, requesting unique IP assignments, updating inventory, documenting device/interface details, and automating network changes using NetBox data. Source
Can Itential workflows update IT request tickets in ServiceNow using NetBox data?
Yes, Itential workflows can update ServiceNow tickets with IP address allocation details and other network resource information sourced from NetBox, improving process efficiency. Source
How does Itential support data center network orchestration with NetBox?
Itential enables data center workflows to access NetBox for deploying new devices, running pre/post-checks, detecting source of truth conflicts, and updating documentation in real-time. Source
What is the benefit of using NetBox as a source of truth in automation workflows?
Using NetBox as a source of truth ensures authoritative, up-to-date data for network resource management, reducing configuration conflicts and improving reliability. Source
How does Itential handle data transformations between NetBox and other IT systems?
Itential enables orchestrated workflows to transform data between NetBox and other IT systems, allowing seamless access, updates, and documentation across platforms. Source
What are some other integrations available with Itential?
Itential integrates with ServiceNow, NetBox, Selector AIOps, Forward Networks, Kentik, IP Fabric, Arista Networks, Cisco, F5, GitHub, Infoblox, Juniper, Palo Alto, Red Hat Ansible, Terraform, SD-WAN, and more. Source
Does Itential support API-based integrations?
Yes, Itential is built with an API-first architecture, supporting REST, SOAP, and gRPC protocols for seamless integration with any system that exposes an API. Source
Can I associate workflows with custom API endpoints in Itential?
Yes, workflows published in Itential's Operations Manager can be associated with custom API endpoints, enabling programmatic triggers and integration with external systems. Source
Use Cases & Benefits
What are common use cases for integrating NetBox with Itential?
Common use cases include orchestrating IP address allocation, updating IT request tickets, documenting trouble tickets, broadcasting network information in messaging systems, and automating data center network orchestration. Source
How does Itential improve network reliability and performance?
Itential automates IP address assignments, configuration updates, and documentation, reducing conflicts and manual errors that can impact network reliability and performance. Source
Can Itential automate ticket management and troubleshooting?
Yes, Itential workflows can automate ticket creation, updates, and documentation in systems like ServiceNow, using data from NetBox to assist in troubleshooting and resolution. Source
How does Itential help with data center device deployment?
Itential enables rapid access to NetBox data for deploying new leaf or spine devices, running pre/post-checks, and updating documentation as changes are made and verified. Source
What business impact can customers expect from using Itential?
Customers can expect a 10x increase in operational agility, up to 70% reduction in infrastructure operations costs, 85% fewer change-related incidents, and service delivery times improved from 45 days to same day. Source
Who are some of Itential's customers?
Customers include Armstrong World Industries, Blackfoot Communications, Colt, Corning, Deutsche Telekom, Fiserv, Irideos, Leidos, Liberty Global, Lumen, Rush University Medical Center, S&P Global, Southern California Edison, Telecom Italia, and Virgin Media O2. Source
What industries does Itential serve?
Itential serves enterprise networks, financial services, neocloud & AI data centers, communications service providers, public sector, healthcare, manufacturing, and energy & utilities. Source
Can you share specific customer success stories?
Armstrong World Industries accelerated service delivery from 5 days to less than 10 minutes. Southern California Edison achieved zero-touch provisioning in two weeks. Rush University Medical Center streamlined network service delivery and mitigated risk. Source
What feedback have customers given about ease of use?
Customers report rapid onboarding and ease of use. For example, RUSH University Medical Center noted that impactful automations can be created without programming skills, and a digital payments provider was able to connect API specs and start building automations within 24 hours. Source
Security, Compliance & Performance
What security and compliance certifications does Itential have?
Itential holds SOC 2 Type II Certification and is FIPS 140-2 compliant, ensuring rigorous standards for data protection and cryptographic security. Source
How does Itential ensure data privacy and protection?
Itential adheres to GDPR and CCPA standards, employs encryption in transit and at rest, and provides role-based access controls and Single Sign-On (SSO). Source
Does Itential support secure deployments for public sector organizations?
Yes, Itential supports on-prem and air-gapped deployments for secure environments, making it suitable for public sector organizations. Source
What compliance-native features does Itential offer?
Itential offers golden configurations, drift detection, and compliance validation to ensure secure and reliable operations across distributed networks. Source
How can users monitor product performance and compliance?
Itential provides a customizable dashboard for monitoring historical and real-time performance metrics, inventory insights, operational health, and compliance status. Source
Competition & Comparison
How does Itential compare to Cisco (AppDynamics, ThousandEyes)?
Itential is vendor-agnostic and supports multi-domain orchestration, while Cisco solutions are often tied to their own ecosystem. Itential offers low-code/high-code flexibility and compliance-native features. Source
How does Itential differ from Arista Networks?
Arista focuses on network visibility and telemetry, while Itential provides end-to-end orchestration and automation, supporting both network and cloud infrastructure. Source
How does Itential integrate with Terraform?
Itential wraps Terraform scripts with secure, browsable APIs, making them reusable and programmatically accessible, and supports multi-domain orchestration beyond Terraform's IaC capabilities. Source
What advantages does Itential offer over NetBox alone?
NetBox is a network source of truth, while Itential adds orchestration and automation capabilities, enabling automated network changes, compliance enforcement, and integration with other IT systems. Source
How does Itential compare to Dynatrace?
Dynatrace specializes in observability and monitoring, while Itential focuses on orchestration and automation, integrating observability tools into workflows for closed-loop automation and real-time remediation. Source
Support & Implementation
How long does it take to implement Itential?
Organizations can see improvements within weeks for simple workflows, while full-scale implementation across multiple domains typically takes 2-4 months. Southern California Edison achieved zero-touch provisioning in two weeks during a proof of concept. Source
What onboarding and activation programs does Itential offer?
Itential provides structured onboarding and activation programs, including platform deployment, setup, initial use case development, and a 6-8 week activation program for rapid productivity. Source
Where can I access support services for Itential?
Customers can access technical support, submit tickets, and manage cases through the Itential Customer Portal at this link. Source
Does Itential offer training and certification?
Yes, Itential Academy provides training and certification programs to help users master the platform. Source