NetBrain this week is launching version 12.1 of its eponymous network automation platform. This latest release represents a significant evolution in the company’s approach to network management, with a strong emphasis on AI capabilities that aim to transform how enterprises handle complex network environments.
“NetBrain today is an automation and AI platform for network visibility,” Linping Tao, founder and CEO of NetBrain Technology, told Network World. “The problem we try to solve is how to automate network mapping first as a digital twin, then how to automate the troubleshooting to solve problems without human involvement, and then drive that further to things like assessment and changes.”
The 12.1 release represents the culmination of this vision introducing a series of advanced features. Key highlights of NetBrain Next-Gen 12.1:
- Network-wide post-mortem assessments: Automatically scans an entire network for similar risks after an outage.
- Golden engineering studio: Converts manual command line interface (CLI) processes into reusable automation.
- Continuous automated assessments: Proactively identifies and remediate potential issues.
- Automated network discovery: Creates comprehensive digital twins from CLI files or live scanning.
- AI-powered insights: AI agents enable faster diagnostics and smarter decision-making.
How NetBrain uses AI to solve network problems
The core innovation in NetBrain 12.1 lies in how it positions AI within network management workflows. Where previous versions used AI as a tool or co-pilot, 12.1 elevates AI to function as an expert problem solver. “This release is all about the next level of AI, which is AI as a problem solver, AI as an expert,” Tao explained.
When a problem is submitted to NetBrain, the system executes its automation tools, orchestrating them through AI to diagnose issues, recommend fixes and even close tickets automatically. As an example, Tao said that if an organization sends a trouble ticket from ServiceNow into the NetBrain’s AI agent, without any human involvement, the problem can be triaged and remediated. The system can provide a summary of the actions that were executed and then close the trouble ticket.
The power of digital twin technology for network discovery
At the foundation of NetBrain’s platform is its multi-tiered digital twin technology, which creates a model of network infrastructure. Unlike basic network mapping tools that focus primarily on device discovery, NetBrain builds a four-layered model:
Tao emphasized that in his view, the key to managing a modern network is to understand intent.
The 12.1 release enhances this capability with the automatic discovery of network intent. The goal is to create a distributed, intelligent network modeling system that can discover and manage network intent without heavy human intervention, using AI and automation to continuously assess and adapt network configurations.
NetBrain aims to prevent future network outages
As part of the 12.1 update, the new post-mortem analysis feature allows organizations to quickly investigate network issues across their entire infrastructure.
The system will automatically scan an entire network for similar problems after an outage. By using intent-based network mapping, AI and automation, NetBrain will then take the initial post-mortem findings and use that information for ongoing monitoring, tracking similar potential failure points across the network and proactively identifying potential future incidents.
Looking ahead, NetBrain is working on creating more AI-powered network automation capabilities to reduce the need for hands-on human interventions. This vision represents a significant shift in network management, with AI increasingly handling complex operational tasks that previously required human expertise, allowing network professionals to focus on more strategic initiatives.
“More and more human tasks are shifting to automation, with more automation shifting to AI,” Tao said. “I can see 50% of network operations tasks now can be AI enabled in a matter of months right now.”
Source:: Network World