Network Reconciliation: A 7-Type Discrepancy Taxonomy for Source-of-Truth Drift
Stop guessing whether the network matches your records — classify every difference and act on it.
Most teams discover their documentation has drifted only when something breaks. Reconciliation flips that around: it captures live network state, compares it to your source of truth, and groups every difference into a clear taxonomy so you know exactly what to fix and where.
Why a taxonomy matters
A raw diff tells you two values disagree. It does not tell you whether the network is wrong, the documentation is wrong, or someone added a device nobody recorded. By classifying each finding into a discrepancy type, the result becomes a worklist instead of a wall of red text.
The seven discrepancy types
- IP_DRIFT — a device or interface holds an address that differs from the documented one. Recommended action: confirm the live value, then update IPAM or remediate the device.
- UNDOCUMENTED_LINK — a neighbor adjacency exists on the wire but not in your records. Recommended action: document the link or investigate an unauthorized connection.
- MISSING_DEVICE — a device in the source of truth is unreachable or absent live. Recommended action: check connectivity, decommission, or restore.
- EXTRA_DEVICE — a live device has no record. Recommended action: onboard it or treat as rogue.
- INTERFACE_MISMATCH — interface description, status, or speed disagrees. Recommended action: reconcile the field that diverged.
- VLAN_MISMATCH — VLAN membership or naming differs. Recommended action: align the trunk or access config.
- METADATA_DRIFT — tags, sites, roles, or owners disagree. Recommended action: correct the lower-confidence side.
How a run works
- NAPT captures fresh live state from the selected targets (with a visible capture-progress indicator).
- The classifier compares live state to your documented intent.
- Findings are grouped by discrepancy type, each with a recommended action.
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