Before Facebook, the Late Ward Christensen Booted Up the First Social Network

Back in the 70s, if you wanted to be online, you had to be a college student, researcher, or in the military to be on the internet. That was it. Joe or Jane User? Forget about it. Then, during a Chicago blizzard, a young computer scientist, online services such as CompuServe started as early as 1969. However, unlike the free BBSs, these services could cost as much as $30 an hour in 1970s dollars or $130 an hour in today’s money. XMODEM file transfer protocol in 1977. This innovative method broke binary files into packets, ensuring reliable delivery over unstable analog telephone lines. XMODEM became a cornerstone of early online file sharing and inspired numerous subsequent file transfer protocols. While considered inefficient by today’s standards, XMODEM established key concepts that are still used in file transfers. These include breaking data into packets for transmission, using checksums or CRCs for error detection, and implementing handshaking between sender and receiver. Thanks to XMODEM, people began sharing files with one another. This, in turn, helped create

Building a Simple HTTP Source for Firewall EDL

Building a Simple HTTP Source for Firewall EDL

Recently, I wanted to add a list of domains to the Palo Alto DNS policy to block them from resolving. However, I soon realized that I couldn't just add a list of domains directly to the firewall, I needed to use an External Dynamic List (EDL). Palo Alto and I believe other firewalls as well, require a simple HTTP URL that hosts a list of domains or IP addresses. While there are amazing EDL projects available, in this blog post, we'll explore the simplest way to deploy an EDL.

Python HTTP Server

Python's HTTP server module lets you create a basic web server using just a single command. This server can serve files from a directory over the network, making it an excellent tool for quick testing and file sharing without the complexity of setting up a full-fledged web server.

All you need to do is create a list of domains, save it as a text file, and run python -m http.server 8085 from the directory where the file is saved. You can use any port, but remember that a lower number of ports like 80 require admin privileges. Once the server is running, navigate to http://IP_ADDRESS:8085/domains.txt in Continue reading

IPB162: IPv6 Basics: Address Provisioning

IPv6 address provisioning is the topic of this latest installment of the IPv6 Basics series.   The hosts focus on Stateless Address Auto Configuration (SLAAC) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6).  The differences between SLAAC and DHCPv6 are explained, including their use cases, the complexities of address management, and the importance of understanding... Read more »

The story of web framework Hono, from the creator of Hono

Hono is a fast, lightweight web framework that runs anywhere JavaScript does, built with Web Standards. Of course, it runs on Cloudflare Workers.

It was three years ago, in December 2021. At that time, I wanted to create applications for Cloudflare Workers, but the code became verbose without using a framework, and couldn't find a framework that suited my needs. Itty-router was very nice but too simple. Worktop and Sunder did the same things I wanted to do, but their APIs weren't quite to my liking. I was also interested in creating a router — a program that determines which action is executed based on the HTTP method and URL path of the Request — made of a Trie tree structure because it’s fast. So, I started building a web framework with a Trie tree-based router.

 “While trying to create my applications, I ended up creating my framework for them.” — a classic example of yak shaving. However, Hono is now used by many developers, including Cloudflare, which uses Hono in core products. So, this journey into the depths of yak shaving was ultimately meaningful.

Write once, run anywhere

Hono truly runs anywhere — not just on Cloudflare Continue reading

Comparing IP and CLNP: Finding Adjacent Nodes

Now that we know a bit more about addresses in a networking stack (read the whole series) and why CLNP uses node addresses while TCP/IP uses interface addresses, let’s see how they solve common addressing problems like finding adjacent nodes.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: how do you know whether you can reach a host you want to communicate with directly? In the following diagram, how does A know whether B is sitting next to it?

Read more …

Adding ADCS Role to ISE Lab Domain Controller

This post describes how to install Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS) onto a domain controller. It’s for labbing purposes which means I’m going to run this all on a single server instead of a more realistic setup with offline root, issuing CA, and possibly intermediate CA. Don’t use this post for anything designed to go into production!

To add the ADCS role. Go to Server Manager, click Add roles and features. Click Next until you get to Server Roles. Select Active Directory Certificate Series:

Click Add Features. Click Next. Click Next. Then a warning is displayed that it’s not possible to change the computer name or domain settings:

Click Next. Select Certification Authority and Certification Authority Web Enrollment:

Selecting Certification Authority Web Enrollment will install IIS and a small web site will be built to provide certificate services.

Click Add Features. Click Next. Click Next. Select Restart the destination server automatically if required:

Click Install. The installation starts:

When the installation has finished, click Close. Click AD CS in Server Manager. Click More… where it says Configuration required for Active Directory Certificate Services:

Click Configure Active Directory Certificate Services on the destination server:

Select an Continue reading

HW038: From Coax to Fiber: Wi-Fi Evolution in Multiple Dwelling Units (MDUs)

Todd Thorpe is today’s guest on Heavy Wireless joining host Keith Parsons to explain the evolution of Wi-Fi technology in Multiple Dwelling Units (MDUs) like apartments and condos. Todd, with over 20 years of MDU experience, discusses the industry’s transformation from early coax cable services to modern managed Wi-Fi solutions. The challenges of retrofitting older... Read more »

NAN076: Innovating Healthcare IT: Automating NetOps at RUSH University Medical Center (Sponsored)

Uzair Khan from RUSH University Medical Center is today’s guest on the Network Automation Nerds podcast. Uzair discusses the complexities of healthcare technology and the critical role of automation in enhancing operational efficiency and patient safety. He provides examples of how Itential’s automation and orchestration products have given his teams the tools they need to... Read more »

Cloud Native Networking as Kubernetes Starts Its Second Decade

Kubernetes recently Kubernetes to enter its rebellious phase. It will experience awkward growth spurts (as new use cases force Kubernetes to adapt); it might go through an identity crisis (is it a platform or is it an API?); it will ask for less supervision and more independence (and rely on AI-driven tooling to require less direct human oversight). As Kubernetes matures into adolescence, let’s consider how its networking and security circulatory systems grow and adapt. With eBPF, the technology that lets you run custom programs within the Linux (and, soon, Windows) kernel, is not stopping. Beyond networking and security (and the Tetragon projects I work on), more use cases are emerging as you will learn during KubeCon: Measuring Introducing Continue reading

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