Cisco Crosswork Network Automation Reviews

I automate Layer 2 to Layer 3 VPN services provisioning on edge-to-core routing changes. I integrate it with external IPAM and monitoring systems using REST APIs. I use the YANG model for coupling with RESTCONF and NETCONF APIs and define declarative service templates rather than using standard CLI commands.

In my work, I have performed automation for Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPN services provisioning during routing changes. One of the tasks I completed in the data center involved provisioning for Cisco switches using scripting in the YANG model and APIs. I deployed configuration remotely for approximately 400 to 500 switches, using automation instead of configuring devices one by one. I also use Cisco Crosswork Network Automation Health Insights and change for streaming telemetry and KPI monitoring.

I have performed automation for Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPN services provisioning during routing changes. In the data center, I completed provisioning tasks for Cisco switches using scripting in the YANG model and APIs. I deployed configuration remotely for approximately 400 to 500 switches, implementing automation instead of configuring devices individually. I also use Cisco Crosswork Network Automation Health Insights and change for streaming telemetry and KPI monitoring.

The features have significantly helped decrease the complexity of using CLI commands. Using the YANG model and other tools for Cisco monitoring has been invaluable. Closed-loop automation and Health Insights have provided tremendous value through multi-vendor abstractions, including network elements and NEDs on YANG and NETCONF models. This has benefited my Layer 3 VPN configuration, and for the underlying commands, whether the target device is running Cisco IOS XR, Junos, or another platform, there are no restrictions between IOS types.

Transactional rollback and multi-vendor support with closed-loop telemetry have been critical features. If a mass change fails on one device, the system cleanly reverses everything, ensuring I never end up with a half-configured device. This is an important capability in networking.

Currently, I see Cisco Crosswork Network Automation as nearly perfect. However, there are some areas that could benefit from improvement. The onboarding process could be simplified, as it relies too heavily on complex YANG modeling, which creates a steep learning curve. Cisco needs to modernize the developer experience with better GitOps integration and more comprehensive real-world API documentation. Additionally, handling out-of-band configuration drift when someone modifies the device directly via CLI should not require extensive manual reconciliation.

I have been using Cisco Crosswork Network Automation for approximately one year. The company I work with maintains strict rules that previously relied on legacy network protocols without automation.

Scalability is an exceptional strength of Cisco Crosswork Network Automation. When considering automation, scalability is outstanding. It is built for service provider scale and easily handles tens of thousands of devices. It scales horizontally using microservices clusters and distributed data gateways to offload telemetry. The underlying NSO engine uses layered services architecture to push thousands of concurrent changes without bottlenecks, which is incredibly impressive.

Regarding customer support from Cisco, when I encounter issues, I first search the community, which rarely fails to provide answers. If I do not find a solution in the community, I contact support. My team and I have had genuinely positive experiences with customer support, which I would rate around eight out of ten. For critical network outages, Cisco TAC is highly responsive and technically capable. However, for complex automation and YANG model issues, it can take time to reach dedicated Cisco Crosswork Network Automation engineering beyond the first line. Overall, their support has been solid.

My previous provider has always been Cisco.

My top advice consists of three key points. First, invest in upskilling your team on YANG modeling because it is essential and powerful. You must gain experience in YANG modeling and Python as the software development platform, not just relying on the out-of-the-box GUI. Second, start small by automating a single service such as a Layer 3 VPN before attempting to roll out closed-loop telemetry across the entire core. Finally, budget for Cisco CX expertise during the initial rollout and establish strict processes to prevent engineers from making out-of-band CLI changes that could desynchronize the orchestrations. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten overall.

I use Cisco Crosswork Network Automation for closed-loop network automation, mass configuration deployment, and real-time telemetry to manage traffic optimization during large-scale network consolidations. This is from one of the major post-merger integrations that I was involved with, where I used Cisco Crosswork Network Automation's optimization engine and telemetry to dynamically steer traffic from congested links before decommissioning duplicated sites. By automating segment routing policies based on real-time latency and bandwidth thresholds, I was able to cut over maintenance windows by roughly half, with zero packet loss or subscriber disruption.

Cisco Crosswork Network Automation has structurally lowered my organization's OPEX by basically eliminating manual traffic re-routing tasks, and has reduced maintenance windows roughly by half. It has also preserved enterprise SLAs and protected revenue during complex network migrations because it can handle traffic congestion automatically.

I saw an estimated 25% reduction in recurring network operations OPEX by automating routine traffic tasks. Change windows that used to take four to six hours per maintenance event were compressed to 90 minutes roughly, with zero manual intervention or rollbacks.

I think the standout capability of Cisco Crosswork Network Automation is the closed-loop remediation that it offers, which shifts operations from reactive firefighting mode to proactive traffic management. The only initial learning curve is the initial multi-vendor API connection, but once established, I think it scales effortlessly as you add more operations to the product.

The best features Cisco Crosswork Network Automation offers are the optimization engine for dynamic segment routing and the real-time path calculations, which stand out the most for me. If you combine it with model-driven telemetry, it provides you granular visibility that basically helps you prevent congestion before it impacts service and customer experience.

Cisco Crosswork Network Automation replaces manual routing adjustments by automatically recalculating and re-routing segment paths the moment latency spikes or link saturations occur. In my daily workflow, this reduces routine traffic engineering tickets by roughly 60 to 70%, frees up my operations team from firefighting, and allows them to focus purely on strategic capacity planning, customer retention, acquisition, and churn reduction tasks.

My final thoughts on the features would be the zero-touch provisioning and change management automation, which are quite critical for my organization as they let you push mass configuration updates across thousands of nodes within minutes. You can also add automated pre- and post-validation checks, which basically eliminates human error during change windows, and that can be very costly.

I think the biggest improvement needed for Cisco Crosswork Network Automation is its multi-vendor support, which needs to be more robust. Ingesting telemetry and deploying policies across third-party gear still requires heavy custom API development, so lowering the initial cluster deployment complexity and flattening the learning curve for non-Cisco gear would significantly accelerate time to value.

I think the technical documentation for Cisco Crosswork Network Automation is pretty solid, especially for greenfield Cisco environments. However, troubleshooting multi-vendor API issues requires senior Cisco TAC involvement, so if they provide more plug-and-play SDK templates and clear integration patterns for non-Cisco equipment, that would make third-party deployments much smoother.

I have been using Cisco Crosswork Network Automation for three to four years across large-scale service provider transformations and network consolidation programs.

The accuracy is very high for the traffic anomaly detection and path computation parts because it grounds its response and reasoning in real-time telemetry and deterministic versus probabilistic network topologies. I would say reliability is rock solid since the recommendations need to be validated against defined policy thresholds before any action can be taken, which eliminates any false positives in production routing.

I think the scalability of Cisco Crosswork Network Automation is rock solid. You can push out configuration changes and pre- and post-health checks to thousands of nodes within minutes, and I have used it in live deployments in excess of 50,000 sites many times.

I think the TAC solution support for Cisco Crosswork Network Automation is quite responsive and highly knowledgeable on the core feature. However, solving complex custom integrations and third-party APIs can require escalations as it usually becomes a blame game between different parties and takes time to resolve at whose end the problem actually lies. Overall, the support is quite dependable.

I relied on legacy Cisco Network Services Orchestrator combined with custom Python and Ansible scripts before using Cisco Crosswork Network Automation. I switched because NSO alone lacked real-time closed-loop remediation, and the switch made proactive traffic steering possible, which simply would not have been feasible during those rapid network consolidations.

I evaluated Juniper's Paragon Automation product, Nokia Network Services Platform, and Ericsson's Cloud Automation Platform before choosing Cisco Crosswork Network Automation, which I selected primarily due to its superior integration with my existing routing architecture and its end-to-end telemetry pipeline.

I have already mentioned that it has delivered real ROI in terms of man-hours saved and OPEX reduction, and helped me strategize better in some of those complex network consolidation projects that I do. However, I would deduct two points because most of my clients have multi-vendor environments, and if that integration with third-party vendors were smoother, I would happily add the two points that I took out.

I would say that when looking into using Cisco Crosswork Network Automation, start with focused use cases like telemetry and visibility before turning on closed-loop automation. Additionally, audit your multi-vendor environment early so you can budget time for custom API integration.

Cisco Crosswork Network Automation is a dependable and high-performing platform for large-scale transport network automation, and when paired with the right operation discipline, you do see the ROI on that. My overall review rating for this product is 8 out of 10.

My main use case for Cisco Crosswork Network Automation is network lifecycle automation, real-time telemetry collection, and configuration change and orchestration.

I have an outstanding capability to process massive volumes of streaming telemetry via Cisco Crosswork Network Automation and gain insight to detect network anomalies significantly faster than traditional SNMP polling.

Multi-vendor capability while optimized for Cisco hardware, it interfaces smoothly with third-party devices using the OpenYANG model and standard API, and that covers my main use case.

The best features Cisco Crosswork Network Automation offers include more pre-built automation templates to accelerate time to value without requiring custom development from scratch.

The user interface streamlines navigation between module health, health insights, change automation, and optimization to make the user experience more seamless, which stands out for me.

Cisco Crosswork Network Automation positively impacts my organization by simplifying deployment complexity, providing stable scalability, and managing thousands of network devices without performance bottlenecks.

The positive outcomes from Cisco Crosswork Network Automation include distributed collection with lightweight virtual collection deployed to add devices to the main platform and reduce latency, and I gain significant time for fast deployment.

Cisco Crosswork Network Automation needs improved API documentation, an expense integration guide, and code samples to simplify custom script development for DevOps and NetOps teams.

I would like to see more templates and an improved user interface, as well as enhancements in network lifecycle automation and real-time streaming telemetry.

There are other improvements needed for Cisco Crosswork Network Automation, particularly for the on-premise system.

I have been using Cisco Crosswork Network Automation for two years.

My advice to others looking into using Cisco Crosswork Network Automation is that I have provided a lot of information about Cisco Crosswork Network Automation, and currently, it is a perfect technology that builds high availability, automation, and accelerates time to deployment for network security.

Regarding Cisco Crosswork Network Automation's AI capabilities, I think it has good governance of security, though Cisco automation can improve its AI technology.

It has good governance of security when it comes to the accuracy and reliability of output in Cisco Crosswork Network Automation.

I found this interview valuable as it provides more information on Cisco Crosswork Network Automation for people who are unfamiliar with it. I would rate this review an 8 out of 10.