Event-driven network automation

What is event-driven network automation, and how can it be implemented in AWS?

Event-driven network automation is a method where network actions are triggered by specific events or changes in the network state rather than manual interventions. In AWS, this can be implemented using AWS Lambda functions in conjunction with Amazon CloudWatch Events. When a CloudWatch Event rule detects a specific change or event in the AWS environment, it can trigger a Lambda function that performs automated tasks such as updating route tables or modifying security groups.

Can you name an AWS service that enables the creation of workflows for complex network automation tasks?

AWS Step Functions is the service that enables the creation of workflows to coordinate multiple AWS services into flexible, complex automation tasks. It allows you to design and implement event-driven, long-running workflows in conjunction with other AWS services including networking components.

How do AWS CloudWatch and Lambda work together to facilitate event-driven network automation?

AWS CloudWatch monitors AWS resources and applications, capturing logs, metrics, and events. CloudWatch can trigger alarms based on specific criteria, which in turn can invoke AWS Lambda functions. These Lambda functions are scripts that perform automatic networking tasks, such as modifying network configurations or responding to security incidents, thereby facilitating event-driven network automation.

In what scenarios would you consider using AWS EventBridge for network automation?

AWS EventBridge is used for advanced event filtering, content-based routing, and transformation of events. It would be considered in scenarios where network automation requires a more granular approach to selecting and processing events, such as responding to specific network traffic patterns, scaling network capabilities in real time, or integrating with third-party services.

What considerations must be taken when automating the response to security-related events in your network infrastructure on AWS?

When automating the response to security events, it’s crucial to consider the following:

• The precision of the event triggers to avoid false positives.
• The scope and impact of automated remediation actions to avoid disruption to legitimate operations.
• The clear definition of incident response procedures and escalation paths.
• Compliance with security policies and regulations.
• Maintaining proper logging and alerting for audit trails and further investigation.

Explain how AWS Config can be used in event-driven network automation.

AWS Config can track configuration changes of AWS resources over time. It enables event-driven automation by identifying changes to the network environment, such as security group or network ACL changes, and triggering events or Systems Manager Automation documents to ensure the desired state of the network is maintained.

What role does Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) play in event-driven network automation?

Amazon SNS plays the role of a pub/sub messaging service that can be used to decouple the event producers from the event processors. In network automation, SNS can be used to broadcast network event notifications to different endpoints, such as Lambda functions, SQS queues, or email addresses, which then can autonomously respond to the event, triggering appropriate network actions.

How could you leverage Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) in an event-driven network automation setup?

Amazon SQS can provide message queuing to decouple and scale microservices, distributed systems, and serverless applications. In event-driven network automation, SQS would queue messages related to network events ensuring that they are processed in order and without loss, even during periods of high volume. It’s instrumental in managing network task backlogs and sequencing automated actions.

What are AWS CloudFormation and Terraform, and how might they differ when used for event-driven network automation?

AWS CloudFormation and Terraform are infrastructure as code frameworks that enable the provisioning and management of infrastructure with code templates or configuration files. For event-driven network automation, CloudFormation is AWS-native and fully integrated with other AWS services, while Terraform is an open-source, cloud-agnostic tool that may require additional setup to respond dynamically to events. The difference is mainly in the scope, with AWS CloudFormation being specific to AWS, whereas Terraform can work with multiple cloud providers.

Describe how you would automate the updating of network ACLs in response to a detected DDos attack on AWS.

To automate network ACL updates in response to a DDoS attack, one could use AWS GuardDuty and AWS Lambda. GuardDuty would detect the anomaly using its integrated threat intelligence and then emit a finding to CloudWatch Events. A Lambda function triggered by that event can implement a predefined response such as updating network ACLs with rules to block suspicious traffic or IP addresses associated with the attack.