From Manual to Machine Speed: Crown Castle's Automation Evolution
Rob Hinst, a Senior Manager of Software Engineering at Crown Castle, focuses on automating Ethernet services and infrastructure using Cisco Network Services Orchestrator, significantly reducing provisioning time and enhancing efficiency with homegrown solutions.
MAIN POINTS FROM TRANSCRIPT
- Rob Hinst is a Senior Manager of Software Engineering at Crown Castle.
- Crown Castle specializes in shared communications infrastructure, including towers, fiber, and small cells.
- Automation reduced Ethernet service provisioning time from 30 to 5 minutes.
- The core automation platform used is Cisco Network Services Orchestrator, supplemented by custom Python scripts.
TAKEAWAYS
- Automation in telecommunications can drastically improve service delivery times.
- Building and iterating on custom solutions can enhance existing automation platforms.
- A decade of experience in automation can lead to significant operational improvements.
- Leveraging homegrown tools alongside established platforms can optimize infrastructure management.