Some changes in how libpcap works you should know

I thought I'd document the solution to this problem I had.

The API libpcap is the standard cross-platform way of sniffing packets off the network. It works on Windows (winpcap), macOS, and all the Unixes. It's better than simply opening a "raw socket" on Unix platforms because it takes advantage of higher performance capabilities of the system, including specialized sniffing hardware.


Traditionally, you'd open an adapter with pcap_open(), whose function parameters set options like snap length, promiscuous mode, and timeouts.

However, in newer versions of the API, what you should do instead is call pcap_create(), then set the options individually with calls to functions like pcap_set_timeout(), then once you are ready to start capturing, call pcap_activate().

I mention this in relation to "TPACKET" and pcap_set_immediate_mode().

Over the years, Linux has been adding a "ring buffer" mode to packet capture. This is a trick where a packet buffer is memory mapped between user-space and kernel-space. It allows a packet-sniffer to pull packets out of the driver without the overhead of extra copies or system calls that cause a user-kernel space transition. This has gone through several generations.

One of the latest generations causes the pcap_next() function Continue reading

It’s About Time and Project Management

I stumbled across a Reddit thread today from /u/Magician_Hiker that posed a question I’ve always found fascinating. When we work on projects, it always seems like there is a disconnect between the project management team and the engineering team doing the work. The statement posted at the top of this thread is as follows:

Project Managers only plan for when things go right.

Engineers always plan for when things go wrong.

How did we get here? And can anything be done about it?

Projecting Management

I’ve had a turn or two at project management. I got my Project+ many years back, and even more years before that I had to learn all about project management in college. The science behind project management is storied and deep. The idea of having someone assigned to keep things running on task and making sure all the little details get taken care of is a huge boon as the size of projects grow.

As an engineer, can you imagine trying to juggle three different installations across 5 different sites that all need to be coordinated together? Can you think about the effort needed to make sure that everything works together and is done on Continue reading

Weekend Reads 072718

Google has not had any of its 85,000+ employees successfully phished on their work-related accounts since early 2017, when it began requiring all employees to use physical Security Keys in place of passwords and one-time codes, the company told KrebsOnSecurity. @Krebs on Security

Open-plan offices have taken off because of a desire to increase interaction and collaboration among workers. But an innovative new study has found that employees in open-plan offices spend 73% less time in face-to-face interactions. Email and messaging use shot up by over 67%. —Libby Sander @Intellectual Takeout

There’s a misconception that everything will benefit from running in the cloud. All workloads are not equal, and not all workloads will see a measurable effect on the bottom line from moving to the cloud. —Jason Baker @Opensource.com

One way or another we’ve been working on various aspects of securing the Internet’s inter-domain routing system for many years. I recall presentations dating back to the late ’90’s that point vaguely to using some form of digital signature on BGP updates that would allow a BGP speaker to assure themselves as to the veracity of a route advertisement. The concept is by no means a new one, and even Continue reading

The End Of Xeon Phi – It’s Xeon And Maybe GPUs From Here

To a certain extent, the “Knights” family of parallel processors, sold under the brand name Xeon Phi, by Intel were exactly what they were supposed to be: A non-mainstream product that tried out a different architecture than its mainstream Xeon family of server processors and that was aimed at the high performance computing jet set that is, by definition, supposed to take risks on new architectures. …

The End Of Xeon Phi – It’s Xeon And Maybe GPUs From Here was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at .

Creating a Multi-Tier Kubernetes App in GCP and AWS

This post details my experience with creating a simple multi-tier Kubernetes app using Google Cloud Platform (GCP) as well as Amazon Web Services (AWS) by taking advantage of the free tier accounts for each service. The app comprises a Redis master for storage, multiple Redis read replicas (a.k.a Slaves), and load-balanced web frontends. Kubernetes acts as a Frontend … Continue reading Creating a Multi-Tier Kubernetes App in GCP and AWS →

How to Reform Basic Education for a Digital Future: Views from a Multistakeholder Group

In June 2018, in the city of Panamá, a parallel session was organized by the Internet Society during the international meeting of ICANN 62. This session had the aim of promoting a key discussion underlining our digital future: the impacts of technology and the Internet on future jobs.

This article is an outcome of the discussion carried out by a particularly diverse table of young people* from different stakeholder groups that choose the subject of “the future of education” as its central debate point.

The question that drove the debate was: what should basic education look like in the future? This inquiry originates from the fact that the mainstream method presently deployed across the world assumes memorization of information as the most substantial part of the learning experience.

Even schools that attempt diverging methodologies still need to invest in that route to some degree, as the selection processes of most universities and many job opportunities rely on some form of standardized testing.

A glaring problem with this approach, though, is that memorization is something that most machines are incredible at, while most humans can only hold on to a certain amount of information in a reliable manner.

So, why are we Continue reading

REVIEW: Best VPN routers for small business

When selecting VPN routers, small businesses want ones that support the VPN protocols they desire as well as ones that fit their budgets, are easy to use and have good documentation.We looked at five different models from five different vendors: Cisco, D-Link, and DrayTek, Mikrotik and ZyXEL. Our evaluation called for setting up each unit and weighing the relative merits of their price, features and user-friendliness.[ Learn who's developing quantum computers.] Below is a quick summary of the results:To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)

REVIEW: Best VPN routers for small business

When selecting VPN routers, small businesses want ones that support the VPN protocols they desire as well as ones that fit their budgets, are easy to use and have good documentation.We looked at five different models from five different vendors: Cisco, D-Link, and DrayTek, Mikrotik and ZyXEL. Our evaluation called for setting up each unit and weighing the relative merits of their price, features and user-friendliness.[ Learn who's developing quantum computers.] Below is a quick summary of the results:To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)

Future Thinking: what3words on IP Addresses for the “Real” World

Last year, the Internet Society unveiled the 2017 Global Internet Report: Paths to Our Digital Future. The interactive report identifies the drivers affecting tomorrow’s Internet and their impact on Media & Society, Digital Divides, and Personal Rights & Freedoms. In July 2018, we interviewed Giles Rhys Jones to hear his perspective on the forces shaping the Internet.

Giles Rhys Jones is the chief marketing officer at what3words, which has developed an algorithm to convert complex GPS coordinates into unique and memorable three-word addresses; thus becoming the geographical equivalent of an IP address. In doing so, the company is helping to provide addresses to the more than 75% of the world, which still suffers from poor or non-existent addressing, meaning they struggle to open bank accounts, register births, or access basic services like water and electricity. By better or more simply mapping locations, W3W supports social mobility, growth, and development.

The Internet Society: W3W has divided the world into a grid of three-by-three meters and has assigned each square a unique three-word, rather than numbered, address. Where would the Internet Society’s address in Reston, Virginia be if we were to adopt the W3W system?

Giles Rhys Jones: The Internet Society’s Continue reading

1 … 1,462 1,463 1,464 1,465 1,466 … 3,784