Peter Sprygada   

Chief Architect at Itentia Joins Urs and Steinzi to talk about the AI hype train and network automation.

Network Auto Magic Podcast Episode Summary

Juniper Mist SSR Platform and API Automation

Episode Overview

This episode features Steinn & Urs discussing Juniper's Session Smart Router (SSR) platform and Mist automation capabilities with two Juniper guests:

Episode Guests

• Daniel Petrov: Product Manager for HPE Juniper Networking AI-native SD-WAN team
• Thomas Munzer: Platform team member focused on API integrations and automation (And Steinzi’s personal hero)\

Key Technology Highlights

SSR (Session Smart Router) Platform

• Core Technology: Secure Vector Routing (SVR) - eliminates traditional IPsec tunnels
• Key Benefits:
• Sub-second failover capabilities
• No fragmentation issues (maintains 1500 MTU)
• Selective encryption (doesn't double-encrypt already encrypted traffic)
• Tunnel-less overlay architecture
• Fast boot times (under 2 minutes)

New SSR 400 Series

• Features: Built-in switching, PoE support, 5G capability, built-in Wi-Fi, fanless design
• Power Efficiency: Designed for customers deploying 20,000+ devices
• Security: Built-in IDP engine with simple profile selection
• Licensing Change: Eliminated bandwidth-based licensing in favor of three tiers (Standard, Advanced, Premium)

Security Features

• Quantum-resistant encryption (NIST FIPS 203, 204, 205 standards)
• Advanced anti-malware and antivirus protection
• SSL proxy capabilities
• Security assurance analytics (13-month traffic analysis)

API and Automation Ecosystem

API Architecture

• Scale: Over 1,000 API endpoints
• Philosophy: API-first development - UI uses the same public APIs
• Coverage: Everything visible in UI is accessible via API
• Consistency: Same endpoints work for both SRX and SSR platforms despite different underlying OSes

Developer Tools

• Python SDK: Comprehensive software development kit
• Terraform Provider: Recently launched for infrastructure-as-code
• Postman Collections: Pre-built workflows and practical examples
• Open API Specification: 100,000+ lines of documentation
• Chrome Extension: Discovers API calls made by the UI

Integration Features

• Webhooks: Proactive notifications instead of polling
• Audit Logging: Complete change tracking with before/after states
• Template System: Centralized configuration management
• Multi-tenancy: MSP-friendly with UUID-based resource identification

Mist Cloud Platform Benefits

Management Features

• Automatic Patching: Security updates applied automatically
• Marvis AI: Proactive troubleshooting and network optimization
• TDR Testing: Built-in cable testing without connected devices
• Dynamic Packet Capture: Automated network troubleshooting
• Idea Portal: Customer feature request and voting system

Operational Advantages

• Centralized Control: Single pane of glass for access points, switches, and WAN
• Monthly Feature Releases: Continuous platform improvements
• Virtual Lab Support: Can test configurations in virtualized environments
• Instant Power-On: PoE devices get power immediately during boot

Automation Use Cases

• Site Deployment: Template-based rollouts across thousands of locations
• Security Policy Management: Centralized firewall rule automation
• Network Monitoring: Custom dashboards and executive reporting
• Change Management: Configuration versioning and rollback capabilities
• Multi-vendor Integration: Works alongside other Juniper products (Apstra for data center)

Enterprise Adoption

• Scale: Customers deploying hundreds of thousands of sites
• Industries: Banks, retail (largest fast food chain), and enterprise customers
• Gartner Recognition: Top-right quadrant for five consecutive years

Developer Resources

• Apps Lab Portal: Collection of automation scripts and examples
• GitHub Repositories: Python script libraries and tools
• Documentation: Comprehensive API guides and best practices
• Support: Direct access to product teams for troubleshooting

Technical Architecture Notes

• Cloud-Native Design: Configurations pushed from cloud to devices
• Resilient Operations: Network continues functioning during cloud connectivity loss

Network Automagic episode 004 - Autocon3 hallway track

This is a three part episode from Autocon3

Network Automagic EP003 - NUTS with Marco Martinez

https://networkautomagic.net/podcast/na003/

In this episode, we sit down with Marco Martinez, a core maintainer of NUTS (Network Unit Testing System), to explore how this powerful tool is revolutionizing network testing automation.

Marco walks us through the development of NUTS, designed to address comprehensive testing challenges in large networks that go beyond simple configuration checks. Learn how NUTS automatically tests routing tables, BGP neighbors, and more through an elegant system built on the Pi test library with YAML-defined tests.

🔍 Key Topics: • NUTS architecture and development philosophy • The innovative "INPG Stack" for generating test definitions and visualizing results • Integration with Nornir, Napalm, Netbox, and Infrahub • Comparison with tools like pyATS, ONDATRA, and BATFISH • Pre/post change testing strategies and prioritization • Unix systems advantages for network automation

📋 Episode Timeline: 00:00 - Introduction 03:46 - NUTS Overview and Philosophy 12:31 - Technical Components 25:16 - Integration Ecosystem 35:01 - Visualization with INPG Stack 42:31 - Unix Systems Advantage 48:46 - Tool Comparison 55:21 - Future Development 61:11 - Conclusion and Resources

📚 Resources: • NUTS GitHub Repository: https://github.com/network-unit-testing-system/nuts • SwiNOG#39 Presentation: https://youtu.be/ZVl0GnYMUEo • Network Automation Landscape: https://steinzi.com/network-automation-landscape/

🎧 Listen to Network Automagic: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2UubY0s1KCJ4ct9srD2yUW • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/network-automagic/id1796167806 • RSS Feed: https://anchor.fm/s/1012b01b8/podcast/rss

🎵 Featured Music: "Party Weekend" by Joe 'King' Carrasco and the Crowns (1980)

#NetworkAutomation #NUTS #NetworkTesting #NetDevOps #Automation #Python #NetworkEngineering

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🎬 Network Automagic 002 - Infrahub with Damien Garros 

We sit down and talk about Infrahub from https://www.opsmill.com with Damien, is it a replacement for Netbox?
Let’s hear about the fully flexible schema and what Damien thinks about the future of network automation.

Listen to the show anywhere:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@networkautomagic

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2UubY0s1KCJ4ct9srD2yUW?si=e22f5d886e3c4166

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/is/podcast/network-automagic/id1796167806

🍔 Show notes resources:

Infrahub from OpsMill

https://www.opsmill.com

Infrahub Lab

https://opsmill.instruqt.com/pages/labs

Infrahub live demo

https://demo.infrahub.app

Infrahub on GitHub

https://github.com/opsmill

Infrahub install guide

https://docs.infrahub.app/guides/installation

Netbox Service mappings

https://netboxlabs.com/blog/netbox-service-mappings-tech-preview-design-driven-automation-comes-to-netbox/

Opsmill blog How To Turn Your Source Of Truth Into A Service Factory:

https://www.opsmill.com/how-to-turn-your-source-of-truth-into-a-service-factory/

💽 Featured Music:

"Party Weekend" by Joe 'King' Carrasco and the Crowns (1980)

A slice of vintage Spanish rock that's as rebellious as our approach to network automation

Don't forget to smash that like button if you're tired of fragile automation scripts that break faster than your last New Year's resolution!

#networkautomation  #temporal   #techtalks  #network #ipv4 #automation #python  #golang

Network Automagic 001 - Temporal with Ryan ShawEver wondered how to stop wrestling with your network automation like it's a caffeinated octopus? In this episode, we dive deep into Temporal (https://temporal.io) with Ryan Shaw, exploring how this beast of a platform is changing the game for network automation.Join Steinn "Steinzi" Bjarnarson and Urs Baumann on this inaugural episode of Network AutoMagic🔧 What we cover:The real deal about Temporal's approach to the durable execution of your application code!How to stop your automation workflows from implodingWar stories and practical insights from the trenches💽 Featured Music:"Party Weekend" by Joe 'King' Carrasco and the Crowns (1980)A slice of vintage Spanish rock that's as rebellious as our approach to network automationDon't forget to smash that like button if you're tired of fragile automation scripts that break faster than your last New Year's resolution!

#networkautomation #temporal #techtalks #network #ipv4 #automation #python #golang