PnP and DayN Automation Architecture

This is a high level design of bringing the factory default network device to prodcution ready without human intervention

What It Does

graph LR
    A[New Device
Factory Default] -->|Automated| B[Fully Configured
Production Ready]

    style A fill:#ffcdd2,stroke:#c62828
    style B fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32

This platform eliminates manual device provisioning by automating the entire lifecycle:

End-to-End Automation Flow

flowchart TD
    subgraph P1["Phase 1: BOM Extraction"]
        A[Device Serial Number
Extracted from BOM
& Pre-claimed]
    end

    subgraph P2["Phase 2: Day-0 Pre-Claim"]
        B[Device Registered
& Claimed to Site]
    end

    subgraph P3["Phase 3: Day-0 Onboarding"]
        BB[Device Contacts Controller
Day-0 Config Pushed
& Device Upgraded]
    end

    subgraph P4["Phase 4: Day-N Provision"]
        C[Configuration
Deployed]
    end

    subgraph P5["Phase 5: Validation"]
        D[Compliance
Verified]
    end

    subgraph P6["Phase 6: Closure"]
        E[Change Documented
& Notified]
    end

    P1 ==>|Automated| P2 ==>|Automated| P3 ==>|Automated| P4 ==>|Automated| P5 ==>|Automated| P6

    style A fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0
    style B fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#2e7d32
    style BB fill:#ffe0b2,stroke:#e65100
    style C fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#e65100
    style D fill:#f3e5f5,stroke:#6a1b9a
    style E fill:#e0f2f1,stroke:#00695c
    style P1 fill:none,stroke:#1565c0
    style P2 fill:none,stroke:#2e7d32
    style P3 fill:none,stroke:#e65100
    style P4 fill:none,stroke:#ff6f00
    style P5 fill:none,stroke:#6a1b9a
    style P6 fill:none,stroke:#00695c

Works with Two Automated Workflows

Workflow 1 - Device Pre-claim and Onboarding (Day-0)

flowchart TD
    R[Serial Number
Extracted from BOM] --> V[Device Name to
Serial Number mapping
 in YAML file]
    V --> REG[Device Pre-claimed in 
  Controller with Serial Number]
    REG --> CLAIM[Assign site 
  & Golden image]
    CLAIM --> DONE1[Pre-claim Complete
 Cross-checked in Controller]

    style R fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0
    style DONE1 fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32

Workflow 2 - Configuration Deployment (Day-N)

flowchart TD
    BOOT[Device Boots &
Calls home to Controller
Using DHCP option 43] --> DETECT[Day0 completes
 Device comes to inventory creates Webhook event]
    DETECT --> CONFIG[Automation Triggered
Automatically
Configuration Templates
Applied to Device]
    CONFIG --> CHECK[Post-Deployment Checks
Commands verified]
    CHECK --> DONE2[Change Record Created
Team notified via Webex]

    style BOOT fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0
    style DONE2 fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32

Platform Integration Landscape

graph LR
    ENGINE["Automation Engine"]

    ENGINE -->|"Device Provisioning
& Configuration"| CC["Cisco Catalyst Center"]
    ENGINE -->|"Request Lifecycle
& Audit Trail"| SNOW["ServiceNow"]
    ENGINE -->|"Device Parameters
& Templates"| GIT["Git Repository"]
    ENGINE -->|"Secure Credentials"| VAULT["Secrets Vault"]
    ENGINE -->|"Status Updates
& Alerts"| WEBEX["Webex Teams"]
    ENGINE -->|"Events Captured"| EVENTS["Webhook Server"]

    style ENGINE fill:#1565c0,stroke:#0d47a1,color:#fff
    style CC fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#2e7d32
    style SNOW fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#e65100
    style GIT fill:#f3e5f5,stroke:#6a1b9a
    style VAULT fill:#fce4ec,stroke:#b71c1c
    style WEBEX fill:#e0f7fa,stroke:#00695c
    style EVENTS fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17

Key Business Outcomes

mindmap
  root((Automation
Platform))
    Speed
      Minutes vs Hours
      Parallel execution
      No scheduling delays
    Consistency
      Repeatable deployments
      Standardized configurations
      Eliminated human error
    Compliance
      Automated verification
      Audit trail for every change
      Real-time status tracking
    Scale
      Handles 100s of devices
      Event-driven architecture
      Self-healing workflows
    Visibility
      Real-time Webex notifications
      ServiceNow integration
      Centralized logging

Lifecycle Stages

timeline
    title Device Provisioning Lifecycle
    section Serial from BOM
        BOM Extraction : Serial numbers extracted from BOM
        : Serial number to Device Name mapped in YAML
    section Day-0 Pre-Claim
        Device Pre-claimed : Serial & model verified
        : Registered in Catalyst Center
        Site Assignment : Claimed to target site
        : Golden image assigned
    section Day-0 Onboarding
        Device Contacts Controller : Via DHCP Option 43
        : Day-0 config is pushed & device upgraded
        Device Moves to Inventory : Device onboarded into Catalyst Center
        : Ready for Day-N configuration
    section Day-N Configuration
        Auto-Triggered : Device connects to network
        : Platform detects & starts
        Template Deployment : Configuration templates are pushed
        : Variables from Git source-of-truth
    section Verification
        Post-Checks : CLI commands validated
        : Compliance confirmed
    section Closure
        Documentation : Change request auto-created
        : Audit trail complete
        Notification : Team alerted via Webex
        : Request marked complete

Deployment Model

graph LR
    subgraph "Cloud-Native Architecture"
        direction TB
        A[Containerized
Microservices] --> B[Kubernetes
Orchestration]
        B --> C[Auto-Scaling
& Self-Healing]
        C --> D[CI/CD Pipeline
Automated Releases]
    end

    style A fill:#e3f2fd
    style B fill:#e8f5e9
    style C fill:#fff3e0
    style D fill:#f3e5f5

Summary

This platform transforms network device provisioning from a manual, error-prone process into a fully automated, auditable, and repeatable workflow which reduces deployment time significantly while ensuring consistency and compliance at scale.