The Everything Feed - All Packet Pushers Pods TNO049: Automated Network Testing and Validation
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Nov 7, 2025 Dan Wade, the Network and Infrastructure Automation Practice Lead at BlueAlly, shares his expertise in network testing and validation. He dives into the importance of validation SOPs and automated checks, making testing accessible to non-coders with tools like PyATS and Ansible. The conversation touches on using AI for test ideation and overcoming barriers like tool exhaustion and cultural resistance. Dan emphasizes the need for ownership in problem-solving and highlights the flexibility of PyATS across different network OSes.
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Test Automates Your SOPs
- Automated network testing codifies existing SOP validation steps to confirm operating state without making changes.
- Running regular tests builds confidence and surfaces drift between documentation and real network state.
Start With Read‑Only Tests
- Start testing because it is low-risk: read-only checks won't change the network but yield valuable data.
- Schedule regular tests (daily or weekly) to detect configuration drift and gain operational confidence.
Pick A Test Framework Early
- Use a testing framework (PyATS, pytest, or nuts) to scaffold test cases and reporting rather than building ad hoc scripts.
- Choose a vendor-agnostic framework so parsers and connectors can support multivendor environments.
