MCP for DevOps, NetOps, and SecOps: Actual-World Use Circumstances and Future
Insights
Within the earlier publish on MCP for DevOps: Structure and Parts, we mentioned what MCP is and isn’t. We dove into a number of architectural parts and gently touched on use instances. Now, let’s discover a number of attainable use instances for MCP in DevOps/NetOps/SecOps.
I’ve cherry-picked a number of buyer and companion use instances I’ve personally labored with and located applicable for our dialogue. My record won’t be exhaustive, nevertheless it ought to offer you a stable view of sensible makes use of for MCP. Let your thoughts ponder the probabilities in your surroundings. 😃
Within the YouTube sequence on MCP for DevOps, we are going to leverage some use instances to construct a working implementation with MCP, instruments, and Cisco merchandise.
Recap – Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP)
In case you didn’t catch half 1 on this weblog sequence on MCP for DevOps: Structure and Parts, 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) offers a uniform strategy 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 programs.
- Structured as a shopper/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 alternative in your current APIs or knowledge bus.
Frequent MCP Use Circumstances
As talked about above, MCP integrates AI purposes, instruments, knowledge sources, APIs, and so forth. Nonetheless, MCP, being a protocol, doesn’t work alone. A shopper and server should use the protocol and full the pairing.
When AI purposes and brokers combine the MCP SDK for shopper use and create an MCP server to work on behalf of native or distant instruments, the next typical use instances can facilitate a low-toil/high-reward end result.
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Automating Routine Duties:
MCP can deal with repetitive chores similar to producing stories, managing GitHub repos, constructing Ansible playbooks, and managing CI/CD pipelines. -
Unified Information and Motion Administration:
Consider MCP as your AI utility or agent’s centralized hub for interacting with various programs similar to observability options from Splunk, orchestration programs 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 knowledge from a number of sources, resulting in quicker, smarter choices. -
Compliance and Safety:
MCP interactions throughout your programs will 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 programs by calling these by way of APIs, knowledge sources, and so forth.
Determine 2. MCP with Instruments, Companies, Platforms
Unified Automation with MCP
DevOps Use Circumstances
-
CI/CD Automation:
AI purposes utilizing MCP can automate complete CI/CD pipelines, seamlessly managing builds, assessments, deployments, and notifications by way of Cisco Webex. -
Environment friendly Code Administration:
GitHub MCP integration allows an AI utility or agent to handle branches, evaluation 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 have interaction in troubleshooting and incident administration, considerably lowering 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 by way of GitHub, Docker, and Jenkins utilizing MCP and sends updates by way of Cisco Webex.
Determine 3. MCP-Powered CI/CD Pipeline
Pipeline Automation with MCP
NetOps Use Circumstances
-
Dynamic Community Administration:
MCP allows 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 observe community efficiency, detect anomalies, and robotically remediate points by way of Cisco options like ThousandEyes, Meraki Dashboard, and lots 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 Information 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 group by way of Cisco Webex.
Determine 4. AI-driven Site visitors Administration utilizing MCP
Community Automation with MCP
SecOps Use Circumstances
-
Proactive Menace Response:
AI brokers utilizing MCP swiftly detect and mitigate threats by adjusting firewall settings with Cisco Safe Firewall and robotically isolating compromised endpoints utilizing Cisco Safe Endpoint. -
Automated Vulnerability Administration:
MCP integrations allow AI to establish vulnerabilities and generate rapid infrastructure or host configuration fixes by way of Ansible playbooks and Terraform suppliers. -
Actual-time Incident Orchestration:
With MCP, AI orchestrates complete incident responses, isolating threats, deploying patches, and alerting groups by way of Cisco Webex.
As illustrated in Determine 5, the next state of affairs will be realized utilizing MCP:
SecOps Situation:
Upon receiving a notification that the system recognized malware, your AI assistant makes use of numerous instruments by way of MCP to instantly:
- Isolates the contaminated gadget utilizing Cisco Safe Endpoint APIs
- Applies fixes by way of Ansible
- Updates firewall insurance policies
- Informs your safety group by way of Cisco Webex
Determine 5. Incident Administration utilizing MCP
Safety Incident Automation with MCP
I’ve not scratched the floor of what’s attainable utilizing AI, MCP, and an infinite array of future MCP servers.
Future Outlook
MCP’s ecosystem continues to develop, promising deeper integrations with Cisco options and broader trade adoption. Count on extra subtle cross-domain orchestration, streamlined cloud-hosted companies, and AI-driven proactive optimizations. MCP is setting the stage for smarter, quicker, and safer tool-based operations.
Issues to think about:
Whereas MCP is nice for AI purposes interacting with exterior instruments and knowledge sources, in the present day, it isn’t constructed for production-grade agent-to-agent composition, deployment, discovery, connectivity, or lifecycle administration of brokers. MCP just isn’t but constructed to handle the dynamic discovery of MCP Servers and the instruments they signify.
It’s also 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 offers direct worth. Nonetheless, I warning you to fastidiously consider the MCP servers you leverage in your enterprise use instances. Downloading and utilizing an unknown MCP Server that anybody can publish might trigger hurt when you don’t perceive the instruments, assets, and so forth., the MCP Server is constructed to make use of.
A couple of of the various attainable safety implications for MCP use embrace:
- Privilege escalation threats
- Observability into what every device name is doing
- Dependency on extra code and packages for correct end-to-end encryption and belief
There’s a good weblog publish on MCP safety concerns on the group.cisco.com website: Overview of MCP and Its Safety Structure.
Sooner or later, we are going to see companies and instruments that validate the code/picture of a given MCP Server as we do with app shops, container photographs, and so forth. Till there’s a standardized and well-understood approach to make sure you aren’t utilizing a dangerous MCP Server, I’d be further vigilant about researching and really understanding what the server is doing in your behalf.
What’s subsequent? We are going to proceed this sequence on MCP for DevOps by stepping 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.
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