Introduction to Terraform

Snehal Patel attended Networking Field Day in April 2023 and was able to refresh his knowledge on Infrastructure-as-Code, specifically through a detailed demo of Terraform by HashiCorp. This first part of his 3-part blog series delves into Terraform basics, a tool that allows for the definition of infrastructure in code, its use with various platform providers, and how it approaches Create, Update, and Delete operations utilizing a declarative programming style. He also explores the transactional Terraform Workflow process consisting of Write, Plan, and Apply stages, and will continue with practical examples of creating Azure Network resources using Terraform in the next article.


Is Your Network Failing or Your Application Failing? A Perspective About Kentik!

In this blog post about Kentik’s presentation at Networking Field Day, Faisal Khan discusses the concept of network observability and how Kentik’s platform tackles the challenges of network troubleshooting and visibility. With the increasing complexity of networks and the cloudification of applications, enterprises need comprehensive visibility across diverse sources. Kentik’s approach involves collecting and analyzing data from various network and application sources to provide meaningful insights and pinpoint issues quickly, ensuring reliable networks and a great digital experience.


NFD31 – BackBox

BackBox presented their automation tool at Networking Field Day, focusing primarily on task automation rather than network automation as a whole. By allowing specific tasks, such as backups, software updates, configuration drift remediation, and compliance checks, to be automated, BackBox eliminates the need for extensive manual labor and thus lessens the potential for errors. With API integrations and external tools for reporting, alerting and inventory, BackBox forms the groundwork that can be coordinated with other automation tools to build a comprehensive network automation strategy. Read the entire article by Gian Paolo Boarina to learn more about BackBox!


The Amazing Way Observability Shapes Automation

The benefits of automation far outweigh the potential perils, mainly because more than 70% of IT decision-makers have acknowledged reduced employee workload with automation’s help. Visibility and automation share a close relationship, with data being a prerequisite for both. Saha further explains how with proper implementation and integration, networking automation can significantly improve the entire system’s efficiency while reducing the need for human-based control. This Networking Field Day Roundtable discussion focuses on the promise and pitfalls of network automation.


Automated Provisioning and More With HashiCorp’s Terraform

Provisioning infrastructure in hybrid multi-cloud need not be exceedingly complex, nor time-consuming. Terraform offers the best way to automate provisioning and management tasks utilizing infrastructure as code. Teams can provision and de-provision at scale, while managing infrastructure lifecycle at minimum effort. Read more about it at Gestalt IT or watch the HashiCorp presentations from the recent Networking Field Day event right here!


Observability at Full Fidelity With Kentik Network Observability Platform

Kentik’s Observability Platform helps improve edge-to-edge visibility in complex, hybrid networks. The platform aggregates data from various sources, normalizes it, and transforms it into meaningful analytics to provide fast and flexible query responses. Built with multilayered telemetry, it helps teams monitor and troubleshoot the network and detect problems proactively through meaningful information derived from deep observability. In this article, Sulagna Saha highlights the platform’s capability for data enrichment, full-fidelity data collection, and its ability to integrate with multiple data sources and visualization tools, making it an effective solution for businesses looking to improve network visibility in the modern network landscape.


Democratizing Automation for NetOps and DevOps With Itential Automation Platform

There’s widespread frustration among network operators and developers as everyday errors lead to downtime halts and loss of revenue. Itential offers a way around with the Itential Automation Platform. Itential enables integration and scaling of automation across NetDevOps, and provides self-serve networking for end-users. Read the article on Gestalt IT or watch the demo from the recent Networking Field Day event here at Tech Field Day.


Automating Device Upgrades With BackBox Automation Platform

In this article on Gestalt IT, Sulagna Saha discusses how the BackBox Automation Platform automates and centralizes updates for firewalls and network devices. The platform features dozens of customizable, device and context-aware scripts, which can be modified and reused to run upgrades on a full fleet of devices. With its intelligent notification system and professional service team, the BackBox platform offers a robust solution for streamlining network device maintenance and ensuring devices are updated consistently.


NFD31 Delegate

Gian Paolo Boarina shares his excitement about being a delegate at this week’s Networking Field Day 31. He loves Field Day events as they allow him to stay up-to-date with the latest technology trends and exchange ideas with experts in the field.


Meet the Field Day Delegate – Greg Grimes

We’re looking forward to seeing Greg Grimes at Networking Field Day this week! This “meet the delegate” post explores Grimes’ background in IT and his current role as a senior systems engineer at a VAR. With insights into Grimes’ passion for technology and his background in IT, this article provides readers with a glimpse into the world of IT professionals making waves in their field.


Networking Field Day Returns This April!

Tom Hollingsworth, writing for Gestalt IT, announces the return of Networking Field Day this month with a lineup of stellar presenters, including BackBox, Itential, HashiCorp, and Kentik. Tom notes that with the rise of remote work, this Networking Field Day event will focus on technologies that can support distributed teams. From software-defined networking to open-source networking, attendees will get a chance to learn about the latest trends and innovations in the industry.


Networking Field Day 31

Greg Grimes is thrilled to be a delegate for Networking Field Day in April! In this article, he explains Networking Field Day as an event and tells us which parts of the event he is looking forward to the most. Read the full article on his website.