ClickCease

The Future of NCM is Here
(And it's Automated)


BackBox offers an easy to use automation platform for network teams that streamlines your network configuration management.  With a user-friendly interface you can eliminate scripts, centrally manage configurations across all your network devices, and integrate BackBox with important external systems like ServiceNow.

Automate everything with BackBox and unlock the power of a truly efficient network.

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EASY TO SCALE

Scale Network Configuration Management with Automation

  • Automate Everything

    Eliminate manual NCM tasks, backups, OS updates, and compliance checks. BackBox takes care of it all with programmatic automation.

  • Embrace the Cloud

    Seamlessly integrate BackBox with your cloud infrastructure and NetDevOps workflows, including ServiceNow, for a future-proof solution.

  • Simplify Complexity

    No coding required! BackBox offers an intuitive interface for effortless network automation.

  • Unify your Network

    Manage configurations across all your network devices, from firewalls to routers, in a single, centralized platform.

Automate Tedious Tasks

Stop Fighting Busywork, Start Innovating

BackBox tackles tedious tasks, simplifies network management, and empowers your NetOps team to focus on what matters — driving network security.

  • Save Time

    Empower your network engineers with automation for faster tasks and sharper focus.

  • Gain More Control

    Take complete control over your network configurations with BackBox’s centralized management.

  • Streamline Workflows

    BackBox removes the need for complex scripting, making network automation accessible to all.

  • Work Smarter, Not Harder

    Focus on strategic network initiatives while BackBox handles the heavy lifting.

According to Gartner, more than 65% of enterprise networking activities are performed manually.
Why BackBox

With BackBox you can do NCM better, with programmatic automation of the most common NCM use cases

Only BackBox delivers out-of-the-box simplicity and rapid time-to-value NCM use cases, including configuration templating, compliance reporting, a searchable configuration repository, and more that are API accessible.

  • No-Code Automation No scripting required in BackBox means NCM is also simplified. No python or YAML is required to automate NCM activities.

  • Broad multi-vendor support Including firewalls and other network devices ecpands the reach relative to other NCM solutions.

  • Simplicity NCM implemented as an automation use case has the same trusted simplicity as Backups, OS Updates, Compliance, and NVM.

Use it now!

Get fast, free access to a private sandbox environment where you can explore BackBox on a variety of firewalls and network devices.

Try it Now

Request a Demo

Join one of our experts for a 30-minute demo and see how your team can stop scripting and managing configurations one device at a time with BackBox by automating tasks at scale.

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FAQ

FAQ

What is Programmatic NCM?

Everything in BackBox is created with an API-first approach including, importantly, automations. This allows automations to be called as part of a DevOps workflow… for example, before doing an update make the call to initiate a backup to be sure you have a recent restorable backup prior to doing a potentially destructive upgrade.

This is what we mean by being programmatic. It’s in comparison to legacy NCM solutions whose API is mostly used for integration with network management systems, but not for operational control over the network.

How does BackBox scale as compared to legacy NCM?

  • Legacy NCM has an approach that network administrators will be working at a keyboard and accomplishing their tasks. They’ve taken a polling approach from a central server out to the network. With BackBox, there’s no polling involved. We distribute the execution of automations out into the network for parallel execution achieving better performance and scale as compared to polling.

  • BackBox Agents are often used to extend scalability and performance even further. Distributed agents are responsible for executing automations local to their network, minimizing data transfer between networks. For example, a backup might be done at a remote network, with the data remaining at the remote network site rather than being passed back to a central location. Should there be a requirement to store data centrally, the data transfer is separated from the backup process to maximize performance and scalability.

What integration is available with ServiceNow?

There are two pieces to the integration:

  • Enhanced Discovery

    All BackBox can use the ServiceNow CMDB for device discovery, so that all new devices entered into ServiceNow automatically become devices in BackBox.

  • IT Service Management Integration.

    BackBox backup automations integrate with the ServiceNow trouble-ticketing system to open or close tickets based on backup status.

I already have NCM, why change?

BackBox implements NCM capabilities on a platform of automation. You would want to change if you’re looking to implement automation, at scale, and are looking for use cases to drive the adoption. A common use case to get started with automation is backup; many are using their NCM solution to help manage backups. So there’s overlap.

Backups based on automation are more reliable, more scalable, and easier to restore. Backups based on automation can also be included in DevOps workflows to ensure that a backup is always taken before a potentially destructive operation is completed. It’s less about replacing NCM in this case, than it is about expanding what can be done by peeling off some NCM use cases from the NCM solution and implementing them with automation.

Similarly with compliance. Compliance based on automation is easier to implement and doesn’t involve managing configuration files in the same way. Remediation is also a part of the compliance automations to help with grooming configurations back into compliance when they drift.

Importantly, there are some situations where companies are being forced to change their NCM solution. The Broadcom acquisition of VMware is one situation where customers are finding they may not have support for their product, or it’s getting more expensive under Broadcom leadership. These situations provide a great opportunity to rethink NCM, and implement it based on automation rather than based on a legacy approach.