Itential Launches Ansible Manager & Enhances Device Management

Many enterprises today are strategizing on how to implement network automation and reduce the time to complete typical network actions, as they transition towards a programmable and software-defined “modern network”.

To help enterprises accelerate their automation journey, we’re excited to announce the latest release of our platform, Itential 2018.3. This release offers multiple feature enhancements to help bridge the gap between IT and Networking teams, making network automation across multiple domains a breeze.

Itential 2018.3 includes Itential Ansible Manager, a powerful application that takes your Ansible deployments to the next level by introducing advanced functionality to manage and enhance Ansible artifacts. This release also includes an update to our platform core component, Configuration Manager, which introduces solution agnostic and interactive device management capabilities.

ITENTIAL ANSIBLE MANAGER APPLICATION OVERVIEW

Itential Ansible Manager is a robust, standalone application that accelerates and simplifies the use of Ansible for Network Automation, by providing a set of standardized APIs as a front-end to Ansible Playbooks, Modules, and Roles.

Ansible is a well-established solution in the IT space but has typically not been leveraged for network specific tasks. Red Hat has made tremendous progress in recent months on expanding Ansible’s capabilities into the network domain. Itential Ansible Manager’s powerful features enable you to take your Ansible deployments to the next level, drive adoption, and maximize your investment in Ansible.

Ansible Manager visually represents all Ansible artifacts enabling users to:

• Centralize & consolidate management of Ansible Playbooks, Modules, and Roles for all your Ansible deployments
• Dynamically discover Ansible Playbooks, Modules, and Roles making them available for use via API
• Federate & Decorate Ansible Playbooks, Modules, and Roles
• Leverage pre-built Itential Ansible Modules available on Github for network automation
• Utilize the next-generation network inventory engine built on a real-time federated data model
• Build network intelligent workflows with low/no code, for use cases across multiple domains with Itential’s Intelligent Network Automation Platform

FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY

CENTRALIZED & CONSOLIDATED MANAGEMENT OF ANSIBLE ARTIFACTS

Centralized and consolidated management interface for multiple, distributed Ansible deployments in your organization breaks down the barriers between the IT and Networking silos, enhancing collaboration and increasing productivity.

DYNAMICALLY DISCOVER, FEDERATE AND DECORATE ANSIBLE ARTIFACTS

Dynamically discover Ansible Playbooks, Modules, and Roles in your environment, making them available for use via API. Federation and simplified decoration of Ansible artifacts, ensures data accuracy, improved quality, and faster deployment times.

ANSIBLE MANAGER + ITENTIAL AUTOMATION PLATFORM

Recently, at AnsibleFest 2018, we announced our partnership with Red Hat and our integration with Ansible and Ansible Tower to accelerate network transformation. This release further expands on the integration by introducing Itential Ansible Manager. Experience the full power of Ansible Manager when integrated with Itential’s Platform, which can leverage Ansible Playbooks, Modules, and Roles from Ansible Manager to build network intelligent workflows for use cases across multiple domains. Users can also seamlessly utilize Ansible Tower, enabling Ansible customers to fully leverage the power of Itential for network automation, thus protecting and maximizing your investment in Red Hat Ansible ecosystem. Click here to learn more about the full Itential for Red Hat Ansible Solution.

CONFIGURATION MANAGER OVERVIEW

Configuration Manager is an integral component of Itential’s Intelligent Network Automation Platform. It allows users to manage any southbound device and configurations on their networks in an interactive manner. In Itential 2018.3, users can view and modify devices in deployments across their organization, manage groups of devices, backup devices, and compare backup configurations of devices in multiple combinations.

New Configuration Manager Features:

DEVICE MANAGEMENT

Devices visually presented to users are available from southbound systems registered through the Itential Platform. Configuration Manager dynamically discovers and analyzes the devices, providing multiple details for each device which can be filtered, sorted and easily modified. Users can now experience a consolidated view of all devices from one or more instances of Cisco NSO deployments and Itential Ansible Manager. Furthermore, it enhances Ansible by providing its users inventory management capabilities. Managing all the devices in your organization from a single location streamlines device management, saves time and reduces errors.

DEVICE GROUP MANAGEMENT 

Device Groups in the Itential Platform are a collective association of device IDs that are registered on the platform. API calls can use these device groups in various workflow operations. Users can easily modify existing Device Groups or create new ones, which get added to the searchable list and become eligible for batch actions. The Device Groups can be accessed and leveraged by any system that integrates with the Itential Platform.

DEVICE BACKUP MANAGEMENT 

Device backups provide a reference point of a device’s configuration at a given point in time. Users can view all the backups that have been created for various devices on the platform, utilize the filter and sort functions to organize device lists/views, and execute batch deletion actions. Users can now compare the difference in live configurations of multiple devices, and up to two past backup configurations of one or multiple devices. The various configuration comparison combinations enable users to easily identify and quickly rectify errors or problems.

Configuration Manager simplifies device management with its robust features and capabilities, intuitive UI, visual representation of devices, and a device agnostic, interactive and flexible approach.

To learn more about Itential 2018.3, click here to request a demo.