Connection Types with Network Automation and Ansible

Ansible is a great platform for network automation, but one of its quirks is its sometimes obtuse errors. I was running a playbook which logs into various Arista leafs and spines and does some tests. I’m using SSH to issue the commands (versus eAPI). I got this error:

fatal: [spine1]: FAILED! => {"changed": false, "msg": "Connection type ssh is not valid for this module"}

One of the little things that trips me up when doing Ansible with network automation is the connection type.

When you’re automating servers (Ansible’s original use case) the connection type is assumed to be SSH, so the Ansible control node will log in to the node and perform some functions. The default connection type is “ssh”.

It’s a little counter-intuative, but even if you’re using SSH to get into network device, most network-centric modules won’t work. You need to use another connection type such as network_cli, which is part of the netcommon module collection. When you use network_cli, you also might have to specify a few other options such as network_os, become, and become_method.

        ansible_connection: network_cli
        ansible_network_os: eos
        ansible_become: yes
        ansible_become_method: enable

If your device has some sort of API, you can use httpapi as the Continue reading

Heavy Networking 670: The Challenges And Satisfactions Of Building And Running A Mastodon Instance

On today’s Heavy Networking I talk with two people who have built and are running Hachyderm, a Mastodon instance which orients itself towards technical-minded folks. What started as a cool project in the basement suddenly grew to tens of thousands of users. I talk with Hachyderm's founders on how they scaled, problems they encountered, how they solved problems, and how they grappled with technical and human challenges.

Heavy Networking 670: The Challenges And Satisfactions Of Building And Running A Mastodon Instance

On today’s Heavy Networking I talk with two people who have built and are running Hachyderm, a Mastodon instance which orients itself towards technical-minded folks. What started as a cool project in the basement suddenly grew to tens of thousands of users. I talk with Hachyderm's founders on how they scaled, problems they encountered, how they solved problems, and how they grappled with technical and human challenges.

The post Heavy Networking 670: The Challenges And Satisfactions Of Building And Running A Mastodon Instance appeared first on Packet Pushers.

VyOS with Host sFlow agent

VyOS described deficiencies with the embedded sFlow implementation in the open source VyOS router operating system and suggested that the open source Host sFlow agent be installed as an alternative. The VyOS developer community embraced the suggestion and has been incredibly responsive,  integrating, and releasing a version of VyOS with Host sFlow support within a week.
vyos@vyos:~$ show version
Version: VyOS 1.4-rolling-202303170317
Release train: current

Built by: [email protected]
Built on: Fri 17 Mar 2023 03:17 UTC
Build UUID: 45391302-1240-4cc7-95a8-da8ee6390765
Build commit ID: e887f582cfd7de

Architecture: x86_64
Boot via: installed image
System type: guest

Hardware vendor: innotek GmbH
Hardware model: VirtualBox
Hardware S/N: 0
Hardware UUID: 871dd0f0-c4ec-f147-b1a7-ed536511f141

Copyright: VyOS maintainers and contributors
Verify that the version of of VyOS is VyOS 1.4-rolling-202303170317 or later
set system sflow interface eth0
set system sflow interface eth1
set system sflow interface eth2
set system sflow polling 30
set system sflow sampling-rate 1000
set system sflow server 10.0.0.30 port 6343
The above commands configure sFlow export in the VyOS CLI using the embedded Host sFlow agent.
docker run --name sflow-rt -p 8008:8008 -p 6343:6343/udp -d sflow/prometheus
A quick way to experiment with sFlow is to run the pre-built sflow/prometheus image Continue reading

Cloudflare Access is the fastest Zero Trust proxy

Cloudflare Access is the fastest Zero Trust proxy
Cloudflare Access is the fastest Zero Trust proxy

During every Innovation Week, Cloudflare looks at our network’s performance versus our competitors. In past weeks, we’ve focused on how much faster we are compared to reverse proxies like Akamai, or platforms that sell serverless compute that compares to our Supercloud, like Fastly and AWS. This week, we’d like to provide an update on how we compare to other reverse proxies as well as an update to our application services security product comparison against Zscaler and Netskope. This product is part of our Zero Trust platform, which helps secure applications and Internet experiences out to the public Internet, as opposed to our reverse proxy which protects your websites from outside users.

In addition to our previous post showing how our Zero Trust platform compared against Zscaler, we also have previously shared extensive network benchmarking results for reverse proxies from 3,000 last mile networks around the world. It’s been a while since we’ve shown you our progress towards being #1 in every last mile network. We want to show that data as well as revisiting our series of tests comparing Cloudflare Access to Zscaler Private Access and Netskope Private Access. For our overall network tests, Cloudflare is #1 in Continue reading

Palo Alto Networks Adds AI to Automate SASE Admin Operations

Whether one pronounces SASE as “sassy” or “sayce,” a secure access service edge is IT that is fast becoming central to enterprise systems as increasing amounts of data come into them from a multiplicity of channels. Palo Alto Networks this week revealed new capabilities to update its Prisma SASE platform by — you guessed it — adding Matt De Vincentes told The New Stack. “You can mix and match these components from multiple different vendors, and you get a potential stack when you have these capabilities kind of integrated together,” De Vincentes said. “But increasingly, we’re seeing a movement toward what we call single-vendor SASE, which is all of these capabilities brought together by a single thing that you can simplify. That’s exactly what we’re doing. “So all of the capabilities that a customer would need to build out this SASE deployment they can get through a single (SaaS) service. Then on top of that, with one vendor you can bring all the data together into one single data lake — and do some interesting AI on top of that.” AIOps Palo Alto Networks calls this Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM), which also provides users end-to-end observability across their network, De Vincentes said. Since ADEM is integrated within Prisma SASE, it does not require additional appliances or agents to be deployed, De Vincentes said. Capabilities that AIOps for ADEM provides are, according to De Vincentes: proactively remediates issues that can cause service interruption through AI-based problem detection and predictive analytics; isolates issues faster (reduced mean time to repair) through an easy-to-use query interface; and discovers network anomalies from a single dashboard. PA Networks also announced three new SD-WAN (software-defined wide-area network) features for users to secure IoT devices, automate branch management, and manage their SD-WAN via on-premises controllers. Capabilities, according to the company, include: Prisma SD-WAN Command Center provides AI-powered and segment-wise insights and always-on monitoring for network and apps for proactive problem resolution at the branch level. Prisma SD-WAN with integrated IoT security enables existing Prisma SD-WAN appliances to help secure IoT devices. This enables accurate detection and identification of branch IoT devices. On-Prem Controller for Prisma SD-WAN helps meet customer regulatory and compliance requirements and works with on-prem and cloud controller deployments. Users can now elect to deploy Prisma SD-WAN using the cloud-management console, on-prem controllers, or both in a hybrid scenario, the company said. All new capabilities will be available by May 2023, except the Prisma SD-WAN Command Center, which will be available by July, the company said. The post Palo Alto Networks Adds AI to Automate SASE Admin Operations appeared first on The New Stack.

Introducing custom pages for Cloudflare Access

Introducing custom pages for Cloudflare Access
Introducing custom pages for Cloudflare Access

Over 10,000 organizations rely on Cloudflare Access to connect their employees, partners, and contractors to the applications they need. From small teams on our free plan to some of the world’s largest enterprises, Cloudflare Access is the Zero Trust front door to how they work together. As more users start their day with Cloudflare Access, we’re excited to announce new options to customize how those users experience our industry-leading Zero Trust solution. We’re excited to announce customizable Cloudflare Access pages including login, blocks and the application launcher.

Where does Cloudflare Access fit in a user’s workflow today?

Most teams we work with start their Zero Trust journey by replacing their existing virtual private network (VPN) with Cloudflare Access. The reasons vary. For some teams, their existing VPN allows too much trust by default and Access allows them to quickly build segmentation based on identity, device posture, and other factors. Other organizations deploy Cloudflare Access because they are exhausted from trying to maintain their VPN and dealing with end user complaints.

When those administrators begin setting up Cloudflare Access, they connect the resources they need to protect to Cloudflare’s network. They can deploy a Cloudflare Tunnel to create a secure, outbound-only, Continue reading

Cloudflare partners with KnowBe4 to equip organizations with real-time security coaching to avoid phishing attacks

Cloudflare partners with KnowBe4 to equip organizations with real-time security coaching to avoid phishing attacks
Cloudflare partners with KnowBe4 to equip organizations with real-time security coaching to avoid phishing attacks

Today, we are very excited to announce that Cloudflare’s cloud email security solution, Area 1, now integrates with KnowBe4, a leading security awareness training and simulated phishing platform. This integration allows mutual customers to offer real-time coaching to their employees when a phishing campaign is detected by Cloudflare’s email security solution.

We are all aware that phishing attacks often use email as a vector to deliver the fraudulent message. Cybercriminals use a range of tactics, such as posing as a trustworthy organization, using urgent or threatening language, or creating a sense of urgency to entice the recipient to click on a link or download an attachment.

Despite the increasing sophistication of these attacks and the solutions to stop them, human error remains the weakest link in this chain of events. This is because humans can be easily manipulated or deceived, especially when they are distracted or rushed. For example, an employee might accidentally click on a link in an email that looks legitimate but is actually a phishing attempt, or they might enter their password into a fake login page without realizing it. According to the 2021 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, phishing was the most common form of social Continue reading

How we built DMARC Management using Cloudflare Workers

How we built DMARC Management using Cloudflare Workers

What are DMARC reports

How we built DMARC Management using Cloudflare Workers

DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance. It's an email authentication protocol that helps protect against email phishing and spoofing.

When an email is sent, DMARC allows the domain owner to set up a DNS record that specifies which authentication methods, such as SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), are used to verify the email's authenticity. When the email fails these authentication checks DMARC instructs the recipient's email provider on how to handle the message, either by quarantining it or rejecting it outright.

DMARC has become increasingly important in today's Internet, where email phishing and spoofing attacks are becoming more sophisticated and prevalent. By implementing DMARC, domain owners can protect their brand and their customers from the negative impacts of these attacks, including loss of trust, reputation damage, and financial loss.

In addition to protecting against phishing and spoofing attacks, DMARC also provides reporting capabilities. Domain owners can receive reports on email authentication activity, including which messages passed and failed DMARC checks, as well as where these messages originated from.

DMARC management involves the configuration and maintenance of DMARC policies for a domain. Effective DMARC management requires ongoing monitoring and analysis Continue reading

Stop brand impersonation with Cloudflare DMARC Management

Stop brand impersonation with Cloudflare DMARC Management
Stop brand impersonation with Cloudflare DMARC Management

At the end of 2021 Cloudflare launched Security Center, a unified solution that brings together our suite of security products and unique Internet intelligence. It enables security teams to quickly identify potential security risks and threats to their organizations, map their attack surface and mitigate these risks with just a few clicks. While Security Center initially focused on application security, we are now adding crucial zero trust insights to further enhance its capabilities.

When your brand is loved and trusted, customers and prospects are looking forward to the emails you send them. Now picture them receiving an email from you: it has your brand, the subject is exciting, it has a link to register for something unique — how can they resist that opportunity?

But what if that email didn’t come from you? What if clicking on that link is a scam that takes them down the path of fraud or identity theft? And what if they think you did it? The truth is, even security minded people occasionally fall for well crafted spoof emails.

That poses a risk to your business and reputation. A risk you don’t want to take - no one does. Brand impersonation is a Continue reading

Case Study: Site Local NGINX

A while ago I rolled out an important change to the IPng Networks design: I inserted a bunch of [Centec MPLS] and IPv4/IPv6 capable switches underneath [AS8298], which gave me two specific advantages:

  1. The entire IPng network is now capable of delivering L2VPN services, taking the form of MPLS point-to-point ethernet, and VPLS, as shown in a previous [deep dive], in addition to IPv4 and IPv6 transit provided by VPP in an elaborate and elegant [BGP Routing Policy].

  2. A new internal private network becomes available to any device connected IPng switches, with addressing in 198.19.0.0/16 and 2001:678:d78:500::/56. This network is completely isolated from the Internet, with access controlled via N+2 redundant gateways/firewalls, described in more detail in a previous [deep dive] as well.

Overview

Toxicity

After rolling out this spiffy BGP Free [MPLS Core], I wanted to take a look at maybe conserving a few IP addresses here and there, as well as tightening access and protecting the more important machines that IPng Networks runs. You see, most enterprise networks will include a bunch of internal services, like databases, network attached storage, backup servers, network monitoring, Continue reading

Video: vPC Fabric Peering with EVPN Multihoming

After implementing MLAG functionality with EVPN and having a VXLAN-like fabric transport path between MLAG members, it becomes possible to get rid of the MLAG peer link.

Not surprisingly, most implementations of virtual MLAG peer link remain proprietary. Lukas Krattiger described the details of Cisco’s vPC Fabric Peering implementation in the EVPN Deep Dive webinar.

You need Free ipSpace.net Subscription to watch the video. To watch the whole webinar, buy Standard or Expert ipSpace.net Subscription.

Video: vPC Fabric Peering with EVPN Multihoming

After implementing MLAG functionality with EVPN and having a VXLAN-like fabric transport path between MLAG members, it becomes possible to get rid of the MLAG peer link.

Not surprisingly, most implementations of virtual MLAG peer link remain proprietary. Lukas Krattiger described the details of Cisco’s vPC Fabric Peering implementation in the EVPN Deep Dive webinar.

You need Free ipSpace.net Subscription to watch the video. To watch the whole webinar, buy Standard or Expert ipSpace.net Subscription.

Microsoft details its ChatGPT hardware investments

Microsoft investment in ChatGPT doesn’t just involve money sunk into its maker, OpenAI, but a massive hardware investment in data centers as well which shows that for now, AI solutions are just for the very top tier companies.The partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI dates back to 2019, when Microsoft invested $1 billion in the AI developer. It upped the ante in January with the investment of an additional $10 billion.But ChatGPT has to run on something, and that is Azure hardware in Microsoft data centers. How much has not been disclosed, but according to a report by Bloomberg, Microsoft had already spent “several hundred million dollars” in hardware used to train ChatGPT.To read this article in full, please click here

WAF is woefully insufficient in today’s container-based applications: Here’s why

According to the Cloud Security Alliance, the average large enterprise has 946 custom applications deployed. Traditionally, organizations deployed Web Application Firewalls (WAF), which provide visibility and enforce security controls on external traffic that passes through them, at the perimeter to protect these applications against external attacks.

However, WAF-secured container-based applications have a high likelihood of being breached, as the concept of a perimeter does not exist in these architectures. A new approach is needed to address both external threats and threats from lateral movement inside the cluster. In a world where successful exploits may be inevitable, relying on a perimeter WAF for application security leaves your entire environment vulnerable unless adequate security tools and policies are implemented at the workload level.

WAF’s weak security

Security techniques for traditional container-based application architectures are analogous to medieval castles, where everything important to running an application is consolidated within castle walls. In this analogy, WAF played the role of the wall and gate, only letting in friendly traffic.

WAF provides additional capabilities in these traditional architectures. It actively parses through valid requests and threats and provides alerts when it receives suspicious log requests. These alerts keep the security team apprised of threats Continue reading