# Network Automation

As an organization expands, its network also continuously evolves and grows. Research suggests that networks of large enterprises grow on a scale of 53 percent every year. Gradually the IT costs for network operations start rising and at a point the growth of data and devices start to outpace IT capabilities. Monitoring and managing a network of this size results in operational costs being higher than that of the network. Also, with a workforce of this scale, configuration errors and inconsistencies in the network are prone to arise.

Leveraging the benefits of Network automation solutions both centrally and remotely, is the key for organizations to stay ahead of their competitors in managing their network. The process of discovering devices, automating the configuration, monitoring them continuously, and troubleshooting network issues automatically is network automation.

**OpManager** is an advanced network monitoring and network automation tool that can be effectively utilized to automate your network. From basic network automation management functions like automatic network device discovery, network mapping and threshold based alarms, it also supports complex workflows to automate troubleshooting, configuration management and also provisioning of virtual network resources. Implementing **OpManager** can maximize efficiency and the functionality of any network environment with faster service initiation, maximum visibility and reduction in human-error outages. Let us take a look at some of **OpManager**'s highlighting automation features.

- [Automatic network discovery](#1)
- [Automated network mapping](#2)
- [Automatic alarm escalation](#3)
- [Workflows](#4)
- [Capacity Planning](#5)
- [Adaptive Thresholds](#6)

## Automatic network discovery

In an organization, there is a collection of network devices from different vendors each running their own operating system or configuration. A reliable network automation system ensures that all the devices are properly audited and monitored, if necessary. Specify an IP range and **OpManager** automatically discovers all the devices present in the given range or within an entire network. The discovered devices are automatically classified based on the name, device type, vendor, etc. With a highly advanced discovery engine, **OpManager** also provides you with automation features like Discovery profiles and templates, Discovery schedules and a [powerful rule engine](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/help/configuring-discovery-rule-engine.html) that helps you setup custom discovery rules based on your requirement.

![Network Automation - ManageEngine OpManager](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/help/images/discovering-networks-1.png)

## Automated network mapping

Networking automation also comprises of network mapping, which provides complete visibility of your network infrastructure and helps you understand the relationship between the parent and dependent devices. **OpManager**, the network automation software, can generate a [network map](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/what-is-network-map.html) once the discovery process in completed which helps you to quickly identify and troubleshoot issues when a device goes down. With advanced [Layer2 mapping](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/help/layer2-maps.html), **OpManager** provides a map of all the devices connected to the seed router and you can select the devices you want to monitor - network automation, simplified. Pinpoint network outages, quickly drill down to the root cause of a network issue and automate remedial actions with **OpManager**'s network maps.

![Network Automation Tools - ManageEngine OpManager](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/help/images/layer2-maps-1.png)

## Automatic alarm escalation

**OpManager** equipped with advanced network automation features, provides a proactive network automation service by identifying and fixing issues before they trasnform into a bigger problem. The enterprise network automation features of **OpManager**, correlates network events, filters them and provides meaningful color coded alarms to the operator. **OpManager** has threshold based alarm which automatically triggers a notification via SMS or email based on different severity levels. With network automation software being a necessity, administrators can also configure **OpManager** to run an external program or execute scripts automatically when an alarm is triggered. You can also automatically [log tickets](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/servicedesk-plus-cloud-integration.html) for specific network faults using **OpManager**.

![Network Automation Software - ManageEngine OpManager](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/network-fault-management-overview.png)

## Workflows

**OpManager**, the network automation software, supports code-free IT workflow automation with out-of-the-box checks and actions to automate first level troubleshooting and repetitive maintenance tasks. With **OpManager**'s powerful network automation workflow engine, you can initiate workflow for network faults or on a routine basis and also audit workflow progress with detailed workflow execution log reports. With over 70 [workflow checks and actions](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/help/workflow-conditions-actions.html) grouped under nine different categories, you can [construct a workflow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keLtYQV-1rk) using the flexible drag and drop workflow builder.

![Network Automation Solutions - ManageEngine OpManager](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/run-book-automation.png)

### Capacity Planning

Network automation includes ensuring that your network is ready to withstand the test of time and expansion. **OpManager** provides extensive data on network loads and bandwidth levels and makes it easy for you to understand the performance strain on servers and routers. With insights on storage levels and [capacity utilization forecasts](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/storage-capacity-forecasting-planning.html) based on historical trends, you can effectively plan for your network expansion before the set capacity thresholds are breached. Automate network capacity planning with **OpManager** and stay on top of your network monitoring automation needs.

![Networking Automation - ManageEngine OpManager](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/storage-capacity1.png)

## Adaptive Thresholds

Network admins warrant optimal network performance by ensuring network devices perform at their desired levels. To achieve this, network admins closely monitor the device's performance metrics by manually setting threshold values and configuring alarms when they are breached. However, to accomplish this to they are plagued with two challenges. To know what threshold values to set and to update this threshold value to all the network devices.

**OpManager**'s [Adaptive threshold](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/adaptive-thresholds.html) helps network admins overcome both these issues. **OpManager**'s ML-powered predictive algorithm studies the previous performance statistics of your network devices and forecasts the values that these devices need to perform and helps in updating the new values to said network devices. This saves the time and efforts of the network admin making it easier for them to attend to other critical tasks.

![Automate Network - ManageEngine OpManager](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/help/images/adaptive-threshold-1.png)

Learn how to leverage the benefits of Networking Automation using **OpManager** and simplify your network automation requirements for a glowing network infrastructure by signing up for a [personalized demo](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/demo-form.html) or download a free, [30 day trial](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/download.html)!

## FAQ Networking Automation

## What is network automation?

Network automation is the process of automating repetitive, time-consuming IT admin tasks like device discovery, network configuration, performance monitoring, troubleshooting network issues etc.,

## Why is network automation important?

Network automation is especially benefitial to large networks where it helps eliminate human error, reduce IT team's workload, make configuration changes faster, analyze and troubleshoot faults quicker.

## How does network automation work?

Network automation can be performed by using network automation tools like **OpManager**. Tools like these help you cut human error, free up IT staff, optimize performance, and quickly identify and resolve performance degradation issues.

## How to automate network?

Network automation tools like ManageEngine **OpManager**. These software allow you to monitor your network components and automate tasks like network discovery, network mapping, alarm escalation, and also complicated tasks like capacity planning, workflow etc.,