Video chat about NRE Labs

Yesterday, I participated in a screen-cast with Derick Winkworth, aka @CloudToad, to discuss my blog posts about installing NRE Labs Antidote network emulator on your PC and creating lessons for NRE Labs. We also covered some general points like contributing to communities, how to get started blogging about technical topics, and more. Check it out, below:

This video, and other NRE Labs videos are available on YouTube. Also, the NRE Labs team runs a live screen-cast every Monday at 1:00 PM using the Discord app. Join the NRE Labs Discord channel and engage in the discussion.

Orange Matter: All I Want For Christmas is RESTCONF

Orange Matter Logo

I’ve been blogging for Solarwinds recently, posting on Orange Matter, with a cross-post to the Thwack Geek Speak forum. I need clear commands, structured response data and simple access to it all; so how about giving me REST-based APIs on all my infrastructure equipment?

This post appeared on Orange Matter as “All I Want For Christmas is RESTCONF“, but I’m also linking to the version posted on Thwack, in case you prefer to read and comment there.

I’d love it if you were to take a moment to visit and read, and maybe even comment!

(Featured image created by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash)

If you liked this post, please do click through to the source at Orange Matter: All I Want For Christmas is RESTCONF and give me a share/like. Thank you!

Heavy Networking 453: BlueCat Networks Sinks DNS Claws Into Automation (Sponsored)

On today's Heavy Networking podcast we examine the role of DNS in infrastructure automation with sponsor BlueCat Networks. We look at how BlueCat hooks into third-party operational tools and get details on new integrations with Cisco DNA and ACI.

The post Heavy Networking 453: BlueCat Networks Sinks DNS Claws Into Automation (Sponsored) appeared first on Packet Pushers.

BrandPost: Moving to the Cloud? SD-WAN Matters! Part 2

This is the second installment of the blog series exploring how enterprises can realize the full transformation promise of the cloud by shifting to a business first networking model powered by a business-driven SD-WAN. The first installment explored automating secure IPsec connectivity and intelligently steering traffic to cloud providers. We also framed the direct correlation between moving to the cloud and adopting an SD-WAN. In this blog, we will expand upon several additional challenges that can be addressed with a business-driven SD-WAN when embracing the cloud:To read this article in full, please click here

BrandPost: It’s Time to Modernize Your Support Metrics

The good news is, there’s a lot of data coming into support organizations today through the many technologies and channels available. The bad news is all of this data can lead to metric overload. In the ever-changing customer support ecosystem, it can be difficult for managers to know which metrics really matter and where to focus for the best return.Deep breaths.It’s a good idea to periodically take a step back, look at the support metrics you’re tracking, and consider some newer metrics that may more accurately reflect today’s support center. Measuring the Customer Experience (CX) Typically, customer satisfaction metrics like Net Promoter Score and CSAT are used as a proxy for measuring CX. After all, it stands to reason that if customers are happy, they’re having a good experience. While it’s absolutely important to measure customer satisfaction, it’s equally as important to dig deeper into metrics that more accurately measure CX, especially as organizations increasingly focus on CX as a competitive differentiator.To read this article in full, please click here

Microsoft and Arista Cloud Decade

JerichoPlus_blog

As we celebrate the 5thAnniversary of Arista’s IPO this week at NYSE, we pause to reflect on this key milestone. Arista’s results are a tribute to the customers who chose us, appreciated our innovative technology and stood by us through our highs and lows. One key customer who played a pivotal part in the decade was Microsoft. Microsoft coincidentally was destined to be a part of our journey since 2008 when we were searching for a new name for our company. Our top choice was Azure, but the domain name was taken just a few weeks before we started our naming effort. Since then, Microsoft redefined the public cloud with Azure and Arista has become a critical foundation to enabling the scale, reach, reliability, and performance that have become synonymous with the Azure cloud.

Generalize the Network-as-Graph Data Model

Remember the avoid duplicate data in network automation data models challenge and the restructuring we did to represent a network as a graph.

Well, I was not happy with the end result - I hated the complexity of supporting Jinja2 templates that had to check left- and right nodes of a link, so I generalized the data structure a bit, and all of a sudden I could model stub interfaces, P2P links and multi-access networks.

Keep reading

Campus design feature set-up : Part 4

In case you’ve missed the first three blogs, I’ve been showing you how to set up the CL 3.7.5 campus feature: Multi-Domain Authentication. This is a 6-part blog series and we’re officially past the half-way point.

In blogs 1-3 we covered Wired 802.1x using Aruba ClearPass, Wired MAC Authentication using Aruba ClearPass, Multi-Domain Authentication using Aruba ClearPass. We’ll also have guides for Wired 802.1x using Cisco ISE, Wired MAC Authentication using Cisco ISE, and Multi-Domain Authentication using Cisco ISE. So yes, we’ve got all the bases covered.

In this fourth guide, I’ll be sharing how to enable wired 802.1X authentication in Cumulus Linux 3.7.5+ using Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) 2.4 Patch 8.

Keep in mind that this step-by-step guide assumes that you have already performed an initial setup of Cisco ISE.

Cisco ISE Configuration:

1. Add a Cumulus Switch group to Cisco ISE:

First, we are going to add a Network Device Group to Cisco ISE:

Administration > Network Resources > Network Device Groups. Click the “+Add” button

Make sure to set the “Parent Group” to “All Device Types.” The result will look like the following:

2. Adding Continue reading

It’s time for the IoT to ‘optimize for trust’

One of the strengths of internet of things (IoT) technology is that it can do so many things well. From smart toothbrushes to predictive maintenance on jetliners, the IoT has more use cases than you can count. The result is that various IoT uses cases require optimization for particular characteristics, from cost to speed to long life, as well as myriad others.But in a recent post, "How the internet of things will change advertising" (which you should definitely read), the always-insightful Stacy Higginbotham tossed in a line that I can’t stop thinking about: “It's crucial that the IoT optimizes for trust."To read this article in full, please click here

When should you use IPv6 PA space?

I was reading RFC8475 this week, which describes some IPv6 multihoming ‘net connection solutions. This set me to thinking about when you should uses IPv6 PA space. To begin, it’s useful to review the concept of IPv6 PI and PA space.

PI, or provider independent, space, is assigned by a regional routing registry to network operators who can show they need an address space that is not tied to a service provider. These requirements generally involve having a specific number of hosts, showing growth in the number of IPv6 addresses used over time, and other factors which depend on the regional registry providing the address space. PA, or provider assigned, IPv6 addresses can be assigned by a provider from their PI pool to an operator to which they are providing connectivity service.

There are two main differences between these two kinds of addresses. PI space is portable, which means the operator can take the address space when them when they change providers. PI space is also fixed; it is (generally) safe to use PI space as you might private or other IP address spaces; you can assign them to individual subnets, hosts, etc., and count on them remaining the Continue reading

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