Network automation projects that stalled. Back in production, with our engineers alongside yours.
Software is one part of what NetStacks does, and no longer the whole of it. The larger part is engineering: we get automation projects over the line on whatever platform is already in the building, whether that is Cisco NSO, Crosswork, NetBrain, Forward Networks, Ansible, or something your own team wrote. Our product comes along only where it earns its place.
Most automation projects don't fail. They stall, around month six.
The platform is up. The licenses are paid. The source of truth is half modeled. And changes are still typed into devices by hand. We work on the layer most vendors leave alone: everything after the inventory, where a change actually reaches a router. The seven stall patterns
Four services. One goal: changes reach the network without a person typing them.
Stalled project rescue
Find out why the project stopped. Get one real workflow into production.
admin@ncs# show packages package oper-status
packages package l3vpn
oper-status java-uninitialized
packages package vlan
oper-status up
admin@ncs# show services | count
Count: 2 linesWorkflow platform delivery
Cisco NSO, Cisco Crosswork, NetBrain, Forward Networks. The layer that touches devices.
admin@ncs(config)# vlan access-1042 vlan-id 1042 device pe2-den
admin@ncs(config-vlan-access-1042)# commit dry-run outformat native
native {
device {
name pe2-den
data interface GigabitEthernet0/0/1.1042
description vlan-1042
encapsulation dot1q 1042
}
}Process mapping and pipelines
Map how changes happen today. Build the pipeline that makes them happen automatically.
$ git push origin change/CHG0048211
remote: pipeline #4411 started
pre-check pass bgp 24/24 isis 12/12 intent 31/31
dry-run pass 2 devices, +6 lines, review required
approve wait owner: noc-l2
apply skip
post-check skipCustom tools and integrations
When the platform has a gap, build the tool. AI-assisted where it speeds delivery.
$ ./drift-report --since 7d
device out-of-sync last-oob-change by
pe2-den yes 2026-10-09 02:14 jsmith
pe3-slc yes 2026-10-11 23:50 console
pe1-den no
2 of 61 devices drifted. report: drift-2026-10-12.htmlEvery change, as operators see it.
A ticket triggers the flow. Checks run, the platform produces a dry-run diff, a person reads it, the change applies, and the checks run again. Evidence is saved at every stage. This is what every engagement builds, whatever the platform.
How engagements run
Fixed scope and fixed price at every stage. Clients know what they are getting before work starts, and can stop after any stage.
- 01
Assess
2 weeks, fixed price
A read-only review of the platform, the process, and the team against the seven patterns that stall automation projects. Versions, packages, sync state, repository history, change records, and interviews with the engineers who build it and the operators who are meant to use it.
The client gets: A scorecard with the evidence for each finding, a risk list, and a 90-day plan that names the first workflow to put in production.
- 02
Deliver
6 to 8 weeks, fixed price
One or two workflows chosen in the assessment, built, tested against a simulator or a lab, and put into production. Git as the source of truth for the code, a pipeline with dry-run review on every merge request, and a reconciliation plan for devices that have drifted.
The client gets: Workflows in production with test cases and a runbook each, a repository and pipeline the team has used, and handoff sessions with the client's engineers.
- 03
Run
Monthly retainer
Senior automation engineering on a set number of days each month. Platform and driver upgrades on a cadence, new workflows, small tools where the platform has a gap, and code review with the team. Pairs naturally with a NetStacks support plan.
The client gets: A platform that keeps moving after the project ends, without a full-time hire.
Already running NetStacks in production? Support plans cover the product. Professional services cover everything around it.
Hands-on with the platforms that touch the network.
We carry no vendor quota and resell nothing. If the platform a team already owns can do the job, the work is to make it do the job. NetStacks is one of the tools we bring, and we say when it is not the right one.
- Cisco NSOService packages, NEDs, YANG models, upgrades, and brownfield reconciliation. Git and a netsim pipeline for every package change.
- Cisco CrossworkChange Automation playbooks built around real change windows. Workflow Manager flows that take a ticket in and hand evidence back.
- NetBrainRunbooks and intent checks before and after every change, triggered from the ticket. Maps that stay current because they are used.
- Forward NetworksIntent and path verification in the change pipeline, so a change that breaks reachability or isolation is blocked before it ships.
- NetStacksOur own controller and terminal, for MOPs with approvals, shared credentials, session recording, and an AI assistant that reads the same CLI the operator does.
Principles
Start with the process, not the tool.
Before anything is built, the way a change actually happens today is written down with the people who make it. Automation that skips this step encodes a process nobody agreed on, and that is where most projects stall.
One small workflow before any large one.
The first thing in production is frequent, low-risk, and boring. It proves the path from request to device and gives operators a habit. Scope grows from there.
Every change gets a dry run a person reads.
No change reaches a device without a native diff reviewed by someone who knows the network. If the diff is a surprise, the change does not ship.
The platform you own comes first.
We sell NetStacks. We also say when it is not the right tool. The platform a client already owns is the one we make work, and ours comes in only where it adds something the stack does not have.
The client can run it without us.
The measure of a finished engagement is that the client's team can operate, change, and upgrade what was built on their own. Until that is true, the work is not done.
Tell us where the project is stuck.
A 30-minute call, no slides. If we can't help, we'll say who can.
Cisco, Cisco NSO, Cisco Crosswork, and pyATS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. Juniper and Paragon are trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. NetBrain is a trademark of NetBrain Technologies, Inc. Forward Networks is a trademark of Forward Networks, Inc. NetBox is a trademark of NetBox Labs. Nautobot is a trademark of Network to Code, LLC. Ansible is a trademark of Red Hat, Inc. ServiceNow is a trademark of ServiceNow, Inc. GitLab is a trademark of GitLab Inc. Jira is a trademark of Atlassian Pty Ltd. All other product names, logos, and brands are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only. Their use does not imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. NetStacks is an independent company and has no partnership, reseller, or affiliate relationship with any of these vendors.