Cisco Announces AI Assistant Inclusion to Services as Code
Last month we gave you an overview of Cisco’s Services as Code and the role of automation in the AI era. In this blog, we explore how natural language queries are redefining infrastructure management. As infrastructure grows increasingly complex, particularly when factoring in AI-readiness, Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) teams must achieve the highest levels of automation, digital resilience, faster time to value and operational excellence at scale. This is why automation methodologies, like Infrastructure as Code (IaC)—which applies software development discipline to infrastructure—have become the preferred approach, especially for organizations looking to stay ahead. However, adopting these methodologies requires a fundamental mindset shift. Recognizing this, nearly two years ago, Cisco introduced Services as Code, a capability designed to enable I&O teams to adopt IaC practices and automation into their operations. This service empowers teams to define desired infrastructure states, manage them as software, and automate deployments via declarative data model in a YAML[1] format and advanced automation pipelines. [2] Today, Services as Code is available across key Cisco platforms, including Cisco ACI, SD-WAN, NDFC, ISE, Meraki, and Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly known as Cisco DNA Center). The impact of these innovations has been transformative. As one customer put it: “Infrastructure as Code has marked a major milestone in the way we automate and operate our network. While network automation has been a topic of conversation for years, IaC has truly accelerated our ability to bring that vision to life.” –Jose Manuel Postigo, Principal Architect IaaS Networking, BBVA Engineering. Building on this foundation, to help customers speed up time-to-value by accelerating the adoption of IaC with ease, we are announcing the integration of Cisco AI Assistant with Services as Code. By leveraging the power of generative AI, the solution takes Services as Code to the next level, further simplifying infrastructure management with natural language inputs, and enabling I&O teams to: Adopt IaC with ease: Overcome technical barriers by interacting with infrastructure through intuitive natural language queries. Access an always-available expert: Leverage the Cisco AI Assistant as your virtual consultant to generate configurations, understand the impact of new updates or changes to existing configurations, troubleshoot issues, and enable seamless querying. The Power of Natural Language Queries Traditionally, I&O teams have relied on intricate command-line inputs and technical scripts to execute tasks. In the past, teams had to go through configurations and manually troubleshoot when errors occurred. Cisco AI Assistant changes that by enabling users to interact with their infrastructure in plain, conversational language. For example: Want to understand your network state? Simply ask: “What is the current configuration of my ACI environment?” Need to create a new configuration? Just state: “Create a new VLAN with these parameters.” Facing an issue? Ask: “I want users in remote site RTP to connect to HQ DC billing server at 10.10.10.10; can you please give me the configuration to meet this outcome? “ This approach not only simplifies processes but also democratizes access, allowing teams with varying levels of technical expertise to effectively manage even the most complex environments. What capabilities can you access today? The Cisco AI Assistant is designed to deliver tangible benefits to I&O teams by addressing key operational pain points, empowering teams to understand, modify, and troubleshoot network configurations. Customers can now: Query existing configurations to understand the network state: Simplify the review of complex topologies and gain a clear understanding of the current configuration state of the environment. Generate new configurations based on intent through natural language input: Seamlessly create configurations and automatically , saving time and reducing errors. Troubleshoot errors with real-time assessments and remediation recommendations: Identify and resolve issues with validation pipelines before changes are deployed. If errors occur, the assistant identifies root causes and suggests alternative configurations to address problems seamlessly. These capabilities are currently available for Cisco ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure), Catalyst SD-WAN and NDFC VXLAN. How Does It Work? Services as Code with Cisco AI Assistant leverages Cisco’s intellectual capital and cutting-edge technology stack to deliver a seamless infrastructure management experience. The offering combines the following components: Natural Language Understanding (NLU): The AI Assistant leverages advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) to enable seamless interactions. You can ask questions, create configurations, or troubleshoot issues using simple, natural language. Repository Integration: The assistant connects directly to your configuration repositories—whether cloud-based or on-premises—to deliver tailored, environment-specific responses. Efficient Data Queries: Using a GraphQL-based architecture, the assistant retrieves only the necessary data, ensuring fast and accurate responses to even the most complex configurations. Smart Data Indexing: A vector store is used to answer technical questions about Services as Code, its data model and its associated use and architecture, while maintaining Cisco’s strict privacy guidelines and adhering to Cisco’s Responsible AI Standards. Modern Context Protocol (MCP) Server: I&O teams can leverage Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) such as VSCode to edit and manage configurations. VSCode includes support for the MCP client protocol, enabling the VSCode MCP client to interact with the Services as Code AI Assistant’s MCP server for generating configurations. Together, these technologies enable I&O teams to manage their infrastructure with ease, ensuring faster deployments, improved resiliency, and scalability. Embrace the future of AI-driven infrastructure With Services as Code, our customers are empowered to transform their infrastructure deployment for an increasingly complex era. The inclusion of the Cisco AI Assistant is going to make IaC more accessible to a broader range of I&O teams, lowering the technical barrier to entry, and enabling them to adopt IaC confidently, efficiently, quickly, and at scale. Most importantly, it empowers I&O teams to shift their focus from routine operational tasks to high-value strategic initiatives, fostering greater innovation and agility across the organization. The future of infrastructure management is here – and it’s powered by AI. Are you prepared to simplify complexity and accelerate transformation? Dive into how the Cisco AI Assistant for Services as Code can transform your infrastructure management today. For more information, visit: Network as Code Services as Code Youtube Playlist [1] YAML is a topology-based file. [2] The deployment pipeline includes semantic and config validation checks. Share: