Scott Hammersley

Author Archives: Scott Hammersley

PPPoE High Availability Design – Incorporating Multiple Access Concentrators/BRAS

Background:

One of the most widely used protocols for authentication of user connections is PPPoE (or Point-to-Point over Ethernet).  Traditionally, PPPoE was used in DSL deployments but became one of the most adopted forms of customer device authentication in many networks.  Often used with a AAA system such as RADIUS, the ability to authenticate, authorize and account for customer connections made the use of PPPoE so appealing.

The protocol itself resides at the data link layer (OSI Layer 2) and provides control mechanisms between the connection endpoints.  Within this process lies several other moving parts, if you would like to read more you can visit this wiki page which explains PPPoE rather well (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-to-Point_Protocol_over_Ethernet ).  For the purpose of this article though, I will be sticking to a very specific problem that arises; how to build redundancy when using PPPoE.

PPPoE is a layer 2 connection protocol widely used in service provider networks.  Connections initiated from a client terminate on what is known as a BRAS (Broadband Remote Authentication Server), or Access Concentrator (AC) from herein.  The function of the AC is to negotiate the link parameters between itself and the client and Continue reading

Netbox IPAM/DCIM – What all Network Engineers beg for!

We found it!!!

Have you ever sat at your desk, hoping on a miracle, that somebody somewhere will develop a fully comprehensive application for tracking network information???  I know I have, along with millions of other fellow network professional’s I have to assume.  What exactly am I referring to?  IP addresses, vlans, VRF’s, Rack Elevations and on and on and on.  We all have to keep up with this information, for most it is located in spreadsheets; some in notepads; others try to lock it all away in the vast empty space we call a brain.

So, the stage is set.  Yes, there are claims of applications that can keep track of what your CORE router IP address is and what vlan you assigned to one of your customers, or even where in the bloody rack it sits in relation to your other devices.  Some can even keep track of which VRF routing table your management lies in along with which physical port it connects to.  Going a little further, maybe the application claims to give you a basic map layout to which you can refer to…

BUT, very few paid applications actually combine most of these functions into one and very Continue reading

Netbox IPAM/DCIM – What all Network Engineers beg for!

We found it!!!

Have you ever sat at your desk, hoping on a miracle, that somebody somewhere will develop a fully comprehensive application for tracking network information???  I know I have, along with millions of other fellow network professional’s I have to assume.  What exactly am I referring to?  IP addresses, vlans, VRF’s, Rack Elevations and on and on and on.  We all have to keep up with this information, for most it is located in spreadsheets; some in notepads; others try to lock it all away in the vast empty space we call a brain.

So, the stage is set.  Yes, there are claims of applications that can keep track of what your CORE router IP address is and what vlan you assigned to one of your customers, or even where in the bloody rack it sits in relation to your other devices.  Some can even keep track of which VRF routing table your management lies in along with which physical port it connects to.  Going a little further, maybe the application claims to give you a basic map layout to which you can refer to…

BUT, very few paid applications actually combine most of these functions into one and very Continue reading