MCP for DevOps, NetOps, and SecOps: Actual-World Use Instances and Future Insights

MCP for DevOps, NetOps, and SecOps: Actual-World Use Instances and Future
Insights

Within the earlier put up on MCP for DevOps: Structure and Elements, we mentioned what MCP is and isn’t. We dove into a number of architectural elements and gently touched on use circumstances. Now, let’s discover a number of potential use circumstances for MCP in DevOps/NetOps/SecOps.

I’ve cherry-picked a number of buyer and accomplice use circumstances I’ve personally labored with and located applicable for our dialogue. My listing won’t be exhaustive, however it ought to provide you with a stable view of sensible makes use of for MCP. Let your thoughts ponder the chances in your surroundings. 😃

Within the YouTube collection on MCP for DevOps, we’ll leverage some use circumstances to construct a working implementation with MCP, instruments, and Cisco merchandise.

Recap – Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP)

If you happen to didn’t catch half 1 on this weblog collection on MCP for DevOps: Structure and Elements, test it out. However for now, right here’s a fast level-set on MCP.

As illustrated in Determine 1, the Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP) gives a uniform solution to combine an AI mannequin into instruments and companies.

Determine 1. MCP with LLMs and Instruments

MCP Overview

It’s:

• A light-weight communication protocol designed particularly for AI brokers and purposes.
• Constructed to attach these brokers to instruments, APIs, databases, and file techniques.
• Structured as a consumer/server structure—easy and predictable.
• Plumbing

It isn’t:

• A messaging protocol for agent-to-agent communication.
• An LLM, database, AI assistant, or agent.
• A general-purpose integration platform.
• A substitute to your present APIs or information bus.

Widespread MCP Use Instances

As talked about above, MCP integrates AI purposes, instruments, information sources, APIs, and so on. Nonetheless, MCP, being a protocol, doesn’t work alone. A consumer and server should use the protocol and full the pairing.

When AI purposes and brokers combine the MCP SDK for consumer use and create an MCP server to work on behalf of native or distant instruments, the next typical use circumstances can facilitate a low-toil/high-reward final result.

• Automating Routine Duties:
  MCP can deal with repetitive chores similar to producing reviews, managing GitHub repos, constructing Ansible playbooks, and managing CI/CD pipelines.

• Unified Knowledge and Motion Administration:
  Consider MCP as your AI utility or agent’s centralized hub for interacting with various techniques similar to observability options from Splunk, orchestration techniques similar to Cisco NSO, and AI safety platforms similar to Cisco AI Protection.

• Enhanced Context and Determination-Making:
  MCP-powered AI purposes and brokers present richer context by accessing information from a number of sources, resulting in sooner, smarter choices.

• Compliance and Safety:
  MCP interactions throughout your techniques may be safe, compliant, and auditable when used with standardized safety protocols, processes, and instruments.

As illustrated in Determine 2, the MCP Shopper (AI utility, assistant, or agent) can use MCP Servers to combine with a number of automation, observability, safety, and collaboration techniques by calling these by APIs, information sources, and so on.

Determine 2. MCP with Instruments, Companies, Platforms

Unified Automation with MCP

DevOps Use Instances

• CI/CD Automation:
  AI purposes utilizing MCP can automate whole CI/CD pipelines, seamlessly managing builds, assessments, deployments, and notifications by Cisco Webex.

• Environment friendly Code Administration:
  GitHub MCP integration permits an AI utility or agent to handle branches, evaluate pull requests, triage points, and scan for vulnerabilities.

• Infrastructure Automation:
  With MCP Server integrations for Terraform and Ansible, your AI agent can shortly and precisely provision infrastructure or modify settings.

• Streamlined Incident Response:
  Cisco Webex built-in with MCP helps your AI utility or agent actively interact in troubleshooting and incident administration, considerably decreasing response instances.

DevOps Situation:
Think about asking your AI utility (Chat interface and even your IDE):

“Create a brand new launch department, run assessments, deploy to staging, and ship a notification to Cisco Webex.”

As illustrated in Determine 3, your AI utility seamlessly orchestrates actions through GitHub, Docker, and Jenkins utilizing MCP and sends updates by Cisco Webex.

Determine 3. MCP-Powered CI/CD Pipeline

Pipeline Automation with MCP

NetOps Use Instances

• Dynamic Community Administration:
  MCP permits AI-driven administration of community configurations utilizing pure language, leveraging Cisco APIs or Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) instruments.

• Automated Community Monitoring:
  With MCP, you should utilize an AI utility or agent to watch community efficiency, detect anomalies, and routinely remediate points through Cisco options like ThousandEyes, Meraki Dashboard, and plenty of extra.

• Cloud Infrastructure Automation:
  MCP lets you use AI to handle cloud-based networking infrastructure, leveraging Kubernetes APIs and Cisco community controllers for clever automation.

NetOps Situation:

“Add a brand new OSPF IPv6 route for the 2001:db8:cafe::1/64 community at Knowledge Heart A.”

As illustrated in Determine 4, utilizing MCP, your AI utility makes use of an MCP Server to work together with Cisco APIs and even NETCONF/RESTCONF to make OSPF routing updates. It instantly updates the NetOps staff through Cisco Webex.

Determine 4. AI-driven Visitors Administration utilizing MCP

Community Automation with MCP

SecOps Use Instances

• Proactive Menace Response:
  AI brokers utilizing MCP swiftly detect and mitigate threats by adjusting firewall settings with Cisco Safe Firewall and routinely isolating compromised endpoints utilizing Cisco Safe Endpoint.

• Automated Vulnerability Administration:
  MCP integrations allow AI to determine vulnerabilities and generate fast infrastructure or host configuration fixes by Ansible playbooks and Terraform suppliers.

• Actual-time Incident Orchestration:
  With MCP, AI orchestrates complete incident responses, isolating threats, deploying patches, and alerting groups through Cisco Webex.

As illustrated in Determine 5, the next situation may be realized utilizing MCP:

SecOps Situation:
Upon receiving a notification that the system recognized malware, your AI assistant makes use of varied instruments through MCP to right away:

1. Isolates the contaminated gadget utilizing Cisco Safe Endpoint APIs
2. Applies fixes by Ansible
3. Updates firewall insurance policies
4. Informs your safety staff through Cisco Webex

Determine 5. Incident Administration utilizing MCP

Safety Incident Automation with MCP

I’ve not scratched the floor of what’s potential utilizing AI, MCP, and an infinite array of future MCP servers.

Future Outlook

MCP’s ecosystem continues to broaden, promising deeper integrations with Cisco options and broader trade adoption. Count on extra refined cross-domain orchestration, streamlined cloud-hosted companies, and AI-driven proactive optimizations. MCP is setting the stage for smarter, sooner, and safer tool-based operations.

Issues to contemplate:

Whereas MCP is nice for AI purposes interacting with exterior instruments and information sources, at this time, it isn’t constructed for production-grade agent-to-agent composition, deployment, discovery, connectivity, or lifecycle administration of brokers. MCP shouldn’t be but constructed to handle the dynamic discovery of MCP Servers and the instruments they symbolize.

Additionally it is a Wild Wild West present on MCP Servers. Everyone seems to be creating them. That’s nice because it reveals curiosity in MCP and the way simple it’s to leverage the MCP SDK, indicating that MCP gives direct worth. Nonetheless, I warning you to rigorously consider the MCP servers you leverage in your enterprise use circumstances. Downloading and utilizing an unknown MCP Server that anybody can publish may trigger hurt for those who don’t perceive the instruments, assets, and so on., the MCP Server is constructed to make use of.

A couple of of the numerous potential safety implications for MCP use embody:

• Privilege escalation threats
• Observability into what every instrument name is doing
• Dependency on extra code and packages for correct end-to-end encryption and belief

There’s a good weblog put up on MCP safety issues on the group.cisco.com web site: Overview of MCP and Its Safety Structure.

Sooner or later, we’ll see companies and instruments that validate the code/picture of a given MCP Server as we do with app shops, container photos, and so on. Till there’s a standardized and well-understood approach to make sure you aren’t utilizing a dangerous MCP Server, I might be additional vigilant about researching and really understanding what the server is doing in your behalf.

What’s subsequent? We are going to proceed this collection on MCP for DevOps by moving into the hands-on facet of MCP use. Keep tuned for some YouTube movies and extra blogs on particular MCP Purchasers and MCP Servers which might be nice for Dev/Internet/SecOps.

Share: