JUNOS® FOR DUMMIES®

Chapter 20. JOUOScriptin

If you're like most of the people managing networks for a living, you probably have enough work to fill the calendars of three or four other people besides yourself. The reality is that most networks are growing, both in terms of number of devices and the number of users relying on the network. While that growth continues at astronomical rates, the number of people managing those devices and servicing those users is increasing much more slowly — and sometimes even decreasing (due to cost cutting, for example). This growth leaves the unfortunate network architect and operations team desperate for some way to simplify or automate tasks in an effort to improve efficiency and protect the valuable uptime of the network.

This chapter introduces some fairly slick ways of both automating tasks and reducing total downtime in the network through automation scripting. It's beyond the scope of this book to cover it in superb detail, but we guarantee once you're introduced to it, you'll want to write your own scripts.

Minimizing Network Downtime

The most basic requirement for your network is that it be up and running. Period. If your network is down, nothing else really matters. So it's in your best interest to do whatever it takes to ensure that your network doesn't suffer from excessive downtime. You need to constantly evaluate the reasons for downtime within your network and evaluate what you or your vendors can do to address those issues.

The major causes of downtime ...