[Video] Configure Data Center Devices with PowerShell

PowerShell started as a tool to automate Windows servers. It was picked up by VMware (and others) as a platform on which they built their own solutions (PowerCLI and PowerNSX)… but did you know you can use it to configure data center infrastructure, including NX-OS switches, SAN networks, and Cisco UCS?

In the Configuring Data Center Devices with PowerShell video, Mitja Robas described how to do that, and provided source code for all his examples.

You’ll need at least free ipSpace.net subscription to watch the video.

Loop: Plays in the future, items in the past

Ansible-Feature-Spotlight

Welcome to another episode of Feature Spotlight. In today's post, we'll quickly cover the loop keyword being introduced in Ansible 2.5.

Everyone knows the with_* syntax in playbooks.

For example:

- name: Test that with_list works with a list
  ping:
    data: ''
  with_list:
    - 'Hello World'
    - 'Olá Mundo'

In Ansible 2.5, we're introducing loop as a shorter, simpler keyword for playbooks.

Example:

- name: Test that loop works with a manual list
  ping:
    data: ''
  loop:
    - 'Hello World'
    - 'Olá Mundo'

It's a very minute change, and can easily be overlooked when skimming a playbook! However, when writing many lines of tasks in a playbook, why not save some potential muscle fatigue?

Let's be real, even if a playbook accomplishes a whole lot in 10 lines, that's still ten lines!

All joking aside, we wanted to make things simpler. It's much easier to remember loop than with_items or with_list.

The question after this very well may be, "What happens to with_first_found or with_dict or .... etc, etc, etc?

Well the idea here is to abstract out some of the magic that with_* really is.

Example:

- name: Test that loop works with a list via the list  Continue reading

Musical Chairs Playing Tetris

February 20, 2018: This blog has been amended since it was originally published on February 15, 2018. This version removes the association with the APT group responsible for the Night Dragon campaign that we had incorrectly made. We thank the research team at Palo Alto […]

Musical Chairs Playing Tetris

Introduction ASERT has discovered new command-and-control infrastructure controlled by the APT actors behind the Musical Chairs campaign.  The security research community has associated these actors with significant campaigns in the past, including the pivotal Night Dragon campaign reported on by McAfee in 2011.  The actors […]

What is a Linux ‘oops’?

If you check the processes running on your Linux systems, you might be curious about one called "kerneloops." And that’s “kernel oops,” not “kerne loops” just in case you didn’t parse that correctly.Put very bluntly, an “oops” is a deviation from correct behavior on the part of the Linux kernel. Did you do something wrong? Probably not. But something did. And the process that did something wrong has probably at least just been summarily knocked off the CPU. At worst, the kernel may have panicked and abruptly shut the system down.For the record, “oops” is NOT an acronym. It doesn’t stand for something like “object-oriented programming and systems” or “out of procedural specs”; it actually means “oops” like you just dropped your glass of wine or stepped on your cat. Oops! The plural of "oops" is "oopses."To read this article in full, please click here

What is a Linux “oops”?

If you check the processes running on your Linux systems, you might be curious about one called "kerneloops". And that’s “kernel oops”, not “kerne loops” just in case you didn’t parse that correctly. Put very bluntly, an “oops” is a deviation from correct behavior on the part of the Linux kernel. Did you do something wrong? Probably not. But something did. And the process that did something wrong has probably at least just been summarily knocked off the CPU. At worst, the kernel may have panicked and abruptly shut the system down.For the record, “oops” is NOT an acronym. It doesn’t stand for something like “object-oriented programming and systems” or “out of procedural specs”; it actually means “oops” like you just dropped your glass of wine or stepped on your cat. Oops! The plural of "oops" os "oopses".To read this article in full, please click here

BrandPost: 5 benefits of SD-WAN optimization

SD-WAN is quickly approaching mainstream adoption by enterprises; Ovum’s research finds that about one-third of enterprises are trialing or using the technology. Once service providers gain SD-WAN experience, they also find the technology a versatile tool for their broader platform, services, and architecture plans.Interoute, a pan-European and global operator of network and cloud services, provides an example. At the beginning of 2017, the company updated its Enterprise Digital Platform – an evolution of the operator’s edge, core, and cloud offerings designed to fit together and accelerate enterprises’ end-to-end performance – with fully featured SD-WAN as an integral component. The provider’s platform offers customers commercial and service-level flexibility through a mix of on- and off-net, public internet, and private IP sites to a common fabric, and it optimizes performance of application delivery, including optional WAN optimization.To read this article in full, please click here

Docker Compose and Kubernetes with Docker for Desktop

If you’re running an edge version of Docker on your desktop (Docker for Mac or Docker for Windows Desktop), you can now stand up a single-node Kubernetes cluster with the click of a button. While I’m not a developer, I think this is great news for the millions of developers who have already been using Docker on their Macbook or Windows laptop because they now have a fully compliant Kubernetes cluster at their fingertips without installing any other tools.

Developers using Docker to build containerized applications often build Docker Compose files to deploy them. With the integration of Kubernetes into the Docker product line, some developers may want to leverage their existing Compose files but deploy these applications in Kubernetes. There is, of course, Kompose, but that’s a translation layer which causes you to have two separate artifacts to manage. Is there a way to keep a native Docker-based workflow?

With Docker on the desktop (as well as Docker Enterprise Edition) you can use Docker compose to directly deploy an application onto a Kubernetes cluster.

Here’s how it works:

Let’s assume I have a simple Docker compose file like the one below that describes a three tier Continue reading

Don’t miss our online live Spanning-Tree Webinar!

Tune in Tomorrow, February 16, 2018 for a FREE online live Spanning-Tree webinar with Keith Bogart.

 

Deciphering Spanning-Tree Technologies
Starts February 16, 2018 at 10:00 AM (PST) 1:00 PM (EST)

Understanding the logic of 802.1d and how it builds a loop-free “tree” is critical to passing any Cisco certification exam. Presented by INE instructor Keith Bogart (CCIE #4923), this session will take you through that logic so that, given any bridged/switched layer-2 network, you can predict what tree will be formed. Ask questions live with an experienced industry expert!

Inference is the Hammer That Breaks the Datacenter

Two important changes to the datacenter are happening in the same year—one on the hardware side, another on the software side. And together, they create a force big enough to blow away the clouds, at least over the long haul.

As we covered this year from a datacentric (and even supercomputing) point of view, 2018 is the time for Arm to shine. With a bevy of inroads to commercial markets at the high-end all the way down to the micro-device level, the architecture presents a genuine challenge to the processor establishment. And now, coupled with the biggest trend since

Inference is the Hammer That Breaks the Datacenter was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.