Network SRE @ Cisco Systems•Network Automation & AI

Building reliable, automated networks at global scale.

Hi, I'm Tanishq Maheshwari. I am a Network SRE at Cisco Systems, building reliable, automated enterprise and data center networks at global scale. I have a deep passion for AI and network automation.

Explore Selected Work LinkedInLet's Build Together
Focus Areas:Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP)Network Fleet as CodeCisco Catalyst & MerakiFirmware LifecyclePython & NetDevOpsAI & Network Orchestration
Architectural Case Studies

Selected work

Production-grade network automation platforms, zero-touch provisioning systems, and software lifecycle architectures.

Firmware Automation & Fleet Reliability

Network Software Lifecycle Automation Platform

Open Full Architecture
The Problem / The Need

Manual firmware updates create huge operational risks: manual device audits, overnight maintenance crews, engineer fatigue, and high risk of outages from version drift.

Platform Solution

A fully automated, zero-touch platform that manages the entire lifecycle of network device firmware upgrades across enterprise switches and access points with intelligent scheduling and automated rollback guardrails.

Core Principles & Flow
  • Discover: Continuous fleet scan compares live firmware against approved standards
  • Plan: Auto-creates ServiceNow change requests and schedules maintenance windows
  • Stage: Transfers firmware images in the background during work hours (zero downtime)
  • Upgrade: Executes unattended upgrade & reboot during scheduled maintenance
  • Confirm: Runs pre/post-flight CLI health checks, validates traffic, closes ticket
Measured Business Value:
  • Eliminated overnight manual upgrade crews & human error
  • Zero-downtime background firmware staging during working hours
  • Automated pre/post-flight health checks with rollback guardrails
Generated Deliverables
  • Fleet-wide Automated Compliance Audits
  • Zero-Downtime Image Pre-Staging Engine
  • Intelligent Maintenance Window Scheduler
  • Automated Pre/Post Health & Traffic Verification
  • Multi-Platform Support: Cisco Catalyst & Meraki
Discover
Fleet compliance scan
Plan
Auto change tickets
Stage
Zero-downtime transfer
Upgrade
Unattended reboot
Confirm
Health check & close
Cisco Catalyst CenterCisco MerakiServiceNowDistributed Event Bus
Infrastructure as Code & GitOps

Network Fleet Design as Code Platform

Open Full Architecture
The Problem / The Need

Every time a new building needed a network, it took weeks of spreadsheet work: manually picking devices, calculating port counts, figuring out cabling, and assigning IP addresses by hand. The same work repeated hundreds of times with inconsistent decisions.

Platform Solution

A policy-driven generation platform that transforms a simple ~20-line YAML building description into everything needed to deploy a complete enterprise network. Hardware ordering, physical cabling, IP addressing, Day-0 device configurations are all generated from declarative policy.

Core Principles & Flow
  • Declare Intent: Specify '96 ports on floor 1', engine calculates stacks & models
  • Encode Once: Device specs, topology rules, and VLAN schemas live in YAML policies
  • Fail Loud: Validates port math immediately—never silently under-provisions
  • Deterministic: Identical YAML produces identical BOM, cabling, and IPs every time
Measured Business Value:
  • 90% faster site deployment (seconds vs. weeks of spreadsheet work)
  • Zero human calculation or port mismatch errors across sites
  • Full GitOps audit trail & compliance governance before hardware ordering
Generated Deliverables
  • Bill of Materials (BOM) CSV & CCW hardware ordering file
  • Full Physical Connectivity Matrix & Port Maps
  • Rack Elevation Diagrams & Network Topology SVGs
  • IPAM Subnet Allocations & Address Tables
  • Cisco Catalyst Center Day-0 Composite Templates
site-input.yaml
# Building input (20 lines) -> Full Fleet
site_name: SITE-ENTERPRISE-01
topology: standard_enterprise
floors:
  - floor: 1
    rooms:
      - type: BD
        ports: 96
        aps: 12
      - type: FD
        ports: 48
        aps: 6
services: [voice, wireless, security]
Cisco Catalyst CenterIPAMPythonYAMLGitOpsCCW
Zero-Touch Deployment & Orchestration

Zero-Touch Network Fleet Provisioning Platform

Open Full Architecture
The Problem / The Need

Traditional onboarding requires hours of manual CLI access, error-prone manual templates, periodic manual compliance audits, delayed change tickets, and manual team emails.

Platform Solution

An automated, zero-touch platform that takes factory-default network hardware to production-ready infrastructure without human intervention. Orchestrates device pre-claiming, Day-0 golden image onboarding, Day-N policy provisioning, and automated ServiceNow closure.

Core Principles & Flow
  • Phase 1: BOM serial numbers extracted & pre-claimed in Controller
  • Phase 2: Day-0 site & golden OS image assigned in Catalyst Center
  • Phase 3: Device boots, calls home via DHCP Option 43, config pushed & OS upgraded
  • Phase 4: Day-N policy templates deployed from Git source of truth
  • Phase 5 & 6: Automated CLI verification, ServiceNow change ticket closed, Webex alerts sent
Measured Business Value:
  • Onboarding reduced from hours of manual CLI work to minutes
  • 100% golden image and compliance verification post-deployment
  • Complete automated audit trail and zero manual change ticket errors
Generated Deliverables
  • Automated Day-0 & Day-N Configuration Injection
  • Automated Golden OS Image Compliance Validation
  • Real-time Webhook Event Processing Engine
  • Auto-generated ServiceNow Request & Audit Trail
  • Instant Webex Teams Deployment Alerts
1. BOM Serial Claim
2. Catalyst Center Register
3. DHCP 43 Day-0 Boot
4. Day-N Policy Deploy
5. Compliance Post-Check
6. ServiceNow Closure
Cisco Catalyst CenterServiceNow ITSMWebhooksPythonSecrets Vault

Let's build something
scalable together.

I'm always open to discussing network automation, MSP infrastructure, or new opportunities.