Manual Network Configuration vs Network Automation

Developers should learn manual network configuration when working in production, cloud, or embedded systems where automated DHCP might not be available or reliable, such as in server deployments, IoT devices, or virtual machines meets developers should learn network automation to streamline network operations in devops and cloud-native environments, where rapid provisioning and scalability are critical. Here's our take.

Manual Network Configuration

Nice Pick

Developers should learn manual network configuration when working in production, cloud, or embedded systems where automated DHCP might not be available or reliable, such as in server deployments, IoT devices, or virtual machines

Pros

• It is crucial for troubleshooting network issues, optimizing performance, and ensuring security by avoiding dynamic IP conflicts or misconfigurations
• Related to: linux-networking, tcp-ip

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Network Automation

Developers should learn network automation to streamline network operations in DevOps and cloud-native environments, where rapid provisioning and scalability are critical

Pros

• It is essential for managing large-scale data centers, implementing continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines for network changes, and ensuring compliance through automated auditing and reporting
• Related to: ansible, python

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Manual Network Configuration is a concept while Network Automation is a methodology. We picked Manual Network Configuration based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Manual Network Configuration wins

Based on overall popularity. Manual Network Configuration is more widely used, but Network Automation excels in its own space.