--- title: "Planning & Change Management" id: "26831" type: "page" slug: "network-planning-change-management" published_at: "2026-09-09T03:29:58+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-10T21:35:05+00:00" url: "https://ipfabric.io/network-planning-change-management/" markdown_url: "https://ipfabric.io/network-planning-change-management.md" --- # Planning & Change Management Execute routine and large-scale changes while maintaining governance, resilience, and security. [Contact Us](https://ipfabric.io/company/contact/) [Self-Guided Demo](https://ipfabric.io/ip-fabric-guided-demo/) [Transcript](#side-by-side-block_0de0faff9a67abd19cab11edf5d8e434-transcript) Transcript: Planning & Change Management When you close the network and cloud visibility gap, planning and change process become easy. In this demo, we will show how IP fabric is used from planning to change validation, integrating with Service Now for ticket creation, automatically providing test and contingency plans, kicking off Ansible playbooks, and validating changes are as intended. So when we look at our portal, we have a self-service portal that we’ve built here. So this just shows you the possibility that can be done in any environment. Let’s just say we want to use a firewall rule change. So this is my workstation. This is my server. I’m the server administrator. And we’re just going to say I require RDP access. Now we understand obviously maybe we don’t want to allow that per se but IP fabric will be integral in this is that we observe the network. We’ve already mapped out the network. So what we can do here is an endtoend path mapping from source to destination and we see that there are two firewalls in between that have policies that are enforcing a block of RDP. So we need to actually enable this. So here’s our full path 13 hops with two firewalls, one in Paris, one in Prague that are blocking this. So we need to actually create a script to allow source and destination uh TCP 3389. So this is from a user perspective. Just going to come in here and review the change and submit the request. So what we’re going to do is with our uh deep integration with service now is we can only we can use uh service now not only as a CMDB but we can also uh submit ticket information and ticket requests. So if I come in I just click the link view my ticket. So this is my service now request you’ll see that RDP access requested by me. Now, some of these are flat file answers, right? But you’ll see a justification, implementation plan, uh risk and impact analysis, a backout plan, and a test plan. So, these are all things that are typically required in a change control process. So, now this change or ticket is waiting for approval, which is good. And we can come in and look at the uh firewall rule deployment inside of our Anible instance. Right? So when we look at here now the firewall rule deployment as soon as that ticket is uh approved then the anible administrator can come in here and just launch this uh rule deployment and both of those uh you know firewalls will allow the traffic. So we can simulate then the applied change just from a uh postchange validation. So what IP Fabric’s going to do is uh look at that and say okay if the firewalls were permitted and by the way internally maybe we have a a PCI compliant uh or some other uh thing that we don’t want to allow insecure protocols which RDP would be assumed but we can also note that in the ticket and also kick off a violation detail. Um and then we basically look at the path comparison before the before the snapshot and uh after the snapshot. ## Feel Like Every Change Is a Guessing Game? IP Fabric contextualizes every change in an application-aware model of cloud and network behavior, so you and your AI agents can understand how any change will impact critical services before you make it. > Installing new servers? How many interfaces do we have free? What are capabilities? Do they meet PCI hardware requirements? We can quickly look at a chart, pull out an export, and be done. Chris Hammond Manager of IT Network Operations and Engineering @ U-HAUL [Read Customer Story](https://ipfabric.io/resource/u-haul/) ## Get Complete Visibility Before & After Changes Automatically run pre-change and post-change snapshots to: - Model every device and dependency across network, cloud, and host layers - Run any custom [security](https://ipfabric.io/network-security-posture-management/) , [regulatory](https://ipfabric.io/regulatory-compliance/) , or operational checks across millions of infrastructure data points - Detect any unauthorized or unplanned changes - Track milestones for large-scale projects like [refreshes or migrations](https://ipfabric.io/network-refreshes-migrations-deployments/) ## Automate Change Workflows Eliminate manual verification and human error by automatically: - Syncing with [NetBox](https://ipfabric.io/blog/level-up-netbox-automation-with-ip-fabric/) to detect any drift between observed network behavior and intent - Populating [ServiceNow](https://ipfabric.io/blog/cmdb-health-ip-fabric-servicenow-integration/) tickets with implementation plans, risk & impact analyses, and more - Sending webhooks to [Ansible](https://ipfabric.io/blog/5-steps-aiops-ansible-dynamic-inventory-plugin-servicenow-cmdb/) to activate change management playbooks while maintaining proper Separation of Duties (SoD) ## Reduce The Risk Of Outages & Rollbacks Run “what-if” scenarios and end-to-end path lookups with the [MCP server](https://ipfabric.io/unlock-aiops-with-ip-fabric-enterprise-mcp-server/) to: - Identify the blast radius of any change before you make it - Validate your intent against observed cloud & network behavior - Get timestamped proof that security & regulatory controls are implemented according to intent ## Resources Webinar ### Modernize Change Management Automate changes from troubleshooting to post-change resolution. [Watch Now](https://ipfabric.io/resource/modernizing-change-management/) Demo Video ### Run “What-If Scenarios” With IP Fabric’s MCP Server Simulate a “what-if” failover simulation on a real traffic path, grounded in observed cloud and network behavior. [Watch Now](https://ipfabric.io/resource/run-what-if-scenarios-with-ip-fabrics-mcp-server/) Self-Guided Demo ### Run Pre/Post-Change Impact Analysis Get instant access to IP Fabric’s self-guided demo to learn about planning & change management features. [Learn More](https://ipfabric.io/ip-fabric-guided-demo/) ## FAQs What Data Does IP Fabric Gather For Each Device? IP Fabric builds a full inventory of every cloud object and on-prem device in your environment using read-only credentials. This inventory includes device hostnames, serial numbers, model numbers, lifecycle status, performance, utilization, and more. See the full list of device attributes in our [supported features matrix](https://matrix.ipfabric.io/8.0.0) . How Does IP Fabric Show Progress In a Change Window? IP Fabric simulates the behavior of your cloud and on-prem environments, and models any dependencies that involve your critical applications. This process only takes a few minutes, which means you can generate several snapshots per day, and use them to track your progress during a change window. These snapshots also serve as timestamped proof of [continuous security and regulatory compliance](https://ipfabric.io/regulatory-compliance/) . How Does IP Fabric Analyze the Impact of a Change? IP Fabric’s end-to-end path lookup feature shows the entire path that a given packet traverses through network, cloud, and host layers. Simply add a source and a destination for your path, and you’ll see an end-to-end map of the devices, dependencies, and configurations that are implicated in your change. You can also run “[What-If](https://ipfabric.io/resource/run-what-if-scenarios-with-ip-fabrics-mcp-server/) ” scenarios to anticipate the effect a change will have before you make it. Can I Push Changes With IP Fabric? IP Fabric is a read-only platform, and does not automatically push changes in order to maintain a Separation of Duties (SoD), which is essential for proper governance. However, IP Fabric does initiate the change management process by automatically [populating ITSM tickets](https://ipfabric.io/blog/cmdb-health-ip-fabric-servicenow-integration/) with deterministic insights, and sending webhooks to automation tools like [Ansible](https://ipfabric.io/blog/5-steps-aiops-ansible-dynamic-inventory-plugin-servicenow-cmdb/) . IP Fabric also tracks the progress of any change by taking snapshots during your change management window. Lastly, it’ll validate that your change was implemented correctly by syncing your latest IP Fabric snapshot against your source of intent (e.g. [NetBox](https://ipfabric.io/blog/level-up-netbox-automation-with-ip-fabric/) ). Can IP Fabric Help Me to Populate ITSM Tickets? Yes. If IP Fabric detects that your network is deviating from business intent, it can initiate the change management process by generating a justification, implementation plan, risk and impact analysis, rollback plan, and test plan. This can easily be inputted into [ServiceNow](https://ipfabric.io/blog/cmdb-health-ip-fabric-servicenow-integration/) or your ITSM of choice. ## See IP Fabric in Action Our expert team is here to help you get started. [Contact Us](https://ipfabric.io/company/contact/) [Self-Guided Demo](https://ipfabric.io/ip-fabric-guided-demo/)