Who is Tail-f Systems?
Tail-f Systems is a networking software company that provides tools for network configuration automation and management, with a focus on model-driven, standards-based approaches for multi-vendor environments.
- Model-driven network configuration and service orchestration software for multi-vendor networks (network automation).
- Support for standardized data modeling and management interfaces such as NETCONF and YANG (network configuration protocols).
- Platforms that enable service providers and large enterprises to automate lifecycle management of network services (service orchestration).
- Tooling that helps vendors and operators expose and manage device and service configurations through standardized APIs (API-based network management).
- Solutions that integrate with broader OSS/BSS and SDN/NFV architectures in carrier and large-scale infrastructure environments (telecom network automation).
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More About Tail-f Systems
Tail-f Systems operates in the network automation and service orchestration domain, providing software that allows communication service providers and large enterprises to manage complex, multi-vendor network infrastructures using standardized data models and protocols. Its offerings are used to automate the configuration, provisioning, and lifecycle management of network devices and services across IP, optical, and other infrastructure layers, with a primary focus on reducing manual configuration work and enabling repeatable, model-based workflows.
The company’s portfolio centers on model-driven concepts where network and service behavior is described using standardized data modeling languages, most notably YANG (network data modeling). These models are then used to generate configuration interfaces and workflows that can operate across devices from different vendors. By relying on open standards, Tail-f Systems targets environments where operators must manage heterogeneous device fleets but want a consistent, abstracted management and orchestration layer.
Tail-f Systems software makes extensive use of the NETCONF protocol (network configuration management), a widely adopted Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard for network device configuration and state retrieval. NETCONF, combined with YANG models, enables programmatic, transactional changes to device configurations, with capabilities such as candidate configurations, rollbacks, and robust validation. Tail-f’s technology stack typically exposes northbound APIs toward OSS/BSS, Software Defined Networking (SDN) controllers, and custom operations tools, while interfacing southbound with a broad range of physical and virtual network elements.
In enterprise and carrier environments, Tail-f Systems is positioned as a core component for service orchestration, intent-based configuration, and configuration management within broader SDN and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) architectures. Its software is often integrated into end-to-end service delivery pipelines, where it provides a central point to define services, translate service intent into device-level configurations, and coordinate updates across domains such as access, aggregation, core, and data center networks.
Compared with traditional, device-specific Command-Line Interface (CLI) scripting or proprietary element managers, Tail-f Systems promotes the use of standardized models and protocols so that operators can design services once and deploy them across multiple platforms. This approach supports version-controlled service definitions, consistent validation rules, and automated provisioning workflows, which can help organizations manage change at scale while keeping network behavior aligned with formal service specifications.
Within an enterprise IT directory or marketplace, Tail-f Systems maps primarily to network automation and orchestration (network automation), network configuration and compliance management (network configuration management), and telecom Operations Support System (OSS) integration (operations support systems). It is relevant for organizations building programmable networks, adopting SDN/NFV, or consolidating multi-vendor network management under a model-based, API-centric control layer.
Our description of Tail-f Systems. Updated December 2025.
