What Is Intent-Based Networking (IBN)?

The brave new world of intent-based networking is here. An intent-based network administration method automates certain aspects of network administration. Although software-defined networking (SDN) performs specific tasks on a given network, intent-based networking automates and abstracts what was formerly a strictly manual process. Instead of worrying about managing different devices and networks—what their functions are, how they're connected, and so on—IBN allows you to set your intentions and let the IBN system take care of the rest. It can help you create new networks or modify existing ones based on those intentions. You can also monitor how well your network’s function and detect problems before they become more significant issues. Intent-based networking is like a magical user interface that makes your network do what you want. It's like a genie in a bottle, except instead of granting your wish, it just sets up the web for you. It's like automation on steroids—and we're talking about steroids that don't make you look like a freak and make you feel like garbage. Intent-based networking is really cool because it lets you provide high-level indicators that function to "show" the technology your intent; then, it is implemented with some degree of automation. In the early days of the web, HTML editors were like intent-based networking tools. The first generation of HTML editors was a raw interface where you could write HTML code yourself. In later generations, the necessity to write code by hand was abstracted away: instead, you could input commands into an abstracted system, and the system would then generate the code for you. Similarly, intent-based networking tools take abstracted orders and undertake the nuts and bolts of implementation more or less on their own. You tell them what you want to be done, and they do it—and they do it well!