Automating the Edge: The MANTLE Difference
IT Automation is a broad category in the world of technology, and a common question we’ve received recently is, where does MANTLE fit amongst other automation tools out there?
Insight from Rich Gallant, NTS Director of Software Sales
In the IT world today, computing continues to move closer to where the data is generated. Whether that is networking, systems, or IoT as a catch-all category, the number of devices being fielded at the edge is growing exponentially. The edge is a complex and ever-changing environment with unique requirements, and edge automation has made significant strides in automating operations to reduce the complexity that comes along with extending infrastructure. MANTLE addresses those challenges as an automation tool purpose-built for the edge. However, where MANTLE fits amongst other tools out there and the critical need it’s solving, is what we call Day 0 infrastructure and only infrastructure.
What we mean by this is that MANTLE focuses on the need to automate the initial stand-up and configuration of infrastructure that needs to be fielded. The network for connectivity, the virtual environment to host applications and services, and other IoT devices needed for operations. Initial configuration, particularly bare metal, is where MANTLE shines. There are powerful tools that exist for enterprise and cloud automation, but where they struggle to perform is during the initial Day 0 infrastructure builds. We see this, especially in DoD environments. It takes a lot of development and niche capabilities to support those efforts, including dealing with hardware that can be antiquated or next-gen, specific policies for security and stigs, as well as a complex series of steps for configuration that are required by some programs.
MANTLE is not a silver bullet. Automation is a large concept that will always require multiple tools to achieve a complete Infrastructure as Code solution. Our goal with MANTLE was to solve a critical problem that we did not see addressed in the market today: to take infrastructure and automate the build-out of those edge devices for Day 0 deployment. When it comes to deploying applications and services, and what we consider Day 1 deployment, there are other tools out there for that, tools that MANTLE integrates with as a full-scale solution.
Automation is a difficult task, and getting to a state of easy can be very hard. MANTLE was designed to take a complicated chunk out of the process by automating Day 0 infrastructure.
This is where MANTLE fits in the world of automation. A cog, albeit a critical one, in a larger wheel to get to full Infrastructure as Code deployments. If you cannot automate your Day 0 infrastructure, then automation for Day 1 is still dependent on manual intervention, something MANTLE can remediate.
