NCSNetwork Automation Software for Service Providers

NCS OverviewTail-f’s Network Control System (NCS) is a

breakthrough software solution for provisioning

services and configuring network devices.

NCS is a central point of management for the

entire network and a framework for developing

network automation applications. Users of NCS

range from network engineers using turnkey

provisioning applications developed with NCS

to OSS developers building scalable, agile

management systems that bring services to

market faster and more reliably.

Network Abstraction EngineNCS provides a network abstraction layer

between OSS platforms and multi-vendor

networking equipment that enables service

providers to realize the benefits of Software-

+LMPULK�5L[^VYRPUN��:+5���(Z�H�UL[^VYR�abstraction engine, NCS provides true network

automation while solving the practical issues of

deployment by easily integrating with both OSS

platforms and a wide range of network devices.

Service Provisioning Challenges5L^�ZLY]PJLZ�Z\JO�HZ�07;=���.��HUK�*HYYPLY�,[OLYUL[�HYL�JYP[PJHS�[V�[OL�NYV^[O�HUK�WYVMP[HIPSP[`�VM�ZLY]PJL�WYV]PKLYZ��/V^L]LY��advanced networking services are more

complex to provision, often requiring changes

to multiple devices and large numbers of

WHYHTL[LYZ�WLY�KL]PJL��0U�HKKP[PVU��KPZ[YPI\[LK�changes often need to be made in lockstep as

even the failure of a single change can disrupt

service and be very difficult to diagnose and

recover from.

Limitations with Existing ApproachesCurrent service provisioning and network

management configuration systems limit the

ability of service providers to speed the delivery

of new services and provide an excellent

J\Z[VTLY�L_WLYPLUJL��,_PZ[PUN�Z`Z[LTZ�HYL�frequently dependent on manual processes,

adapter-based software and ad hoc scripts.

These approaches are inflexible, prone to error,

HUK�KV�UV[�ZJHSL��,_HTWSLZ�VM�WHPU�WVPU[Z�^P[O�existing systems include:

�� +LSH`Z�PU�PU[YVK\JPUN�UL^�ZLY]PJLZ�HUK�activating service orders due to inflexibility

in the service structure

�� 6\[HNLZ�HUK�PU[LYTP[[LU[�MHPS\YLZ�K\L�to fragile provisioning and activation

technologies

�� :SV^�YL[\YU�[V�ZLY]PJL�^OLU�WYVISLTZ�VJJ\Y�due to lack of consistency across service

and network inventories

�� 0UJYLHZPUN�Z`Z[LTZ�Z\WWVY[�HUK�administration costs due to largely

manual and time-consuming processes

for repetitive tasks

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Figure 1

NCS

Network

Engineer OSS/BSS

Juniper Cisco

Brocade

Ericsson

F5 Huawei ALU

Other

Interface to Inventories, Subnetwork Managers

IOS, IOS-XR

and NX-OS

WEB UICLI

OSSService Orchestration

WorkflowOrder Management

PerformanceManagement

Systems

Configuration Database

(CDB)

Cisco andCisco-like CLIs Other ProtocolsSNMP

REST, SOAP

and others

Juniper and Other

NETCONF Devices

NETCONF

Service Manager YANG Service

Models

ServiceApplications

YANG Device Models

Device Manager

NCS Engine*

NETCONF

REST

MTOSI

MonitoringAlarm Systems

SNMP

Service Logic

Java

JavaScript

*The NCS Engine supports:� Configuration Validation� Transaction Management� Rollback Management� Session Management� Authentication� Role-Based Access Control� Audit Trailing� High Availability� Self-Management

Alarm Manager

Performance ManagerYANG Service

Models

ServiceApplications

NETCONF

REST

MTOSI

SNMP

Figure 2NCS Architecture

NCS FunctionalityNCS is a network abstraction engine that

provides a central point of management for

the entire network and a framework for rapidly

developing network automation applications.

NCS includes the following core functions:

�� 5L[^VYR�^PKL�PU[LYMHJLZ��*30��>LI�<0��(70Z��[V�HJJLZZ�HSS�KL]PJLZ�HUK�ZLY]PJLZ

�� ;OL�:LY]PJL�4HUHNLY�[OH[�TVKLSZ�HUK�dynamically maps services to the

device layer

�� ;OL�-HZ[THW�,UNPUL�[OH[�THZZP]LS`�reduces the amount of code required for

bi-directional service-to-device mapping

and validation

�� ;OL�+L]PJL�4HUHNLY�[OH[�LUHISLZ�MHPS�ZHML�configuration deployment

�� /PNO�WLYMVYTHUJL�PU�TLTVY`�JVUMPN\YH[PVU�Z[VYHNL��*+)��MVY�ZLY]PJLZ�HUK�KL]PJL�models and configuration

Single CLI for All Network DevicesNCS provides a single network-wide interface

�*30��>LI�<0��(70��[V�]PL^�HUK�JVUMPN\YL�services and devices. All management

interfaces are auto-rendered from common

data models of both network elements and

ZLY]PJLZ��0U�HKKP[PVU�[V�[OL�HK]HU[HNL�VM�YHWPK�development time, this ensures consistent

capabilities are exposed across all interfaces.

)`�\ZPUN�H�ZPUNSL�UL[^VYR�^PKL�PU[LYMHJL��network engineers no longer need to learn and

maintain multiple vendor-specific interfaces

and scripts for repetitive tasks across several

devices. The burden of updating scripts to

reflect changes in software versions and

variations in features across vendors is

significantly reduced by NCS’ validation and

versioning capabilities. As a result, networks

can be provisioned more efficiently, and

network engineers can spend their time on

more strategic tasks.

Full Transaction ManagementNCS-based applications have built-in

transaction and rollback management

ensuring fail-safe deployment of service and

device changes. Configuration changes are

made in atomic distributed transactions where

either all changes take place or failed partial

JOHUNLZ�HYL�YVSSLK�IHJR��=HSPK��I\[�\UKLZPYLK�changes can also be rolled back using a

single command. NCS prevents violations of

integrity constraints or network policies.

Powerful Device and Service OperationsNCS can perform a wide range of built-in

device and service operations with just a

ZTHSS�ZL[�VM�*30�JVTTHUKZ��PUJS\KPUN!�� 7YV]PZPVU�H�UL^�KL]PJL�I`�JVW`PUN�HUK�

editing the configuration from another

device or a master configuration

�� (WWS`�JVUMPN\YH[PVU�JOHUNLZ�[V�UHTLK�device groups

�� *OLJR�PM�KL]PJL�JVUMPN\YH[PVUZ�HYL�PU�sync with the NCS datastore

�� (WWS`�IP�KPYLJ[PVUHS�Z`UJOYVUPaH[PVU�VM�the NCS datastore and configurations

on the devices

�� <ZL�^OH[�PM�HUHS`ZPZ�[V�WYLKPJ[�OV^�service changes or creations affect

device configurations

Rapid Model-driven Development The time to develop first iterations of network

automation systems is reduced from months

to weeks using NCS. NCS leverages a

common data modeling language (YANG –

RFC 6020) to define services and network

devices and auto-renders management

interfaces from the same model. Fastmap,

a patent pending mapping engine, largely

eliminates the significant coding efforts

traditionally associated with the process of

translating service modifications or deletions

into detailed configuration changes. NCS

provides fail-safe device configuration for

Cisco, Juniper, and SNMP-based network

devices with zero code integration.

Speedy Delivery of ServicesNCS automates service provisioning

and reduces delays caused by manual

administration and backlogs in systems

development. NCS automatically calculates

what device configuration changes correspond

to the service operation and then deploys

those configuration changes. New services and

devices are quickly provisioned by cloning and

editing existing devices and services.

With NCS, the time to introduce new services

is reduced from months to weeks, and the

time to activate orders is reduced from weeks

to days or minutes.

Reduce Costly Network OutagesConfiguration errors, a common cause of

network outages, are increasingly difficult

to diagnose and recover from as networks

grow in size and complexity. NCS helps

improve customer satisfaction and retention

by reducing network outages and return to

service time through the following capabilities:

�� -HPS�ZHML�KPZ[YPI\[LK�[YHUZHJ[PVU�management

�� 9VSSIHJR�VM�WHY[PHS�[YHUZHJ[PVUZ�� >OH[�PM�HUHS`ZPZ�ILMVYL�JVTTP[[PUN�JOHUNLZ

�� 0U[LNYP[`�JVUZ[YHPU[Z�HUK�ZLSM�[LZ[PUN�HNHPUZ[�configuration changes that result in errors

�� 9VV[�JH\ZL�HUHS`ZPZ�[OYV\NO�[YHJRPUN�service and configuration relationships

�� ;VVSZ�MVY�Z`UJOYVUPaPUN�HUK�JVTWHYPUN�device configurations detect and resolve

configuration discrepancies quickly

Trouble-free ScalingNCS’ architecture and integrated in-memory

datastore are designed to scale to the

transaction volumes required by very large

networks. Other NCS capabilities that enable

provisioning systems to scale include:

�� -\SS�Z`UJOYVUPaH[PVU�IL[^LLU�UL[^VYR�and inventory views

�� ,HZ`�LSPTPUH[PVU�VM�VYWOHULK�JVUMPN\YH[PVUZ�resulting from service retirements

�� =LYZPVU�THUHNLTLU[�[OH[�LUZ\YLZ�service providers benefit from the latest

functionality from networking equipment

vendors

�� 7YL�WYV]PZPVUPUN�[OL�JVUMPN\YH[PVUZ�VM�devices that have not yet been installed

�� +L[LJ[PVU�VM�V\[�VM�IHUK�JVUMPN\YH[PVU�states, which are a common cause of

network and service degradation

�� :LY]PJL�PTWHJ[�HUHS`ZPZ�[OH[�KL[LYTPULZ�which services are affected if a device

fails or its configuration is changed

Flexible Deployment OptionsNCS is a powerful network abstraction engine

that easily integrates with both OSS platforms

and multi-vendor networks. The following are

examples of customized service provisioning

and configuration management applications

that were rapidly developed using NCS:

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info@tail-f.com

www.tail-f.com

Tail-f Systems is the leading provider of

configuration management and network

automation software. Seven of the ten largest

global networking equipment providers are Tail-f

Systems’ customers.

5L[^VYR�,X\PWTLU[�7YV]PKLYZ�\ZL�;HPS�M»Z�software to build on-device management

Z`Z[LTZ�HUK�,4:�54:�WSH[MVYTZ�PU�SLZZ�[PTL�and with differentiated capabilities. Service

Providers use Tail-f’s software to quickly build

scalable, agile management systems and benefit

by bringing network services to market faster

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