Table of Contents
- Overview
- Architectural Summary
- Features & Capabilities
- Scaling & Multi-Server Capabilities
- Conclusion
Slurp'it: Slurpit Controller Overview
What Is the Slurpit Controller?
Slurpit Controller is the central engine behind Slurp'it’s network discovery and inventory automation platform. Built using a containerized microservices approach, it simplifies and automates the task of identifying, inventorying, and managing all connected devices across your network. Its architecture is designed for flexibility and scalability—ideal for deployment on-premise, in hybrid scenarios, or with cloud components for broader accessibility.
Why Should You Know About Slurpit Controller?
Modern networks are complex, multi-vendor, and frequently evolving. New devices can appear anywhere—often without manual registration. Manual inventory and management are time-consuming, error-prone, and can't keep up with fast-changing, segmented environments. Here’s why Slurpit Controller stands out:
- Automates Discovery: It continuously finds and catalogs devices, so you always have accurate, up-to-date inventories.
- Centralizes Data: All network information is aggregated into a single source, reducing silos and improving visibility.
- Saves Time: With automation, network teams spend less time on repetitive discovery and inventory tasks.
- Enhances Security: Accurate device inventory and real-time updates help you spot rogue devices or vulnerabilities.
- Scalable and Adaptable: Works in any size environment—whether you’re managing a handful of switches or thousands of diverse endpoints.
How Does It Work?
Slurpit Controller uses several cooperating microservices, each responsible for a part of the network automation lifecycle:
- Portal: The web interface and API entry point. Here, you configure, monitor, and visualize your network assets.
- Warehouse: The data store—leveraging NoSQL technology—for all raw and processed network data.
- Scanner: Continuously discovers devices using multiple protocols (SNMP, Layer2/Layer3, etc.) to ensure no asset goes undetected.
- Scraper/Collector: Aggregates in-depth data from discovered devices on a schedule, allowing for tailored backup and analysis.
The controller can be deployed as a set of containers (using Docker, Podman, or Kubernetes) for maximum flexibility. This means you can horizontally scale each service, distribute components across network boundaries, and keep performance high—even as your inventory grows.
Slurpit is designed for easy integration—with data export tools, robust APIs, and plugins for popular “source of truth” platforms like NetBox—making it a practical addition to almost any network automation workflow. It gives engineers a reliable, always up-to-date map of network assets, which is foundational for effective security, compliance, and operational efficiency.
Architectural Summary
The Slurpit Controller consists of several main components that work together to enable efficient network discovery, inventory management, and automation:
- Portal: A web-based graphical user interface (GUI) that offers control, configuration, and visualization capabilities. It also exposes a REST API for full programmatic access and integration.
- Warehouse: Responsible for storing raw and structured network data using a NoSQL database backend (MongoDB), ensuring scalable and flexible data management.
- Scanner: Provides device discovery services across the network, utilizing multiple protocols such as SNMP, Layer 2, and Layer 3 techniques to find and identify devices.
- Scraper/Collector: Handles scheduled data collection tasks by aggregating detailed information from discovered devices, enabling comprehensive network data analysis.
Additional characteristics include:
- Microservices and Container-Based Architecture: Each component runs as a containerized microservice, deployable with Docker, Podman, or Kubernetes, supporting scalability and flexibility.
- Horizontal Scalability: Services can be distributed across multiple servers or network boundaries for improved performance and compliance with segmentation policies.
- REST API Availability: Complete control and automation is possible through REST APIs, facilitating integration with external automation workflows and CI/CD pipelines.
- Data Synchronization: Supports synchronization with external inventory or source-of-truth platforms, such as NetBox or Infrahub.
- Deployment Flexibility: Can be deployed fully on-premise, as a hybrid solution, or with cloud integration limited to GUI/API layers.
Features & Capabilities
The Slurpit Controller offers a rich set of functionalities designed to streamline network discovery and inventory automation:
- Automated Device Discovery: Enables continuous and multi-vendor network device detection using SNMP and various scanning methods across multiple network segments.
- Data Retention and Collection Planning: Allows customization of what data is collected from devices, how frequently the scanning occurs, and how long that data is stored.
- Extensible Device Support: Includes a broad database of device drivers and vendor profiles, with the ability to add custom device definitions to cover specialized equipment.
- Role-Based Access and Authentication: Supports enterprise-level user management through methods such as LDAP integration, ensuring secure and manageable access control.
- Backup and Restore: Provides mechanisms for both scheduled and manual backups, enabling easy disaster recovery through archiving of persistent storage.
- Python SDK: Offers programmatic access to the controller’s functionality, allowing users to export data to formats like Pandas DataFrames or CSV files for automation and reporting tasks.
Scaling & Multi-Server Capabilities
Slurpit Controller is designed to handle everything from small deployments to complex, large-scale network environments by supporting multi-server and distributed architecture:
- Distributed Component Deployment: Each microservice—Portal, Warehouse, Scanner, and Scraper—can be installed on separate servers. This allows distribution of workload for better performance and segmentation across security zones or network boundaries.
- Horizontal Scaling: It’s simple to add more instances of services like the Scanner or Scraper to manage increased device counts or network load. Just spin up additional containers or servers as needed.
- Flexible Topology Options: Run the entire stack on a single machine for simplicity, or spread components across multiple servers to maximize resources or isolate sensitive services.
- Support for Segmented Networks: Deploy collectors or scanners within restricted or segmented network zones, ensuring compliance with security and data residency policies while aggregating inventory to a central dashboard.
- Hybrid and On-Premise Choices: Choose between full on-premise deployments, hybrid models, or a mix that leverages the cloud for front-end components while maintaining local control of data.
- Easy Connectivity Configuration: Once servers are set up, ensuring IP connectivity and configuring environment variables enables seamless communication between distributed services.
- Minimized Downtime & Load Distribution: By isolating resource-intensive components, updates or outages can be managed without bringing down the entire application stack.
Conclusion
Throughout this blog post, we've explored the core elements that make the Slurpit Controller a powerful solution for network discovery and inventory automation. From its modular architecture featuring distinct components like the Portal, Warehouse, Scanner, and Scraper, to its flexible deployment options leveraging microservices and containers, Slurpit offers a scalable and adaptable platform. We've also delved into the extensive features that facilitate automated device discovery, customizable data collection, robust access controls, and convenient programmatic interaction via a Python SDK.
Moreover, Slurpit's design supports large-scale and segmented network environments by enabling multi-server deployments and horizontal scaling, ensuring it can meet the demands of evolving network infrastructures. Whether deployed fully on-premise, in hybrid configurations, or with cloud integration, organizations can tailor Slurpit to their unique operational needs.
We hope this overview provides valuable insight as you consider solutions to streamline your network management and automation strategies.
Thank you for reading, and happy networking!