Wim Gerrits
CEO, Flock9
On where Flock9 goes next.
A note from our CEO
Netmiko Enterprise; the natural next step for us.
We started Flock9 with a simple idea: your network data and automation stack should belong to you, not to some application vendor. That's why we build everything on an open-source foundation, with the control, security, and support a serious enterprise needs added on top. No lock-in.
With Slurp'it, we began by helping teams discover and understand their networks. With Netpicker, we added the day-to-day compliance & operations on top of that. The next step was obvious: unlock the potential of AI with Netmiko, the most used open-source Python library that engineers already trust to talk to their devices. So we're taking that step with the person who created it, Kirk Byers, in a joint venture we've called Netmiko Enterprise.
Netmiko has been maintained by Kirk and a small number of people. It has served the community well, but a lot of production networks and automation software now depend on it. Best effort support is simply not enough anymore. That is what Enterprise Support is for: expertise from the people who build the library, vendor work, fixes, and response times you can actually plan around. It is available today.
Open foundation. Enterprise execution.
In addition to offering Enterprise Support, we are developing Netmiko Guardian to ensure that AI interacts safely with your network devices. AI is reaching for the network whether we are ready or not. Guardian is the layer in between: your AI client does the reasoning, Guardian determins who actually connects to a device, executes what, and logs every step. It is in development, with early access opening soon.
In order to get there, we wanted to work with the best and most trusted in the industry. It's a privilege to work with Kirk, the leader of a foundation that engineers rely on.
It comes back to what we set out to do: keep the foundation open so you can see exactly who and what runs your network, and add the support and guardrails that let you trust AI on top of it.
Wim Gerrits
Netmiko Enterprise: a joint venture between Kirk Byers and Flock9
The enterprise layer around Netmiko.
Netmiko is the open-source library engineers already use to talk to network devices, running in production and CI/CD pipelines worldwide. Netmiko Enterprise adds the commercial support teams need today, and the controls that let AI reach the network safely tomorrow.
What Netmiko Enterprise offers
Enterprise Support
Maintainer-backed expertise, vendor work and real SLAs.
Netmiko Guardian
The controlled layer between AI clients and your network.
Netmiko Open Source
The MIT-licensed library. Free, and staying that way.
Netmiko runs in production and CI/CD worldwide•Maintained by its creator, Kirk Byers•Sponsored by Flock9 since 2024
What Netmiko Enterprise offers
Support you can buy today. Guardrails for what comes next.
Both are built on the same open-source foundation, and you can start with either one.
Netmiko Enterprise Support
Keep your Netmiko-powered automation running with confidence. Maintainer-backed expertise, vendor compatibility support, bug fixes and predictable response times.
- Expertise from the source
- Vendor compatibility and new vendor work
- Bug fixes and security advisories
- Defined SLAs, up to 24×7 coverage
Netmiko Guardian
The controlled layer between AI clients and your network. Guardian manages access, credentials and connections, and logs everything the AI asks for and everything it does.
- Deterministic execution, separated from the AI
- Access control, credentials and inventory
- Full audit trail of requests and actions
- Works with the AI client of your choice
Why buy support for open source
Free to use is not free of risk
Netmiko costs nothing to install, but an outage caused by a driver issue is not free. Support turns an unowned dependency into an accountable one.
Your automation is not a side project
If change windows, compliance runs and CI/CD pipelines depend on it, best effort is not a service level. You need response times you can hand to risk and procurement.
It keeps the project healthy
Subscriptions fund the people who maintain Netmiko, and the work to develop additional maintainers. The library your team relies on gets stronger, not locked down.
The problem
Do you trust AI to run your network?
Engineers can already use AI to create and understand code, investigate incidents, and interact with infrastructure in ways that would have taken far more time only a few years ago.
But AI also changes the risk model. LLMs are not deterministic. They can make incorrect assumptions, generate bad commands, execute changes with unintended consequences, and be manipulated in ways traditional network automation was never designed to handle.
Reliability
AI can misread state or act on faulty assumptions. The network needs firm limits on what an agent is allowed to do.
Control
Access has to be governed centrally, so what AI can reach and change is defined, not open-ended.
Visibility
Teams need a record: who initiated the work, what was requested, what was allowed or denied, and what reached the network.
Netmiko Guardian is that layer: it decides what reaches your devices, and keeps the record.
Who it's for
Built for teams that need to trust their network.
Enterprises running Netmiko in production and CI/CD pipelines.
Teams bringing AI agents into network operations and needing them contained.
Regulated industries that need audit trails and compliance, from finance to telecom to government.
MSPs and platform teams standardizing automation across many environments.
Built around Netmiko
Commercial where it counts. Open where it matters.
>_ Open source stays open
Netmiko keeps its MIT license. The library stays open source, and Kirk remains its maintainer and steward.
It fits your ecosystem
Netmiko underlies much of network automation, including Nornir and NAPALM. Netmiko Guardian runs alongside the tools you already use.
Backed by a committed team
Flock9 has supported Netmiko for the past year. Now two companies stand behind it, with the engineering, testing, and support to match.
Who's behind it
Two companies, one commitment.
Kirk Byers
Creator & maintainer, Netmiko
Built and maintained Netmiko for over a decade. He remains its maintainer and leads the technical direction of Netmiko Enterprise.
Wim Gerrits
Flock9
Leads the commercial side of the partnership, bringing Netmiko Enterprise to the teams that already depend on Netmiko.
Pieter van Os
Flock9
Leads development on the Flock9 side, building the enterprise features and the testing and release work behind them.
Questions
Questions and answers
What does Netmiko Enterprise Support cost?
Support starts at $10,000 a year and is priced per organization, not per network device. That reflects what Netmiko is: an open-source developer library rather than a device-based management platform. Full pricing is on netmiko.io/support.
Is Netmiko Open Source changing?
No. Netmiko stays open source under its MIT license. Netmiko Guardian is a commercial product built on top of it and developed separately from the library.
Do we need Enterprise Support to use Netmiko Guardian later?
No. They are separate products and you can take either one on its own. Support is available today; Guardian is in development with early access opening soon.
What is the status of the existing Netmiko-MCP library?
The current open-source Netmiko-MCP remains available. Further development moves into the joint venture and continues as part of Netmiko Guardian.
Will Netmiko still work with tools like Nornir and NAPALM?
Yes. Netmiko Open Source is the layer that communicates with devices and underlies much of the ecosystem, including both Nornir and NAPALM.
How do we get started?
Explore Netmiko Enterprise for the product detail, or book a short call and we will walk through your setup and where it fits.
Open foundation. Enterprise execution.
Support for the library your automation already runs on, and the guardrails for the AI reaching for your network next.