{"id":147,"date":"2025-06-22T01:11:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T00:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/?p=147"},"modified":"2025-06-22T01:11:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T00:11:40","slug":"can-ai-replace-network-engineers-a-real-world-perspective-from-the-trenches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/?p=147","title":{"rendered":"Can AI Replace Network Engineers? A Real-World Perspective from the Trenches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today, I watched the latest YouTube video by NetworkChuck.<\/strong>
He discussed how AI is affecting network engineers. It was really interesting \u2014 and it motivated me to continue my journey as a network engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, I\u2019m facing some difficulties right now.
If you have any open positions for network engineers, please feel free to message me anytime. I\u2019d really appreciate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m currently based in the UK.
Yes, I could join Amazon \u2014 I mean, Amazon Flex.
No joking. I\u2019m serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Right now, I\u2019m especially interested in data center networking<\/strong> and hyperscale networking for AI<\/strong>.
Regardless of the use case \u2014 whether it’s business, research, or something more creative like cryptocurrency \u2014 I find these areas fascinating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, Internet route checking<\/strong> (RPKI again? Yes, definitely) is something I want to explore further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

On the topic of device deployment<\/strong> \u2014 automation, zero-touch provisioning, scripting, etc.:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, scripting in Bash or Perl (SSH into the device, wait for a prompt, automate the commands) has been used for a long time. But today, there are many modern approaches: agents, tailored remote access methods, tunneling deployments, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do they compare? Which method is best?<\/strong>
Ansible? Python scripting? YAML? Network programming?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And… you prepare every configuration manually? (No way \u2014 maybe for 10,000+ devices?!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

OK, let\u2019s step back. Here’s how it usually goes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Gather and analyze all requirements<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Define the needed solutions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Prepare configurations<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Plan deployment and coordinate across multiple parties<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    So the question is: what can AI help with?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I asked ChatGPT about step 3 \u2014 configuration preparation and the best automation method.<\/strong>
    It gave me this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Use Case                  | Best Tool
    --------------------------|--------------------------
    First-time provisioning   | \ud83d\udfe0 ZTP
    Day-2 config, updates     | \ud83d\udfe2 Ansible
    Dynamic runtime scripting | \ud83d\udd35 Python

    You don\u2019t have to choose just one \u2014 combining them leads to full end-to-end automation.
    <\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Great! But… what about the rest of the steps to complete a full solution?
    Can AI help us with the entire plan<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    I think this is how you should approach it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Analyze the requirements in detail<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Identify what the solution needs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Prepare the configurations<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Design the deployment plan<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      You\u2019d need to provide AI with a comprehensive scope of work<\/strong>, and then ask it to generate a plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      But can you trust it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      YOU<\/strong> need to verify all outputs from AI.
      YOU<\/strong> need to plan the project timeline and human resources.
      YOU<\/strong> need to review the configurations generated by AI carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      If you don\u2019t know networking, project planning, or resource management \u2014 how would you even do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      That\u2019s why:
      YOU = Network Engineer, Network Project Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      We\u2019re always learning new things. AI is becoming a great assistant, but right now, we shouldn\u2019t fully trust it without verification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      As I said before:
      Can AI operate the Internet?<\/strong>
      Well… that depends on how the AI is designed to manage networks, and which parts<\/strong> of the network it\u2019s capable of operating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Discussion continues…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      Today, I watched the latest YouTube video by NetworkChuck.He discussed how AI is affecting network engineers. It was really interesting \u2014 and it motivated me to continue my journey as a network engineer. Of course, I\u2019m facing some difficulties right now.If you have any open positions for network engineers, please feel free to message me … Continue reading “Can AI Replace Network Engineers? A Real-World Perspective from the Trenches”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[36,156,159,158,39,83,9,62,155,79,157],"class_list":["post-147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai","category-internet","tag-ai","tag-amazon","tag-amazonflex","tag-ansible","tag-chatgpt","tag-cisco","tag-internet","tag-network","tag-networkchuck","tag-networkoperation","tag-ztp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=147"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions\/148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgptrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}