Video: Introduction to Network Addressing

A friend of mine pointed out this quote by John Shoch when I started preparing the Network Stack Addressing slide deck for my How Networks Really Work webinar:

The name of a resource indicates what we seek, an address indicates where it is, and a route tells us how to get there.

You might wonder when that document was written… it’s from January 1978. They got it absolutely right 42 years ago, and we completely messed it up in the meantime with the crazy ideas of making IP addresses resource identifiers.

Video: Introduction to Network Addressing

A friend of mine pointed out this quote by John Shoch when I started preparing the Network Stack Addressing slide deck for my How Networks Really Work webinar:

The name of a resource indicates what we seek, an address indicates where it is, and a route tells us how to get there.

You might wonder when that document was written… it’s from January 1978. They got it absolutely right 42 years ago, and we completely messed it up in the meantime with the crazy ideas of making IP addresses resource identifiers.

Automating NSX-T Firewall Configuration

Noël Boulene decided to automate provisioning of NSX-T distributed firewall rules as part of his Building Network Automation Solutions hands-on work.

What makes his solution even more interesting is the choice of automation tool: instead of using the universal automation hammer (aka Ansible) he used Terraform, a much better choice if you want to automate service provisioning, and you happen to be using vendors that invested time into writing Terraform provisioners.

Automating NSX-T Firewall Configuration

Noël Boulene decided to automate provisioning of NSX-T distributed firewall rules as part of his Building Network Automation Solutions hands-on work.

What makes his solution even more interesting is the choice of automation tool: instead of using the universal automation hammer (aka Ansible) he used Terraform, a much better choice if you want to automate service provisioning, and you happen to be using vendors that invested time into writing Terraform provisioners.

netsim-tools: Python Package and Unified CLI

One of the major challenges of using netsim-tools was the installation process – pull the code from GitHub, install the prerequisites, set up search paths… I knew how to fix it (turn the whole thing into a Python package) but I was always too busy to open that enormous can of worms.

That omission got fixed in summer 2021; netsim-tools is now available on PyPI and installed with pip3 install netsim-tools.

netlab Python Package and Unified CLI

One of the major challenges of using netsim-tools (now renamed to netlab) was the installation process – pull the code from GitHub, install the prerequisites, set up search paths… I knew how to fix it (turn the whole thing into a Python package) but I was always too busy to open that enormous can of worms.

That omission got fixed; netlab is now available on PyPI and installed with pip3 install networklab.

Worth Reading: A Historical Perspective On The Usage Of IP Version 9

As early as 1994 (on April 1st, to be precise) a satire disguised as an Informational RFC was published describing the deployment of IPv9 in a parallel universe.

Any similarity with a protocol that started as a second-system academic idea and is still experiencing hiccups in real world even though it could order its own beer in US is purely coincidental.

Worth Reading: A Historical Perspective On The Usage Of IP Version 9

As early as 1994 (on April 1st, to be precise) a satire disguised as an Informational RFC was published describing the deployment of IPv9 in a parallel universe.

Any similarity with a protocol that started as a second-system academic idea and is still experiencing hiccups in real world even though it could order its own beer in US is purely coincidental.

Worth Reading: Simplifying Networks

Justin Pietsch wrote another fantastic blog post, this time describing how they simplified Amazon’s internal network, got rid of large-scale VLANs and multi-NIC hosts, moved load balancing functionality into a proxy layer managed by application teams, and finally introduced merchant silicon routers.

Worth Reading: Simplifying Networks

Justin Pietsch wrote another fantastic blog post, this time describing how they simplified Amazon’s internal network, got rid of large-scale VLANs and multi-NIC hosts, moved load balancing functionality into a proxy layer managed by application teams, and finally introduced merchant silicon routers.

MUST Read: Operational Security Considerations for IPv6 Networks (RFC 9099)

After almost a decade of bickering and haggling (trust me, I got my scars to prove how the consensus building works), the authors of Operational Security Considerations for IPv6 Networks (many of them dear old friends I haven’t seen for way too long) finally managed to turn a brilliant document into an Informational RFC.

Regardless of whether you already implemented IPv6 in your network or believe it will never be production-ready (alongside other crazy stuff like vaccines) I’d consider this RFC a mandatory reading.

MUST Read: Operational Security Considerations for IPv6 Networks (RFC 9099)

After almost a decade of bickering and haggling (trust me, I got my scars to prove how the consensus building works), the authors of Operational Security Considerations for IPv6 Networks (many of them dear old friends I haven’t seen for way too long) finally managed to turn a brilliant document into an Informational RFC.

Regardless of whether you already implemented IPv6 in your network or believe it will never be production-ready (alongside other crazy stuff like vaccines) I’d consider this RFC a mandatory reading.

netsim-tools Release 0.8.1: Cumulus VX and Nokia SR Linux Containers

Two interesting container images were released in June/July 2021:

• Michael Kashin managed to package Cumulus VX into a container image (more details).
• Roman Dodin managed to persuade Nokia to release SR Linux as a container.

Both images can be downloaded with no strings attached (two major wins for the good guys) and are supported with the latest release of netsim-tools:

netsim-tools Release 0.8.1: Cumulus VX and Nokia SR Linux Containers

Two interesting container images were released in June/July 2021:

• Michael Kashin managed to package Cumulus VX into a container image (more details).
• Roman Dodin managed to persuade Nokia to release SR Linux as a container.

Both images can be downloaded with no strings attached (two major wins for the good guys) and are supported with the latest release of netsim-tools:

OpenFlow Realities, 2021 Edition

I thought I was too harsh every now and then, but I’m a complete amateur when compared to Minh Ha’s take on OpenFlow.

Indeed Quantum Computing and OpenFlow have a lot in common. They both create stories that have emotional appeal, they both require invention of new physics, and they’re both filled with grand vision, grandstanding, and empty promises. But there’s no shortage of PhDs, high hopes, cash infusion from VCs, and a Cambrian explosion of research papers, many of which content is not even worth the papers it’s printed on.

OpenFlow Realities, 2021 Edition

I thought I was too harsh every now and then, but I’m a complete amateur when compared to Minh Ha’s take on OpenFlow.

Indeed Quantum Computing and OpenFlow have a lot in common. They both create stories that have emotional appeal, they both require invention of new physics, and they’re both filled with grand vision, grandstanding, and empty promises. But there’s no shortage of PhDs, high hopes, cash infusion from VCs, and a Cambrian explosion of research papers, many of which content is not even worth the papers it’s printed on.

Quantum Computing and OpenFlow

I read an excellent rant by prof. Victor Galitski describing the current explosion of Quantum Computing hype, and couldn’t help being reminded of the OpenFlow brouhaha we experienced almost a decade ago – you could do a simple search-and-replace and the article would have been equally valid.

Enjoy… and remember the details for the next time your beloved vendor comes along with Quantum Computing slide deck.

Quantum Computing and OpenFlow

I read an excellent rant by prof. Victor Galitski describing the current explosion of Quantum Computing hype, and couldn’t help being reminded of the OpenFlow brouhaha we experienced almost a decade ago – you could do a simple search-and-replace and the article would have been equally valid.

Enjoy… and remember the details for the next time your beloved vendor comes along with Quantum Computing slide deck.

Designing Networks: From Tricycles to Aircraft Carriers

I planned to take my summer break seriously and stop blogging until late August, but then I shouldn’t have looked at my Twitter feed (my bad), where the AI algorithms selected just the right morsel to trigger the maximum rantiness. I would strongly recommend you read the original tweet and all the responses first – it looks like it was a serious suggestion, not a trolling exercise.

Designing Networks: From Tricycles to Aircraft Carriers

I planned to take my summer break seriously and stop blogging until late August, but then I shouldn’t have looked at my Twitter feed (my bad), where the AI algorithms selected just the right morsel to trigger the maximum rantiness. I would strongly recommend you read the original tweet and all the responses first – it looks like it was a serious suggestion, not a trolling exercise (here’s a copy of the original idea in case the tweets get lost in the mists of time).