How Cloudflare keeps employees productive from any location

How Cloudflare keeps employees productive from any location

Cloudflare employs more than 1,200 people in 13 different offices and maintains a network that operates in 200 cities. To do that, we used to suffer through a traditional corporate VPN that backhauled traffic through a physical VPN appliance. It was, frankly, horrible to work with as a user or IT person.

With today’s mix of on-prem, public cloud and SaaS and a workforce that needs to work from anywhere, be it a coffee shop or home, that model is no longer sustainable. As we grew in headcount, we were spending too much time resolving VPN helpdesk tickets. As offices around the world opened, we could not ask our workforce to sit as every connection had to go back through a central location.

We also had to be ready to scale. Some organizations are currently scrambling to load test their own VPN in the event that their entire workforce needs to work remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak. We could not let a single physical appliance constrain our ability to deliver 26M Internet properties to audiences around the world.

To run a network like Cloudflare, we needed to use Cloudflare’s network to stay fast and secure.

We built Cloudflare Access, part Continue reading

Huawei backdoors explanation, explained

Today Huawei published a video explaining the concept of "backdoors" in telco equipment. Many are criticizing the video for being tone deaf. I don't understand this concept of "tone deafness". Instead, I want to explore the facts.


This video seems in response to last month's story about Huawei misusing law enforcement backdoors from the Wall Street Journal. All telco equipment has backdoors usable only by law enforcement, the accusation is that Huawei has a backdoor into this backdoor, so that Chinese intelligence can use it.

That story was bogus. Sure, Huawei is probably guilty of providing backdoor access to the Chinese government, but something is deeply flawed with this particular story.

We know something is wrong with the story because the U.S. officials cited are anonymous. We don't know who they are or what position they have in the government. If everything they said was true, they wouldn't insist on being anonymous, but would stand up Continue reading

SD-WAN Summit 2020 : Call for Proposals

The 5th SD-WAN Summit will take place from 22nd to 24th September 2020. The SD-WAN Summit will...

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Heavy Networking 505: Achieving Consistent Multi-Cloud Network Policy With VeloCloud (Sponsored)

Today's Heavy Networking dives into a multitude of topics with sponsor VeloCloud (a VMware company), including getting consistent network policies in a multi-cloud world, the emerging SASE category and what it means for SD-WAN and security, and how VeloCloud is incorporating analytics from Nyansa, which VMware recently acquired. Our guest is Craig Connors, Chief Architect at VeloCloud.

Heavy Networking 505: Achieving Consistent Multi-Cloud Network Policy With VeloCloud (Sponsored)

Today's Heavy Networking dives into a multitude of topics with sponsor VeloCloud (a VMware company), including getting consistent network policies in a multi-cloud world, the emerging SASE category and what it means for SD-WAN and security, and how VeloCloud is incorporating analytics from Nyansa, which VMware recently acquired. Our guest is Craig Connors, Chief Architect at VeloCloud.

The post Heavy Networking 505: Achieving Consistent Multi-Cloud Network Policy With VeloCloud (Sponsored) appeared first on Packet Pushers.

CentOS 8

CentOS 8 / RHEL 8 come with Linux kernel version 4.18. This version of the kernel includes efficient in-kernel packet sampling that can be used to provide network visibility for production servers running network heavy workloads, see Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF).
This article provides instructions for installing and configuring the open source Host sFlow agent to remotely monitor servers using the industry standard sFlow protocol. The sFlow-RT real-time analyzer is used to demonstrate the capabilities of sFlow telemetry.

Find the latest Host sFlow version on the Host sFlow download page. 
wget https://github.com/sflow/host-sflow/releases/download/v2.0.26-3/hsflowd-centos8-2.0.26-3.x86_64.rpm
sudo rpm -i hsflowd-centos8-2.0.26-3.x86_64.rpm
sudo systemctl enable hsflowd
The above commands download and install the software. 
sflow {
  collector { ip=10.0.0.30 }
  pcap { speed=1G-1T }
  tcp { }
  systemd { }
}
Edit the /etc/hsflowd.conf file. The above example sends sFlow to a collector at 10.0.0.30, enables packet sampling on all network adapters, adds TCP performance information, and exports metrics for Linux services. See Configuring Host sFlow for Linux for the complete set of configuration options.
sudo systemctl restart hsflowd
Restart the Host sFlow daemon to Continue reading

Weekly Wrap: AT&T Puts More Jobs on the Chopping Block

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap for March 6, 2020: The telecom giant cited "headcount rationalization" as a...

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There Are No More Green Fields

I’ve looked at quite a few pieces of technology in the past few years. Some have addressed massive issues that I had when I was a practicing network engineer. Others have shown me new ways to do things I never thought possible. But one category of technology still baffles me to this day: The technology that assumes greenfield deployment.

For those not familiar, “greenfield” is a term that refers to a project that is built on a site completely from scratch. It originally comes from a day when the project in question was a factory or other capital improvement that was literally being built in a field with green grass growing on top. The alternative to that project was one where something was being built in a location where there was existing infrastructure or other form of site pollution. And, of course because everyone in humanity never gets older than twelve, this is called a “brownfield” site.

Getting back to the technology side of things, let’s talk about greenfield deployments. When was the last time you walked into a building and found zero technology of any kind? Odds are good that’s not the case. Sure, there are some SMBs that Continue reading

Announcing the VMware NSX vExpert Program

The VMware NSX team is excited to announce the new NSX vExperts program. If you’re not familiar with vExperts, the program is designed to recognize individuals who are passionate about sharing their knowledge on VMware technologies with the broader community. While the vExpert program has been around for over 10 years, this is the first year we’re introducing the NSX vExpert subprogram and badge.

 

What is an NSX vExpert?

Individuals awarded NSX vExpert status are the crème of the crop when it comes to their knowledge in NSX use cases like micro-segmentation, network automation, multi-cloud networking, service mesh and modern apps. They’re advocates of VMware NSX and love “giving back” to the community by sharing their knowledge with their peers— whether it be through blogging or public speaking at events like VMworld and VMUG.

Benefits of the NSX vExpert Program

Becoming an NSX vExpert is not without its perks. In addition to bragging rights and the cool badge, VMware will provide great opportunities to give you the recognition you deserve.

Here’s what vExperts gain:

  • Amplification of any articles you write
  • Exposure at VMware physical and virtual events
  • Opportunities to interface and provide feedback to the NSX product team
  • Invite Continue reading

Minister Bains, Let’s Rethink Canada’s Spectrum Auction

Yesterday’s announcement by the Government of Canada to drive down cell phone prices will only end up costing Canada in the long run.

In a press conference held yesterday, Minister Navdeep Bains of Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) laid out a plan that will not only allow the government to evoke further regulation to boost competition but allow it to sell off spectrum to the highest bidder.

It is a case of short-term gain that will lead to long-term pain.

It could have been an opportunity for ISED to bring many Canadians – particularly those living in rural and remote areas – closer to the government’s goal of universal broadband for all by 2030. Unfortunately, we believe that the auction rules announced yesterday by Minister Bains for this spectrum band are a step backward for innovative approaches to bring affordable access to the regions of Canada that most need it.

Currently, Canadians pay some of the highest prices in the world to come online and much of the country still does not have fiber needed for broadband.

There are solutions to affordable access in Canada. One of which is community networks.

The Internet Society has long championed community Continue reading

International Women’s Day 2020: Building a Modern Security Team

International Women’s Day 2020: Building a Modern Security Team

When we started at Cloudflare in the summer of 2018, we joined a small security team intent on helping it grow quickly. Cloudflare was already a successful “unicorn” startup and its profile was changing fast, providing cyber security protection for millions of Internet-facing properties and moving towards becoming a public company. We were excited to help build the team that would ensure the security of Cloudflare’s systems and the sensitive customer data that flows through them.

Competing for security talent in the tech industry - where every company is investing heavily on security - isn't easy. But, in 18 months, we have grown our team 400% from under 10 people to almost 50 (and still hiring). We are proud that 40% of our team are women and 25% are from an under-represented minority. We believe from experience, and the research shows, that more diverse teams drive better business results and can be a better place to work.

In honor of International Women’s Day this Sunday, we wanted to share some of our lessons learned on how to build a diverse team and inclusive culture on a modern security team.

Lessons Learned Building a Diverse Team

My Cisco Certified DevNet Professional Journey, Part 2 by Nick Russo

On 27 February 2020, I took and passed the Automating Cisco Enterprise Solutions (ENAUTO) exam on my first attempt. This was the last exam I took that day, having taken DEVASC and DEVCOR in earlier. This exam was a bit different for a few reasons, which I’ll discuss shortly. Passing both DEVCOR and ENAUTO has earned me the Cisco Certified DevNet Professional certification. Like the other DevNet exams, it was fair and reasonably well-written.

I’ve been working with Cisco products for more than 10 years and earning Cisco certifications for about 8 years, and this was my first specialist exam. You can learn more about the ENAUTO exam here. About 40% of the exam is based on general programming principles and network automation techniques, most of which overlap nicely with DEVASC and DEVCOR. The remaining 60% is divided evenly between Cisco’s biggest three enterprise solutions: DNA Center, SD-WAN, and Meraki at 20% each.

Before attempting this exam, you should already have a DevNet Associate certification (not required) or comparable knowledge, plus at least 3 years of network automation experience. Those skills alone cover probably 30% of the blueprint. If you already passed the DEVCOR exam (or have comparable Continue reading

Daily Roundup: AT&T Slashes Jobs

AT&T slashed more jobs; Google targeted telcos with Global Mobile Edge Cloud platform; and...

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HA Kubernetes Clusters on AWS with Cluster API v1alpha2

About six months ago, I wrote a post on how to use Cluster API (specifically, the Cluster API Provider for AWS) to establish highly available Kubernetes clusters on AWS. That post was written with Cluster API (CAPI) v1alpha1 in mind. Although the concepts I presented there worked with v1alpha2 (released shortly after that post was written), I thought it might be helpful to revisit the topic with CAPI v1alpha2 specifically in mind. So, with that, here’s how to establish highly available Kubernetes clusters on AWS using CAPI v1alpha2.

By the way, it’s worth pointing out that CAPI is a fast-moving project, and release candidate versions of CAPI v1alpha3 are already available for some providers. Keep that in mind if you decide to start working with CAPI. I will write an updated version of this post for v1alpha3 once it has been out for a little while.

To be sure we’re all speaking the same language, here are some terms/acronyms that I’ll use in this post:

  • CAPI = Cluster API (the provider-independent parts)
  • CAPA = Cluster API Provider for AWS
  • CABPK = Cluster API Bootstrap Provider for Kubeadm (new for v1alpha2)
  • Management cluster = a Kubernetes cluster that has the Continue reading

Google Cloud Careens Into Mobile Operator Landscape

Google Cloud has created the Global Mobile Edge Cloud, an open cloud platform for it and network...

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Verizon Boosts Security With Blockchain, Adds MDR

One of the services encrypts and replicates identity data across multiple online servers on the...

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