Cisco Crosswork Change Automation (CCCA) is a platform that enables customers to create a closed-loop automation system. Traditional methods for managing a network include manual execution of a Method of Procedure (MOP) or scripting existing Method of Procedures to perform network changes as part of day-two operations. These Ansible playbooks take the principles and techniques of automation and programmatic access from compute environments and apply them to network infrastructure.

The playbooks include steps to execute during pre-maintenance, maintenance, and post-maintenance windows. They manage common tasks such as creating new circuits, upgrading software, and adding capacity to bundles, which normally require considerable preparation and take hours to complete.

CCCA is unique in its ability to construct and execute custom plays for large-scale network change. It is significantly different from other scripted automation frameworks in that it enables a closed-loop framework with two main components:

• Configuration change manager: Uses device programmatic interfaces and provides transactional capabilities for device configuration.
• Alerting/validation engine: Uses real-time telemetry data to validate configuration intent and monitor device state, generating alerts as needed.

Network changes are described in YAML, which makes them simple to create and use. CCCA provides scalability of changes using a microservices architecture and it provides advanced verification of state throughout the execution of the change. The result is a powerful tool for building a closed-loop Change Automation solution that drives consistent service intent.