Intent-Based Networking Functions
Below are the functions of Intent-Based Networking (IBN):
1. Translation
This function gathers information about the business intent or requirement and translates it by creating policies. The network administrators will analyze and elaborate the business needs, tell on Cisco DNA Center, and Cisco DNA Center will translate that into policies that will be implemented on the network.
2. Activation
This function correlates the policies it received from the Translation Function, then it on the network devices such as routers, switches, and firewall to meet the intent of the business or organization.
3. Assurance
This function continuously gathers all the insights and information about the enterprise networks for Cisco DNA Center to perform adjustments to the network in the future.
The below image shows the three functions in Cisco DNA infrastructure:
NOTEFabric is a term used in Intent-Based Networking for the network infrastructure, including both physical and virtual network devices. It is used to describe the whole network topology, such as network devices and applications.
Сети, основанные на намерениях
IBNS предоставляет сетевым администраторам возможность определить, что должна делать сеть, а потом при помощи средств машинного обучения настраивает политики, которые поддерживают сеть в желаемом состоянии
09:42 11.07.2017 | 3286 | Брэндон Батлер | Network World, США
Компания Cisco выходит на рынок технологий управления сетями, опирающихся на машинное обучение.
Компания Cisco Systems сообщила о выходе на рынок intent-based networking, заявив, что технология, использующая для управления сетями машинное обучение и передовые средства автоматизации, может стать главной движущей силой в дальнейшем изменении управления сетями.
Что же представляет собой intent-based networking?
Вице-президент Gartner по исследованиям Эндрю Лернер отметил, что в сетевых системах, основанных на намерениях (intent-based networking systems, IBNS) нет ничего нового, а идея, лежащая в их основе, известна уже много лет. Новым же является то, что алгоритмы машинного обучения подошли к той точке, за которой системы IBNS могут стать реальностью. С фундаментальной точки зрения это означает, что желаемое состояние сети определяет администратор, а соответствующие политики реализуются с помощью программного обеспечения автоматизированной настройки.
«IBNS знаменуют собой решительный отказ от сегодняшних способов управления корпоративными сетями, – пояснил Лернер. – В настоящее время трансляция производится вручную, а алгоритмическая проверка отсутствует… Системы IBNS осуществляют мониторинг, идентификацию и вмешательство в реальном времени, меняя существующие условия».
По словам Лернера, системам IBNS присущи четыре характерные черты.
— Трансляция и проверка. Одним из основных принципов функционирования IBNS является трансляция команд сетевых администраторов в действия, выполняемые программным обеспечением. Идея заключается в том, что управляющие сетью определяют высокоуровневую бизнес-политику, применяемую к сети. IBNS проверяет, можно ли реализовать эту политику.
— Автоматическое внедрение. После того как управляющий определит желаемое состояние сети, программное обеспечение IBNS осуществляет манипуляции сетевыми ресурсами для перехода в желаемое состояния и реализации принятой политики.
— Осведомленность о состоянии . Еще один ключевой компонент IBNS осуществляет сбор данных для постоянного мониторинга за состоянием сети.
— Гарантии и динамическая оптимизация/исправление . IBNS гарантирует постоянное поддержание желаемого состояния сети. Для выбора наилучшего способа перехода в желаемое состояния используется машинное обучение. Для поддержания этого состояния автоматически выполняются необходимые корректирующие действия.
В целом, IBNS предоставляет сетевым администраторам возможность определить то, что должна делать сеть, а платформа для автоматизированного управления сетью формирует желаемое состояние и реализует политики.
В Cisco наряду с рядом стартапов уже объявили о планах выпуска продуктов для построения платформ IBNS, но, по словам Лернера, полнофункционального продукта IBNS на рынке пока не видно. Концепция IBNS предполагает работу, не привязанную к оборудованию какого-то конкретного поставщика, но Cisco, возможно, захочет выпустить продукты, интегрируемые с ее собственным оборудованием.
С учетом природы IBNS широкого распространения подобных систем не стоит ждать по крайней мере до 2020 года. Вместе с тем, Лернер убежден в том, что пилотные проекты IBNS будут появляться, доказывая правильность предложенной концепции. «Мы полагаем, что появляющиеся реализации будут носить прагматический характер, связанный с построением новых или обновлением существующих сетей, – подчеркнул он. – Ранние внедрения будут связаны с хорошо проработанными конкретными сценариями использования, например, с архитектурой spine/leaf или с инфраструктурой оконечных узлов территориально-распределенных сетей».
What is intent-based networking?
Intent-based networking refers to the use of AI, machine learning, and network orchestration to automatically perform tasks on a network. In essence, IBN automates network management by delivering tasks and requirements to network nodes. This means that network teams won’t have to manually configure devices to orchestrate tasks. The AI and machine learning capabilities automatically administer commands to nodes based on the business’s intent. The intent is typically entered by an enterprise into a GUI or API and then interpreted by the IBN solution. Based on this, the IBN tool configures the network hardware to fulfill the stated goal.
According to Lerner, an IBN system should consist of four different elements:
- Translation and Validation. The system translates a business’s intent into a configuration for the network’s devices, validating it to ensure the intent is being fulfilled.
- Automated Implementation. The system automates the administration process, removing the requirement for manual configuration.
- Awareness of Network State. The system can interpret the network’s status in real-time based on monitoring feedback.
- Assurance and Dynamic Optimization/Remediation. The system continuously ensures that the network is meeting the intent and corrects the configuration if it is not.
Intent based networking system
Intent-based networking is networking technology that configures the IT infrastructure based on a business intent — a service request from the network administrator without any human intervention. It continuously provides critical network insights and constantly tweaks the hardware configuration to ensure the intent is met. It takes networking from a device-centric to a business-centric model.
Intent-based networking (IBN) leverages the analytics of machine learning (ML) with the power of IT automation to enhance the agility of the IT infrastructure in every possible aspect. In simple terms, IBNS is a self-driving networking system.
6.2 Cisco DNA
Cisco, as one of the leaders in the commercial networking space, is working on an intent-based platform for
network
management. Coined Cisco Digital Network Architecture (Cisco DNA), Cisco has developed a suite of solutions
that
fall
in the general realm of IBN. They have a suite of tools to automate network management, ensure security
compliance,
guarantee network performance, and ensure network access [].
In particular, Cisco DNA provides for policy-based device onboarding and management, which is continually
becoming
smarter and is trending towards intent-based management. Their network monitoring and analytics platforms
are
allowing
network managers to begin to leverage telemetry data in the monitoring of the network, and by providing
context
to
policies within the DNA platform, Cisco is beginning to set up the building blocks for a commercial IBN
[].
Trust Vohkus to assist with your IBN strategy
As a Cisco Premier Partner with over 15 years’ experience in enterprise infrastructures, Vohkus has deep and extensive experience of networking and security. Through independent, rigorous technical and commercial validation, we ensure Cisco implementations are optimised for efficient and rapid return on investment. We also partner with Cisco to deliver managed network and security packages that combine best service delivery practice with Cisco’s product portfolio.
If you’re looking to find out how IBN and Cisco DNA could benefit your business, arrange a discussion with one of our specialist networking consultants today.
4 Types of Customer Purchase Intention & How They Fit Into the Marketing Funnel
There are different types of intent online, and each visitor lands on your site with a different goal in mind.
Here we will explore the properties of each of the 4 distinct types of intent & how they fit into the marketing funnel.
Informational intent
This intent type captures consumers in the information-gathering stage. They’re searching for a specific answer or educating themselves on a certain topic.
For example, those searching for skincare routines for sensitive skin will fall into this category. They may find an article like this one on Paula’s Choice to understand how to solve their problem:
Customer journey stage: Awareness
Goal: Brand awareness
How to treat them: Educate them, provide resources to move them down the funnel. Don’t provide them with discounts and promotions yet.
Investigative intent
Customers with this type of intent are in the research stage. They’re not quite ready to purchase a product but are currently exploring their options through comparison shopping, researching their options, reading product and brand reviews, and social listening.
Because of the massive amount of options available to online consumers, an increasing amount of time is spent in this intent stage across all industries and product types.
Google Trends suggests that queries for “best ” have been steadily rising and show no signs of stopping.
Most of the touchpoints along the customer journey fall within this middle category, and your job here is to convince the online shopper that your brand and products are right for them.
Namogoo customer The Ordinary does this well with a Regime Builder for their skincare products:
glasses Personalizing product recommendations and education to engage their visitors based on their unique properties.
Customer journey stage: Consideration
How to treat them: Show them value propositions relevant to them, personalize your product recommendations, and educate them on what sets your brand apart.
Navigational intent
Those who are interested in visiting a specific website or going directly to a brand’s online store will land in this intent category.
For example, if a user searches for GlassesUSA.com, they’re likely looking to land on the Glasses USA website.
This is often a term associated with search user intent, rather than online shopper intent, but those with navigational intent may have a higher intent to purchase — after all, they’re seeking out a specific brand or web property.
These users show up in your analytics under the Direct acquisition channel or will Google a brand’s name and be captured in Organic Search.
Customer journey stage: Consideration or Conversion
Goal: Keep them onsite, make the sale
How to treat them: While the online shoppers that exhibit these intent signals were likely seeking you out specifically, they are still at risk of being stolen away by a competitor if you don’t engage them in the right way, or block competitors from highjacking the customer journey. Provide individualized messaging, customer experience, and promotions to convert them with the offer most enticing to them during that specific session.
Transactional intent
This is the type of intent that most people think of when they consider buyer intention. Transactional intent is those with strong purchase propensity, who have “high intent to buy”, and are interested in purchasing a specific product or service.
There are varying degrees of transactional intent, but customers within this intent type are closer to the conversion stage of the customer journey.
With the customers at this stage, making the sale is the name of the game, and to do so, you’ll want to provide them with the individualized promotion or incentive that they’re most likely to take action on.
Customer journey stage: Conversion
Goal: Make the sale
How to treat them: Provide individualized messaging, customer experience, and promotions to convert them with the offer most enticing to them during that specific session.
Disadvantages of Intent Based Networking (IBN)
The disadvantages of Intent Based Networking are:
- Design of an Intent Based Networking system is complex as it involves multiple operating systems, environments and network components
- Verification and Validation needs to be rigorous
- The success of IBN System is entirely dependent on API’s (Application Programming Interface) as the provision of access to the network lies with API
Also Read: What is ZIGBEE Technology in IoT - Architecture, Network Topologies, Applications Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - Introduction, Works, Advantages and Applications SCADA System - Components, Hardware & Software Architecture, Types
Intent-based networking versus software-defined networking
IBN solutions are still a recent development, but the idea behind it is about as old as networks themselves. Companies have always had intents for their networking; technology has now caught up to deliver that intent automatically. We’ve seen some of the fundamentals of IBN in previous networking technologies, such as software-defined networking (SDN). SDN centralizes the network management process by allowing IT teams to configure hardware via a program. IBN is essentially an extension of SDN that automates the configuration process. With IBN, IT professionals gain a network management tool that is centralized, automated, and business-centric.
The Benefits of an AI-Powered Network
With an AI-powered intent-based network, your system administrators never have to design and implement policies. Instead, they can focus on the overall intent of the network. They aren’t sidelined by tedious configuration and monitoring tasks. It’s a self-healing, self-improving network that saves businesses considerable time and overhead expenses.
Cisco is a pioneer in intent-based networking. Cisco’s IBN uses AI and machine learning to bridge the gap between your business goals and what your network delivers. Businesses across a variety of industries have implemented Cisco’s IBN solutions to cut down on network administration time and improve performance.
Curious about how an AI-based network could improve network efficiency and security at your firm? Watch the recording of our recent webinar that covered Cisco’s IBN and DNA Center solutions to learn more.
Acadia Technology Group is a Cisco Premier Partner with decades of experience, bringing cutting-edge solutions to a variety of markets, including finance, manufacturing and legal. Contact us to find out how we could help you implement and optimize Cisco IBN at your firm.
Intent-Based Networking
Intent-based networking is the new kid in town when it comes to networking. While its goals are somewhat similar to that of software-defined networking, Intent-based networking focuses slightly less on virtualization and more on the designing, implementing and improving the agility and availability of a network. According to Gartner, Intent-based networking systems are defined by their incorporation of four key elements; translation and validation, automated implementation, awareness of network state, and assurance and dynamic optimization/remediation. These four elements allow IBN’s to take inputs from end users, configure a design for the network based upon the intent of the end user, validate the design for correctness, implement the required network configurations and then continuously ensure that the intent of the system is being met, and make changes when necessary.
Another big factor in intent-based networking is its portability and vendor-agnostic nature. This means that applications developed for one software-defined network would be able to be easily ported to a different SDN environment without the need for the application’s original developer to be involved. The same is true for SDN controllers. This works to remove or decrease conflicts from the multiple applications sending commands to an SDN controller and also helps to give app develops better flexibility. Because IBN marries SDN to intelligence, SDN controllers are able to take the multitude of commands and express them as low-level infrastructure actions.
PoC Demo
Business Intent Input & Translation
1.Intent Interface: The vertical industry manager use this interface to input business intent.
2.Decide the number of AGVs to achieve that output volume.
3.Translate into network intent: Provide 400 UE connections in Warehouse-F.
Network Intent Load & Translation
4.Send Network Intent (Intent-CSP) into ONAP Intent Framework (IBN).
5a. ONAP IBN use RESTful API to query A&AI for PNF and Cell info:
5.b ONAP IBN use RESTful request to query the corresponding Cell state and type info
6. Based on the queried info:
- 2 PNFs (PNF1 & PNF2) deployed in the area WareHouse-F;
- 3 Cells are created in each PNF (BS);
- In PNF1, Cell1 and Cell2 are active. In PNF2, Cell4 is active. The rest cells are inactive;
- The type of Cell is “5gdu” and can support 100 UEs (AGV).
Translate the Network Intent: To support 400 UEs, ONAP need one more active Cell.
Invoke the corresponding ONAP operation
7. ONAP IBN sends a RESTful request to CCSDK/CDS to invoke config-modify operation to activate the cell(s).
Intent Implementation Complete
8. CCSDK/CDS uses RESTful executor to generate the 3GPP RESTful modify request and send it to EMS/RAN (Leveraging the NRM CM Req in Frankfurt release).
9. Synchronize the Cell state in CMDB.
- Intent interface (green): warehouse manager invokes the interface to input business intent
- Intent Framework (green): Outside the ONAP, used to translate the business intent into network intent
- Vertical Industry Business System (grey): developed by the vertical industry itself. Provide business models
- Intent Framework (Orange): Inside the ONAP, used to translate the network intent into the corresponding operations
- CMDB (Orange): Outside the ONAP, used to save the configuration management info.
Network Architectures in The Future
With the kinds of advances in networking and wireless communications systems we can so clearly see today, the average network architecture in, say, five or ten years could look drastically different to the kind we are currently used to seeing. Both software-defined networking and intent-based networking share enough potential to transform the way networks are designed, implemented, and managed and with enough time and research, revolutionary new network architectures may well await us in the not too distant future. Rather than competing against one another, SDN and IBN technologies may well work best when implemented in combination with each other.
Software-Defined Networking
Software-defined network, or SDN, has been around for several years now and, since its initial inception, has gone from strength to strength in both its abilities and applications. Essentially, software defined networking is a method in which network administrators can manage, provision, and even break down networks without having to actually set up physical hardware, switches and network devices. SDN networks are often, but not always, found alongside network functions virtualization technologies, and the two are fairly closely related, albeit with different end goals. Software-defined networks are enabling network administrators and IT managers to customize and reconfigure their networks on the go, while also better enabling the virtualization of physical, often proprietary, hardware to cloud-based virtual machines.
While software-defined networking has proven to be quite the success among many businesses and organisations, it is not without its pitfalls. One of the biggest issues with software-defined networks is their complexity. While SDN has been one of the most hyped technological innovations of the past few years, many of the people that could potentially benefit from SDN are scratching their heads wondering how, if at all, they would manage the implementation of SDN as well as how disruptive it would be. While software-defined network solutions are becoming cheaper, they themselves would not be the only cost of either SDN-focussed reassessment of network architecture or a complete overhaul of it in preparation for software-defined networks. Many smaller businesses would struggle to justify the financial cost and operational disruption that could come with such an endeavor.
New technologies are not the answer
When network vendors talk about topics like state awareness, network intent, and policy-based control, they typically throw in new technologies like API based controllers, SDN, protocols like NETCONF, modelling languages like YANG or TOSCA, and other innovative things. I am not saying these things are not relevant or important to build next-generation networks (they are!), but they were not designed specifically with IBN in mind. Their purpose and use are for specific domains and use cases and to drive standardization in the industry (although each vendor still implements their own version of these new standards!).
The reality is that the adoption of these new technologies in production networks is very slow, and I don’t think it’s realistic to expect this to change in the near future. Networks always end up being hybrid networks with a combination of legacy technology plus some of the latest products with advanced capabilities. Take for example NETCONF and YANG. They basically are ‘just’ another way for engineers to configure their network. However, the good old CLI will always be there as it remains the common denominator, even across new tech. The result is that, even though there are better and more advanced options, at best there will be a mix of methods.
References
-
«Cisco Solutions for Intent-Based Networking (IBN) Solution Overview,» https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/enterprise-networks/digital-network-architecture/nb-06-ibn-sol-overview-cte-en.html?oid=sowxa015991
Description: The State of Intent-Based Networking in 2019 and Cisco’s current and planned hardware
leveraging
Intent-Based Networking -
A. Clemm, L. Ciavaglia, L. Granville, J. Tantsura, «Intent-Based
Networking —
Concepts and Overview,» IETF, 2019, https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-clemm-nmrg-dist-intent/ -
Yehia Elkhatib, Geoff Coulson, Gareth Tyson, «Charting an Intent
Driven
Network,» IFIP, 2017, http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/~tysong/files/Intent17.pdf -
Tejas Subramanya, Roberto Riggio, Tinku Rasheed, «Intent-based
mobile backhauling for 5G networks,» IEEE, 2017, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7818445 -
Yoonseon Han, Jian Li, Doan Hoang, Jae-Hyoung Yoo, James Won-Ki Hong, «An
intent-based network virtualization platform for SDN,» IEEE, 2017, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7818446 -
Gianluca Davoli, Walter Cerroni, Slavica Tomovi, Chiara Buratti, Chiara
Contoli, Franco Callegati, «Intent-based service management for heterogeneous software-defined
infrastructure domains,» IEEE, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/nem.2051 -
Jordan Augé, Marcel Enguehard, «A network protocol for
distributed
orchestration using intent-based forwarding,» IEEE, 2019, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8717849 - S. Hares, «Intent-Based Nemo Problem Statement,» IETF, 2016, https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-hares-ibnemo-overview-00
-
Davide Sanvito, Daniele Moro, Mattia Gullì, Ilario Filippini,
Antonio
Capone, Andrea Campanella,
«Enabling external routing logic in ONOS with Intent Monitor and Reroute service,» IEEE, 2018, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8460042 -
Yoshiharu Tsuzaki, Yasuo Okabe, «Reactive configuration updating for
Intent-Based Networking,» IEEE, 2017 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7899484 -
K. Sivakumar, M. Chandramouli, «Concepts of Network Intent,» IETF,
2017, https://tools.ietf.org/id/draft-moulchan-nmrg-network-intent-concepts-00.html - A. Campanella, «Intent Based Network Operations,» IEEE, 2019, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8696962
-
Saeed Arezoumand, Kristina Dzeparoska, Hadi Bannazadeh,
Alberto
Leon-Garcia, «MD-IDN: Multi-domain
intent-driven networking in software-defined infrastructures,» IEEE, 2017, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8256016 -
Thomas Szyrkowiec, Michele Santuari, Mohit Chamania, Domenico
Siracusa, Achim Autenrieth, Victor Lopez, Joo Cho, Wolfgang Kellerer, «Automatic intent-based secure
service
creation through a multilayer SDN network orchestration,» IEEE, 2018, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8336682 -
Joe Skorupa, Andrew Lerner, Sanjit Ganguli, «Innovation Insight:
Intent-Based Networking Systems», Gartner, 2017https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3599617/innovation-insight-intent-based-networking-systems
Network security is still the top priority
Robbins identified security as the biggest issue facing businesses today. That’s certainly not a surprise, but it’s important to remember that “security is foundational,” as Robbins put it, even when there are so many revolutionary innovations hitting the market right now.
Speed and the ability to respond quickly are essential to defending an intent-based network. A10 Networks offers extremely high levels of mitigation, with capacity that can go to 300Gps and 440 million packets per second.
Capacity is important, but all the data must be processed in order to make intelligent decisions on how to respond. Within three seconds of receiving data, A10 can stand up automated mitigation procedures.
What’s new in intent-based networking?
The intent-based networking market is primed for growth. According to Gartner, by 2020, intent-based networking is supposed to go mainstream with even more vendors coming out with newer, more clever solutions. IoT has been all the rage in the last couple of years. As more and more devices find their way to the enterprise network, there is a surge in the growth of the complexity of the networking landscape. The growing complexity is expected to act as the catalyst for IBN’s way into the mainstream. Handling hundreds of devices manually or even through software individually is not going to cut it. Enterprises need intents to ease network management. Cisco is already streamlining its IBN offering by adding it to its IoT and SDN offering. Clients need to regain control over their networks that have been fleeting away. With the help of intents, Cisco can help clients reduce the complexity, decrease operational cost and time by letting IT and operations teams work together. With intent-based networking, enterprises can usher in efficiency and flexibility. Business needs and expectations can easily be translated into network policies and this simple fact allows intent-based networking to find its way into the medical sector, mining industry, chemical plants, and many more. IBN allows your network to be highly available with almost no downtime while also allowing enterprises to leave space for future innovations.
Multidomain integration for IBN is another stride toward having an efficient networking solution. Cisco understands that businesses need different domains for different purposes. However, this doesn’t mean your network has to be siloed. Intents should be applied across the network irrespective of the domain to truly automate the networking process. Cisco offers a solution that integrates these domains to allow for policies to be applied easily across the entire network while having separate domains taking care of different business needs.
Network performance monitors (NPMs) monitor and analyze the performance of the network to let businesses know if their network is functioning at its optimal performance. As IBNs apply configurations across the network devices, they could use the input from NPMs and apply fixes and patches on lagging devices to help the network function at its peak performance. NPMs and IBN go together quite well and there could be future solutions that make use of both these solutions’ combine strength to allow enterprise networks to reach their highest potential.
3.2 Monitoring
The second key requirement for an effective IBN is increased telemetry/monitoring presence. With the move
away
from
policies and towards intents, there is a need to ensure the intent is effectively carried out. A policy
following
the
traditional event condition action model has little need for monitoring, as there is no goal specified as a
part
of
the
policy. With an intent, the goal is explicit, and so monitoring of the network to ensure the success of that
goal is
critical.
Suppose an intent is defined by a network that all video conference streams are to be guaranteed 720p
resolution
and
should experience infrequent interruption. Without monitoring video traffic of the organization, it is
impossible to
tell whether this intent has been successfully carried out. In fact, this monitoring needs to be highly
specific, as
not
only must the network understand the quality of video streams entering and leaving the network, but it must
understand
their sources (i.e., Skype Business vs. Youtube), and perhaps their purpose (is the Skype call to a family
member, or
to
a client). Additionally, when intents are layered (for instance, the business wants to guarantee high-speed
download
of
files in addition to the above-mentioned video stream intent), it becomes clear that the only way to
effectively
enforce
intent is to have high resolution, comprehensive monitoring in place across all aspects of the network. As
is
depicted
in Figure 4, without monitoring it is impossible to communicate the true state of the network, which makes
it
impossible
to effectively configure the network to ensure the highest quality of service.
Applications of Intent Based Networking (IBN)
Intent Based Networking systems will be used in Web Applications where handling the parameters like Web Application Firewall, Load Balancing, Security, Service Mesh becomes important. Some examples are as follows:
- Web Application Firewall: An IBN system is crucial in Web Applications as it helps in Web Traffic Filtering and provides Real Time Visibility.
- Load Balancing: An Intent Based Load Balancer should be able to operate on Multi-Cloud environments.
- Security: As the Intent Based Networking (IBN) system works in conjunction with Artificial Intelligence, it can provide high security for the applications.
- Service Mesh: Service Mesh when aligned with Intent Based Networking (IBN) Systems, will help in testing the application performance and how they behave when components within the environment fail.
