DarkNOC: GenAI & Automation propels insights driven NetOps

The telecommunications industry is well on its way to full digital transformation, driven by the complexity of modern networks and a growing demand for faster and more reliable services. Accordingly, operators are turning to multi-domain tools and automation solutions to streamline, improve, and accelerate service delivery. However, the diversity of technology, geography, and operational domains has led to a fragmented automation landscape.

DarkNOC is a Network Operations Center that operates without human intervention. It represents the future of network operations, where technology takes the lead in ensuring network reliability, performance,  achieving cost efficiency, and gaining a competitive advantage.

This article demonstrates how Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, in conjunction with AIOps Insights and TM Forum Open APIs and reference architectures, can address this challenge by providing a unified approach to automation across any domain, network, or location.

The Role of AIOps

AIOps is essential for true automation. By combining artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) with big data analytics, AIOps provides insight into network performance and behavior. These insights can be used to optimize automation workflows, to predict failures, and to address potential issues.

The need for cohesion in automation

Network operations have traditionally been characterized by a patchwork of automation tools and proprietary element managers and scripts. Different domains (network, transport, cloud, RAN) and networks (5G, broadband) and locations each present unique challenges requiring specialized automation solutions. This lack of cohesion has hindered collaboration, slowed down service delivery, and increased operational costs.

To achieve true automation at scale, it's essential to have a common language for describing network resources and services. For a unified automation platform, interoperability is crucial. TM Forum Open APIs and architectures provide a standardized framework for exchanging information between different systems and applications.

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and TM Forum Open API

Combining TM Forum Open APIs and reference architectures with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform can seamlessly integrate with various network elements, systems, and processes. This enables end-to-end automation workflows that effectively leverage AIOps Insights to create intelligent "actionable generative AI", self-healing automation systems, and features:

• Standardized data exchange: TM Forum Open APIs ensure consistent data formats and structures, facilitating smooth integration between Ansible and other systems
• Accelerated automation development: Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed with IBM watsonx Code Assistant is a generative AI service designed by and for Ansible Automation Platform engineers and developers. It accepts natural-language prompts entered by a user and then interacts with IBM watsonx foundation models to produce code recommendations built on Ansible best practices
• Improved operational efficiency: By automating tasks at scale with a single automation language (Ansible YAML code) across different domains and networks, an organization can achieve significant operational efficiencies and cost reductions
• Enhanced agility: A unified automation platform enables faster response to market changes and customer demands

Adopt automation

With Red Hat, your telecommunications organization can overcome the challenges of automation fragmentation. Adopt Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform for a universal automation language and platform. Accelerate and improve code quality with generative AI with Ansible Lightspeed to address the lack of remediation scripts. Leverage the power of AIOps Insights, and adhere to TM Forum Open API and architecture.

This unified approach can lead to increased efficiency, a faster time-to-market, and improved service quality. As the industry continues to evolve, embracing automation and standardization means being well-positioned to thrive in the digital age.

Learn more about Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and TM Forum:

• Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
• Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed with IBM watsonx Code Assistant
• TM Forum DarkNOC: GenAI propels insights driven NetOps
• TM Forum Is a global alliance of telecom and tech companies