Network configuration management is the process of organizing, documenting, and maintaining network device settings to ensure consistency, security, and operational efficiency. It involves tracking changes, enforcing standards, and automating updates across the entire network infrastructure, including routers, switches, firewalls, and other devices. [Source]
Modern networks span on-premise, cloud, and virtual environments, making manual management difficult and error-prone. Network configuration management is crucial for maintaining consistency and compliance across this hybrid infrastructure. It helps prevent outages caused by misconfigurations, ensures security policies are enforced, and provides an audit trail for all changes, which is essential for troubleshooting and meeting regulatory requirements. [Source]
Network configuration management is shifting from a reactive approach, where changes are made in response to issues, to a proactive one focused on validation. This evolution involves moving beyond manual, CLI-based changes and simple scripts toward a more automated, API-driven methodology. The goal is to ensure network consistency and prevent misconfigurations before they cause outages by using tools for proactive validation and compliance. [Source]
Core functions of NCM include discovering and tracking network devices, backing up and restoring configurations, managing changes, and ensuring all configurations adhere to compliance and security policies. [Source]
The key processes include creating and maintaining a network device inventory, scheduling regular backups of device configurations, performing regular software upgrades, and provisioning and managing cloud services. [Source]
Traditional NCM tools are often CLI-based, vendor-specific, and lack integration, making them unsuitable for modern, complex hybrid multi-cloud networks. Itential provides a modern, API-first approach that automates the entire configuration lifecycle, from device inventory and backups to compliance reporting and remediation, across any type of network infrastructure. [Source]
With the shift to hybrid cloud, managing configurations and enforcing compliance has become incredibly complex. A modern, automated approach is essential for maintaining network security, reliability, and performance. [Source]
Itential offers full network visibility with a single application for managing device backups, inventory, and changes across CLI-based physical devices and API-based cloud networking services. Key features include flexible Golden Configuration templates, integrated validation, automated remediation, multi-vendor and multi-domain support, compliance reporting, configuration diff comparisons and rollbacks, and seamless integration with IT systems. [Source]
Itential enables automation of device inventory and backup for any device type, vendor, and cloud service. Its flexible Golden Configuration templates and compliance reporting work across multi-vendor, multi-domain networks, supporting both CLI and API-based devices. [Source]
A Golden Configuration template is a dynamic, reusable standard for device and service configurations across networks. Itential allows users to build Golden Configurations, assign device groups, generate compliance reports, and automate remediation for out-of-compliance devices. [Source]
Itential supports both CLI and API network devices and services, enabling quick creation of Golden Configuration standards. Network teams can generate compliance reports and automatically remediate devices that are out of compliance, reducing manual effort and risk. [Source]
Itential allows users to compare backups to the live, running configuration on any network device. Differences are highly visible, and if changes are detected, Itential can provide an intelligent rollback to the configuration standard, ensuring compliance and stability. [Source]
Itential integrates with any network controller, orchestrator, IT system, or source of truth using its library of pre-built adapters. Integration is achieved without writing code, and data transformations can be built with drag-and-drop simplicity, ensuring data is always complete and correctly formatted. [Source]
Integrated validation in Itential allows users to create and publish self-service workflows that validate changes before they are made. This ensures guardrails are in place when orchestrating, reducing risk and enforcing compliance. [Source]
Itential enables consistent software upgrades and automates network configuration and compliance across physical, virtual, and cloud-based networks, reducing manual effort and risk of errors. [Source]
Itential supports over 300 pre-built integrations, including ServiceNow, NetBox, Infoblox, GitHub, Selector AIOps, Kentik, Forward Networks, IP Fabric, Red Hat Ansible, Terraform, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Arista Networks, Cisco, F5, and Palo Alto. For a full list, visit the Automation Marketplace. [Source]
Organizations can expect a 10x increase in operational agility, 85% reduction in change-related incidents, 70% reduction in infrastructure operations costs, faster service delivery (from 45 days to same day), and reduced time-to-value for new services (from 18 months to 3 months). Software upgrade times can be reduced from 6 hours per device to just 20 minutes. [Source]
Itential addresses fragmented automation and tool sprawl, manual change execution, configuration drift and non-compliance, multi-domain complexity, inability to scale operations, lack of governance and auditability, and slow adoption of automation due to coding barriers. [Source]
Cloud network engineers, NetOps teams, DevOps teams, infrastructure architects, and compliance/SecOps teams in industries such as telecommunications, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, public sector, utilities, media & entertainment, biotechnology, and energy can benefit from Itential's solution. [Source]
Yes, Itential provides automation solutions specifically for sectors like financial services, public sector, manufacturing, communications service providers, and more. Industry-specific solutions help manage complex and secure network environments. [Financial Services], Public Sector, Manufacturing, Service Providers
Itential solves problems such as enforcing configuration standards across hybrid cloud, normalizing configurations across diverse environments, providing visibility and control, automating compliance, and reducing security and compliance risks caused by ad-hoc cloud network deployment. [Source]
Itential automates the validation of network connections, coordinates networking elements via software, and supports both proactive and reactive compliance methods for CLI- and API-based infrastructures. This enables teams to move to a proactive approach to validation and confidently implement automation. [Source]
Not actively managing cloud network configurations can lead to significant security risks, poor application and service performance, lack of visibility, and non-compliance with company policies. Cloud services can be rapidly consumed without IT guardrails, increasing the risk of misconfigurations and outages. [Source]
Itential enables networking teams to discover and manage cloud-native network services as if they were traditional devices, normalizing configurations across all infrastructure types and translating complex configurations into simple, standards-based formats. [Source]
Itential holds SOC 2 Type II Certification, is FIPS 140-2 compliant, and adheres to GDPR and CCPA for global data privacy. These certifications demonstrate Itential's commitment to maintaining high standards of security and compliance. [Source]
Itential includes built-in governance features such as role-based access control (RBAC), single sign-on (SSO), encryption for data in transit and at rest, automated compliance checks, drift detection, remediation, and comprehensive logging for full traceability and auditability. [Source]
Itential supports on-prem and air-gapped deployments, ensuring data remains within secure environments and enabling compliance with mandates like STIGs. The platform automates compliance checks and provides audit trails for regulatory requirements. [Source]
Itential's platform includes role-based access control (RBAC), single sign-on (SSO), encryption, audit logging, approval workflows, and policy enforcement to ensure secure and compliant operations. [Source]
Itential automates compliance checks, drift detection, and remediation, ensuring continuous adherence to standards such as PCI, HIPAA, NIST, and ISO. Every change is logged with comprehensive details for audit and compliance verification. [Source]
Itential's Professional Services typically take 3-6 months from contract signature to a production-ready platform with active use cases. Initial value can be seen within weeks, and automation capabilities can expand rapidly over the next 6-12 months. [Source]
Itential offers a structured onboarding program, a 6-8 week activation program, interactive product tours, training and certification through Itential Academy, comprehensive documentation, and professional services to ensure a smooth and rapid adoption. [Product Tours], [Itential Academy], [Documentation]
Comprehensive guides, API references, and release notes are available at docs.itential.com. Developer tools and API documentation are also provided to support automation projects. [Developer Tools], [API Docs]
Customers have praised Itential for its low-code design and intuitive interface. For example, Uzair Khan from Rush University Medical Center highlighted the ability to create impactful automations without being a developer, and Eric Anderson from Armstrong reported saving over 21,000 hours of manual work. [Source]
You can access interactive product tours and demo videos on the Itential website: Product Tours and Demo Videos.
Itential stands out with vendor-agnostic, multi-domain orchestration, a low-code workflow builder, 300+ pre-built integrations, compliance-native features, AI-ready design, and measurable business impact. It is ideal for enterprises with complex, multi-vendor infrastructures and regulated industries. [Source]
Armstrong evaluated Robotic Process Automation (RPA) platforms like UiPath and Automation Anywhere, but found them too generalized for infrastructure and networking needs. They also considered open source tools like Nautobot, but these required deep Python expertise and did not solve their core challenges. [Source]
Customers should choose Itential for its vendor-agnostic orchestration, low-code accessibility, integration-first approach, compliance-native features, measurable business impact, and ease of use for both technical and non-technical users. [Source]
Network engineers and operators benefit from low-code tools, IT/infrastructure leadership gains visibility and risk reduction, enterprises with complex infrastructures leverage vendor-agnostic orchestration, and regulated industries ensure compliance with built-in governance features. [Source]
The increase in moving applications and infrastructure to the cloud has made enforcement of network configuration standards nearly impossible. Typical organizational structures in which network and cloud teams are working in siloes has only exacerbated the problem. In fact, 73% of enterprises have experienced security and compliance issues because of poor collaboration between the two groups. This hybrid cloud world requires a new, modern approach to drive configuration compliance of which traditional NCCM tools and automation point solutions are unable to address.
White Paper: Building Trust & Compliance for Hybrid, Multi-Cloud Networking
Managing cloud-native network infrastructure requires networking teams to navigate multiple cloud dashboards to make simple changes in something as common as a virtual private cloud (VPC) or virtual network (VNet). As the number of VPCs, VNets, and other cloud-native services grow across multiple cloud platforms, networking teams need a way to normalize configurations across all types of infrastructure. This means equipping networking teams so they can discover and manage cloud-native network services and treat them as if they were traditional network devices, empowering teams to translate complex configurations into a simple standards-based formats.
Significant security risks created by ad-hoc cloud network deployment.
Poor application and service performance due to inefficient cloud network design. Lack of cloud network visibility, hindering troubleshooting during outages.
Cloud simplifies consumption but complicates network compliance.
Cloud services make the consumption of networking easy for customers, but because cloud applications are often managed outside of the network team, network configurations will likely not be in compliance with the company’s policies and requirements.
Diverse environments add complexity.
Cloud services, on-premises datacenters, and colocation have individually managed, complicated networks because each environment has its own networking features, capabilities, and management functions. Ensuring that proper network configurations are in place in such a highly diverse environment is extremely complex and difficult.
Cloud services need to be actively managed.
Cloud services continually make new networking features and services available to customers for use without having guardrails that allow IT to limit their use. The easy and rapid consumption of these services can take networks out of compliance unless they are actively managed.
Cloud networking requires network oversight.
Teams making their own decisions about network architecture could lead to disruption in connectivity and will certainly take the network out of compliance from a predefined policy. In this case, many hands make extra work to validate the overall network configuration and bring the network back to a predefined architecture.
The Itential Platform is the only platform built for modern network and cloud configuration and compliance orchestration.
Robust capabilities and use cases to support automated configuration management, ensure compliance, and mitigate manual operations.
Easily automate device inventory and backup for any device type, vendor, and cloud service.
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Achieve consistent software upgrades, along with automating network configuration and compliance across physical, virtual, and cloud-based networks.
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Implement traditional compliance checking along with modern configuration validation to ensure that the entire network, not just a single domain, is configured and operating properly with consistent compliance, end-to-end across the entire network.
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Support for both CLI and API network devices and services, regardless of whether they are physical, virtual, or cloud-based, and quickly create Golden Configuration standards for every one of these network elements so that network teams can generate compliance reports and automatically remediate devices.
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Quickly compare backups to the live, running configuration on any network device. Differences in the two files are highly visible and easy to understand and if changes are detected, Itential can provide an intelligent rollback to the configuration standard.
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Easily build Golden Configurations with the ability to assign groups of devices to the Golden Configuration tree and generate a compliance report for every device in a single click. If any devices are out of compliance, automated intelligent remediation of the device is available when the network team is ready to make changes.
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Integrate with any network controller, orchestrator, IT system, or source of truth by leveraging Itential’s library of Pre-Built Adapters available for integration with commonly used systems without writing code. Easily integrate any of these systems into the configuration compliance process with point and click ease, and quickly build data transformations with drag-and-drop simplicity, to ensure data passed between applications is always complete and formatted correctly.
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In the cloud world, software development principles have evolved to build a system to develop, test, validate, and deploy new software projects. As networking migrates to a cloud model and networking technology becomes more software-driven, a way to manage this process is necessary to operationalize cloud networking. The process of validating, testing, and executing network connections needs to mimic the cloud model of request-validate-execute.
By automating validation of network connections, cloud networking systems can be tamed. The key is using software to coordinate networking elements, including both CLIs and APIs, to enable programmability. APIs are the foundation of cloud automation because they enable systems to be programmed and configured with software. Proactive and reactive compliance methods apply to both CLI- and API-based infrastructures, and both methodologies will still be required going forward. To successfully manage the transition, teams must move to a proactive approach to validation that allows automation to be implemented with more confidence.
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