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Maintaining a network that hosts thousands of users requires constant information. But as the needs of the user base continue to grow, the strain on the network grows as well. Keeping up with that growth means understanding the ways in which traffic and load affect the network and the users who rely upon it, as well as expanding the infrastructure that enables the growth. This leads to a couple of problems: how can we stress test a network without accidentally causing a failure that could affect thousands of users and how can we implement and test infrastructure changes without serious disruption?

The Cisco WAN Automation Engine (WAE) lets network and system administrators do both. And it’s the Operating and Implementing Cisco Wan Automation Engine (SPWAE) v1.0 course that teaches them to use Cisco WAE effectively.

Me and my digital twin

First, let’s talk about Cisco WAN Automation Engine. The basic explanation is that Cisco WAE is a network design and planning tool. Cisco WAE helps us to visualize and optimize networks in the abstract and includes all the information necessary to make important design choices. WAE allows us to craft a digital twin of the network and use that twin to model and simulate anything from traffic flow to design changes, or “what-if” scenarios, such as a link or node failures, and instantly visualize the impact across the network.

The power of the Cisco WAE tool lies in its ability to enable us to simulate. For example, Cisco WAE can simulate how a traffic influx from new customer service could potentially affect our network. Similarly, WAE allows us to model design changes e.g., a new circuit between two sites, and how they’ll affect the network without threatening the production network. We can, in essence, know if our response is effective before we implement it on a live network.

With Cisco WAE, we know exactly what’s going on in the network. Cisco WAE allows us to look into the future and decide exactly what we need to do to prepare in advance. We become the oracle of the network when we use Cisco WAN Automation Engine.

In a digital world that requires constant connectivity and stability, we can remove uncertainty by taking a glimpse into the future and choosing the best path. This means we can constantly improve the network our users rely on without putting up “Under Construction” signs and leading them on a slow detour past someone else’s digital cornfield.

This is Cisco WAE

A tool is only as good as the person who uses it. Cisco’s SPWAE course is the best way to become a proficient user of the Cisco WAE technology. The course is designed by experts to grow your confidence, technical knowledge, and practical skills by providing lectures and hands-on labs.  Whether you’re a beginner or are more experienced with Cisco WAE, this class can help improve your skills.

So, what do you get out of the SPWAE course? If you’re a beginner and you finish your course and walk out, log off—whatever, you’ll be walking away with newfound confidence and the know-how to install and operate the software. But you’ll also be learning along with more experienced users how to better navigate the GUI, how to make the best use of some of the more advanced tools within Cisco WAE, and how Cisco WAE can improve your network solution implementation.

Of course, the SPWAE course gives you the chance to have fun with a network in a danger-free environment. The lab portion of the SPWAE course allows you to try exciting new things without having to worry about what you change or how you’ll fix it. And since no two networks are exactly alike, you’ll get to experience how Cisco WAE works with a different network configuration and potentially explore some new tools.

Using Abstraction to Teach

Finally, one of the larger intangibles that being a proficient user of Cisco WAE gives you is the ability to act as a knowledgeable expert and mouthpiece for the network. Because your network can be abstracted, it can be explained. Whether you’re ramping up a new hire who will be maintaining the network alongside you or are explaining what the network does to someone a little less technical, the way the Cisco WAE technology abstracts the network into understandable components makes it approachable and enables you to further explain the complicated systems that your users rely on day-in and day-out.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and get acquainted with Cisco WAE and the SPWAE technology training course. The technology is incredibly powerful, and the course helps you to get the most out of it and I can’t wait to hear how you utilize both. Visit the Cisco Learning Network Store to purchase the on-demand e-learning delivery of the SPWAE course.

Please feel free to comment below or reach out to learn more!

 

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Cisco WAN Automation Engine (WAE)

 

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Authors

John Lehane

Product Manager

Service Provider Network Automation and Analytics (SPNAA)