NETCONF and the ncclient

NETCONF is an industry standard (IETF) network management protocol. It’s actually been around for quite awhile and supported by numerous vendors. While NETCONF is not always compatible across network switch platforms, it’s the closest thing I can see that could be a unified multi-vendor API. Of course, there are also vendor extensions for those device-specific features too.

I’m not going to get too much into what NETCONF is because Matt Oswalt has already done that. Check out his post if you haven’t already done so. There are also plenty of other good resources on NETCONF out there.

What I am going to focus on in this post is using Python to interact with NETCONF-enabled network switches.

Let’s get to it.

First, you’ll want to install the ncclient. It is pretty much the de facto Python library to use when you need a NETCONF client to communicate with a NETCONF server, i.e. a network device.

sudo pip install ncclient

This will also install a few other required dependencies such as paramiko and lxml along with the client itself.

The next thing you are going to need is at least one switch (or device) that supports NETCONF. In this post, I’m Continue reading

Intel increases its hiring among women, minorities

Intel is becoming a little more diverse, just several months after announcing an ambitious plan to add more women and minority workers to its ranks.Since January, roughly 17 percent of Intel’s senior hires were historically under-represented minorities—about double the rate last year. Intel also doubled its senior hiring among women to 33 percent, CEO Brian Krzanich said on Wednesday.More broadly, roughly 41 percent of Intel’s hires for the year so far have been “diverse,” he said, without specifying further. That’s up from about 30 percent a year ago, Krzanich said. He gave the figures during a talk at the Push Tech 2020 Summit in San Francisco, an event focused on diversity issues in the technology industry.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

A Quick Introduction to LXD

With the recent release of Ubuntu 15.04, aka “Vivid Vervet”, the Ubuntu community has also unveiled an early release of LXD (pronounced “lex-dee”), a new project aimed at revitalizing the use of LXC and LXC-based containers in the face of application container efforts such as Docker and rkt. In this post, I’ll provide a quick introduction to LXD.

To make it easier to follow along with some of the examples of using LXD, I’ve created an lxd directory in my GitHub “learning-tools” repository. In that directory, you’ll find a Vagrantfile that will allow you to quickly and easily spin up one or more VMs with LXD.

Relationship between LXD and LXC

LXD works in conjunction with LXC and is not designed to replace or supplant LXC. Instead, it’s intended to make LXC-based containers easier to use through the addition of a back-end daemon supporting a REST API and a straightforward CLI client that works with both the local daemon and remote daemons via the REST API. You can get more information about LXD via the LXD web site. Also, if you’re unfamiliar with LXC, check out this brief introduction to LXC. Once you’ve read that, you can browse some Continue reading

Interpreting and Graphing Aruba ARM Counters

Guest post by Mike Albano

The topic of "do you trust RRM" is often discussed. The most typical answer is: "Yes, if I understand it." I know I've personally spent numerous hours blaming RRM for a questionable Dynamic Channel Assignment (DCA), and I'm usually wrong.

For the purpose of this post, RRM = Radio Resource Management; be it ARM (Aruba), RRM (Cisco), ACSP (Aerohive), SmartRF (Extreme) etc. etc.

This post isn't about the topic of "trust", or if to use RRM. Here's a good post by @wirednot on that topic. (Read the comments!)

This is more about:

  • Finding a way to interpret and use the data available to identify if/when an AP will change channels (DCA).
  • Analyzing the state of the channel, from the AP's perspective, before & after a channel change.
  • Showing an example of tools I use regularly in troubleshooting (Python and AirRecorder).

The system in question is an Aruba Instant AP (Instant OS version 6.3.1.8-4.0.0.9).

Data Gathering

Typically, I use Pexpect for screen-scraping CLI output but Aruba has written a handy utility to do this for you. It's called Air Recorder, and is multi-platform (Java.) Will run on Continue reading

AMD’s Zen chips to square off against Intel’s Skylake next year

AMD’s recent chips haven’t rocked Intel’s PC market dominance, but new chips based on the company’s Zen architecture could change the narrative next year.The company on Wednesday shared initial details about the new FX and seventh-generation A-series chips, which will be in desktops and laptops next year. The chips are based on Zen, the brainchild of Jim Keller, a leading iPad and iPhone chip designer at Apple until AMD hired him on 2012.The new AMD chips will battle Intel’s highly anticipated chips code-named Skylake, which will start appearing in tablets, laptops and desktops starting later this year. Intel has called Skylake its most significant chip family of last decade, designed to bring many wireless charging and data transfer features to laptops.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How workflow capabilities benefit continuous delivery environments

This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter’s approach.

Wikipedia defines workflow as “an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of business activity enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes” - processesthat make things or just generally get work done. Manufacturers can thank workflows for revolutionizing the production of everything from cars to chocolate bars. Management wonks have built careers on applying workflow theories like Lean and TQM to their business processes.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

With IoT projects come financial benefits, but also security risks

Internet of Things projects can yield data and insights that help companies operate more efficiently and improve products, but also give hackers additional targets to attack.Expect more malware like Stuxnet, a worm that went after Siemens industrial control systems and mostly infected computers in Iran, said Alan Tait, CTO of Stream Technologies, a London company with technology that enables machine-to-machine communication.“As we connect more things to any form of the Internet, even if there’s security, people will still go after them,” he said.Tait, along with other speakers on different panels, appeared at the LiveWorx conference in Boston on Wednesday to discuss how companies are handling IoT security issues and finding value in linking devices to the Internet.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Debunking the myths dogging the hybrid cloud

This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter’s approach.

Many companies face the dilemma of how to get the most out of legacy IT equipment and applications while taking advantage of the latest cloud advances to keep their company competitive and nimble.

A hybrid approach to IT infrastructure enables internal IT groups to support legacy systems with the flexibility to optimize service delivery and performance thru third-party providers. Reconciling resources leads to improved business agility, more rapid delivery of services, exposure to innovative technologies, and increased network availability and business uptime, without having to make the budget case for CAPEX investment.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hurray! AMD vows to compete in the high-end PC market again, from CPUs to GPUs

AMD has been forced to pick its battles, wary of going toe-to-toe with Intel and its mighty manufacturing machine. But AMD chief executive Lisa Su said Wednesday that it’s time for AMD to re-enter the ring and again commit to high-end, premium products.Su said that AMD plans to launch a new high-performance “Zen” core next year that will be marketed as the AMD FX CPU—AMD’s traditional brand for the high-end gaming market. AMD also plans to add cutting-edge high-bandwidth memory to its forthcoming Radeon graphics products, and address new, emerging markets such as the virtual reality space. Su also said she aggressively plans to go after the data center—not a space consumers may care about, but a high-margin business that Intel has used as a profit center for decades.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AMD slims PC chip lineup, hopes to return to profitability by year end

AMD hasn’t been competitive in the chip market over the last few years thanks to some poor decisions, but the company is simplifying its product lineup for PCs while getting into some newer, hotter product areas in hopes of reaching consistent profitability by the end of this year.On Tuesday, AMD CEO Lisa Su provided details on the company’s plan to reverse its sagging fortunes. The company will accelerate its move from PCs in an attempt to be a more diversified company that embraces graphics—where it already has a big presence—and other markets such as the Internet of Things, servers and custom chips.AMD still wants to make gains in the PC market, but is also hoping to increase market share in the graphics and custom chip market in 2016, Su said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Here’s the full NFL Deflategate Report, incriminating texts and all

The National Football League's long-awaited Investigative "Report Concerning Footballs Used During the AFC Championship Game on January 18, 2015" concludes it is "more probable than not" that New England Patriots personnel violated league rules and that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was not in the dark about it."Based on the evidence developed in connection with the investigation and summarized in this Report, we have concluded that it is more probable than not that New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the NFL Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate attempt to circumvent those rules," the so-called Wells Report concludes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple, IBM partner to help Japan’s elderly survive on their own

Japan has a problem. In a nation of 120 million people and falling, 33 million people, one-quarter of its total population, are over 65. Many of these elderly are disconnected from family or just want to maintain their independence, but Japan doesn't have anywhere near enough healthcare workers to tend to these ageing people, and given its xenophobia, the government isn't keen on letting in foreign workers to fill the gaps.The solution? An iPad with some IBM apps. Company CEOs Tim Cook and Virginia Rometty met in New York City along with the CEO of Japan Post Group to announce the initiative to help Japan's seniors better deal with everyday issues and connect with healthcare providers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Civil liberties groups oppose bill ending NSA’s bulk phone records program

Legislation intended to end the U.S. National Security Agency’s bulk collection of domestic telephone records is drawing opposition from several unlikely sources, digital and civil rights groups.The USA Freedom Act, approved last Thursday in a 25-2 vote by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, doesn’t go far enough to protect privacy, several digital rights groups and government whistleblowers said in a letter to members of Congress.The USA Freedom Act would result in “minimal reforms” to the NSA telephone records program, said the letter, sent Wednesday by CREDO Action, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, the Republican Liberty Caucus and other groups.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Civil liberties groups oppose bill ending NSA’s bulk phone records program

Legislation intended to end the U.S. National Security Agency’s bulk collection of domestic telephone records is drawing opposition from several unlikely sources, digital and civil rights groups.The USA Freedom Act, approved last Thursday in a 25-2 vote by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, doesn’t go far enough to protect privacy, several digital rights groups and government whistleblowers said in a letter to members of Congress.The USA Freedom Act would result in “minimal reforms” to the NSA telephone records program, said the letter, sent Wednesday by CREDO Action, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, the Republican Liberty Caucus and other groups.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco’s Chambers: A retrospective

You don’t become one of the most admired and successful CEOs in Silicon Valley and in all of business by doing many things wrong.Sure, there were missteps along the way for Cisco during the 20 year leadership of John Chambers. But they are outnumbered by the successes and overshadowed by the company’s sustained growth over those two decades.“The growth of the company, from what it was to what it became,” will be the highlight of Chambers’ career, says Glenn O’Donnell, a Forrester Research analyst. “Cisco is one of the great success stories of Silicon Valley. That will be his legacy.”Chambers will step down on July 26. His successor is Chuck Robbins, a 17-year Cisco veteran and currently the senior vice president of worldwide operations, responsible for direct and indirect sales. That was the same role Chambers had in 1995 when he was named CEO, having come to Cisco from Wang Laboratories in 1991.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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