NetBox Labs launches tools to combat network configuration drift

1. Get data into NetBox right away. The fastest way to do this is by observing the network as it is with a tool that can talk to the network, find what is on it, and interrogate it to gather “operational state,” then ingest it into NetBox. This forms an initial basis for turning the data into “intent.”
2. Observe the network in the same way for ongoing understanding of the operational state of the network.

The second product, NetBox Assurance, takes on the challenge of operational drift by providing continuous monitoring and analysis of network configurations. Unlike traditional batch-processing tools, NetBox Assurance operates continuously to identify deviations from intended states and can trigger automated remediation actions.

“NetBox Assurance sits between NetBox Discovery or other discovery tools or data sources and NetBox itself,” Beevers said. “It’s at the nexus between the operational state of the infrastructure observed by NetBox Discovery and the intended state as modeled in NetBox.”

NetBox Discovery takes a different approach to network discovery

The basic concept of network discovery is almost as old as networking itself, with countless solutions deployed over the decades. NetBox is aiming to take a differentiated approach.

Beevers noted that NetBoxDiscovery uses an agent-based architecture, which has advantages over discovery solutions that are monolithic. He explained that agents mean the discovery problem can be divided across many agents. For example, agents placed in each network segment or across a distributed footprint can enable discovery where monolithic solutions don’t work. He added that agents can fan out for scale and performance in large environments to speed up discovery. 

“With many agents comes a need for orchestration,” Beevers said. “NetBox Discovery agents connect with a zero-trust architecture up to a control plane for orchestration that can be in the cloud, or self-hosted, enabling this architecture without needing to reconfigure firewalls or similar.”

Also of note is that NetBox works for on-premises, hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Beevers expects that over time, the new Discovery and Assurance technologies will extend across all those environments as well.