[Term of the Day]: Zero Touch Provisioning
Term of the Day
"ZTP"
What is Zero Touch Provisioning?
Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) is a method of setting up devices automatically without any manual intervention. ZTP switch is a feature of network hardware and applications that allows for the automated provisioning and configuration of devices.
The ZTP process may vary from setup to setup; however, in a typical setup, once a device has been powered on and installed, the ZTP switch downloads and runs the centrally stored configuration, which it acquires by sending a request through DHCP or TFTP. In most environments devices like routers, VoIP phones, network switches and others are configured by pointing the device to a central configuration server to download all the needed settings upon deployment.
In the past, IT engineers had to unbox and manually configure every device that required an image and deployment package and it typically took several hours for an engineer. ZTP eliminates manual intervention and turns a hands on process to just what it sounds like, zero touch. This reduces the chance of human error and ensures configuration consistency especially if devices are configured at a huge scale. In turn, it also frees IT engineers for more important tasks.
ZTP has become be a huge boon for the Internet of Things (IoT), with the rapid adoption of the IoT in virtually every industry, network managers and IoT administrators are becoming hard pressed to manage their deployments at scale.
ZTP can greatly help administrators in configuring IoT devices and pushing updates out to the network from a central location that provides the benefits from the reduction in costs to far fewer human errors. And if you're launching a mission critical or time-sensitive deployment, speed is of the essence.