Striving For Continuous Network Configuration
Networking pros should aspire to the continuous deployment model used by application developers.
25 GbE: Data Center Deployment Scenarios
25 Gigabit Ethernet provides companies with a cost-effective option for meeting increased bandwidth demand.
Running BGP on Servers
Mr. A. Anonymous left this comment on my BGP in the data centers blog post:
BGP is starting to penetrate into servers as well. What are your thoughts on having BGP running from the servers themselves?
Finally some people got it. Also, welcome back to the '90s (see also RFC 1925 section 2.11).
Read more ...vBrownBag: Troubleshooting Multicast High Level
For “basic” multicast I have always found that >70% of the problems I troubleshoot end up being the same things over and over and over again.
- Missing “trigger” to “pull” the multicast down to the receiver
- Multicast Distribution Tree (MDT) not built cause router doesn’t know
- WHO the root of the MDT is
- WHERE the root of the MDT is
- WHAT is the PIM RPF Neighbor toward the root of the MDT
Thank you, vBrownBag for asking me to present this. 
It was lots of fun.
When adding a VLAN doesn’t add a VLAN
Vendor: Cisco
Software version: 12.2(33)SXI7
Hardware: 6509-E
So this is a typical stupid question. How do you add VLANs to a trunk?
Assuming you started with a port with default configuration on it, it would be:
interface switchport switchport mode trunk switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q switchport trunk allowed vlan switchport trunk native vlan
Now, I was interrupted while doing this by someone interjecting and stating categorically, that
switchport trunk allowed vlan ```
Should be:
``` switchport trunk allowed vlan add ```
Not really the way I would do it on a new switchport, but not wanting to hurt feelings I proceeded and saw this:
``` TEST(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 10,20,30 TEST(config-if)#do show run int gi9/14 Building configuration...
Current configuration : 279 bytes ! interface GigabitEthernet9/14 description TEST switchport switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q switchport mode trunk shutdown storm-control broadcast level 0.50 storm-control multicast level 0.50 no cdp enable no lldp transmit no lldp receive end ```
To cut a long story short, the switch takes the configuration, but doesn’t apply it. It lead to a lot of head scratching, because you’d think it should work. Switchport state when doing:
``` show interface gi9/14 trunk ```
Shows a state Continue reading
Beating the Bad Guys: Top Cloud Security Tools
Boost your guard! You might need these top cloud security tools.
Network Simulation – Cisco VIRL Now Available in the Cloud
There has been a lot happening around VIRL the last few weeks. A new release of VIRL just got released and today the VIRL team announced that they are adding support for running VIRL in the cloud.
Cisco has chosen to work together with Packet, a bare metal cloud provider. This is how Packet describes themselves.
At Packet, we're out to build a better internet by supercharging the container revolution with smart, API-driven bare metal. Our platform brings the price and performance benefits of bare metal servers to the cloud, powering highly-available performance workloads through a unique, never-congested network.
The following picture summarizes why Cisco has chosen Packet.
Compared to Amazon AWS, Packet is a bare metal cloud provider which means that the resources you rent will be dedicated to you. Packet does not run any hypervisors, meaning that the workloads are not virtualized.
If you have an existing install of VIRL, you can use Terraform by Hashicorp to provision your new VIRL server at Packet. I had never heard of Terraform before, this is how Hashicorp describes Terraform.
Today we announce Terraform, a tool for safely and efficiently building, combining, and launching infrastructure. From Continue reading
How Shared Spectrum Can Improve In-Building Cellular
By: Juan Santiago, Director of Product Management
You’ve been there before: You popped into a store and wanted to look something up on your smartphone while waiting in line. However, the cell signal shows just one lousy bar. You consider logging on to Wi-Fi but there are multiple inconvenient steps that aren’t worth the hassle while you’re waiting in line. Nope, you’ll just wait to go back outside and go somewhere else next time.
Why can’t Wi-Fi be as simple as pulling the phone out of your pocket, like cellular? Or, better yet, why can’t cellular just be everywhere Wi-Fi is, including deep inside buildings? The answer lies in a little-known fact about cellular: Your phone company owns the right to use the cellular airwaves everywhere, even if, as in the example above, it’s not actually using them where you happen to be.
You may think that the store, realizing that you may never come back, would be willing to spend a little cash for better cell service, but it can’t. The store doesn’t own the right to use the airwaves inside its walls, thus it must work with each phone company individually to convince them to install a Continue reading
Cisco Says Its Next-Generation Firewall Is More ‘Next-Gen’ Than Yours
Cisco's Firepower is about threat defense.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To Everything Open In Networking
Some personal opinions on the character of various open networking projects in the tech industry.
The post The Hitchhiker’s Guide To Everything Open In Networking appeared first on Packet Pushers.