Read This if You’re Going to Cisco Live in May!

Do not tell anyone I told you, but I heard a rumor today.  It looks like the attendees will be in for quite a treat for the 25th Anniversary of the Customer Appreciate Event.  It seems that we’re all going to be shipped off to AT&T Park for the show!  It’s the home of the San Francisco Giants and a beautiful stadium.  And guess who’s going to be there?  Yes, me.  And my wife.  And about 984572 of my friends.  But so will Lenny Kravitz and Imagine Dragons!

AT&T Park  I can’t imagine a better place to spend the evening with your friends than here.  McCovey Cove.  The Giants Wall of Fame.  The 1927 Glove.  The Willie Mays statue.  Ballpark food.  And, for the network angle, it boasts one of the largest public hotspots in the world.

ATT Park

AT&T Park in San Francisco

Lenny Kravitz  We all know he plays Cinna in the Hunger Games, but did you know he actually plays music on the side?  I had no idea!  Ok…maybe I did.  And maybe I’m a fan.  And maybe I’ve never read Hunger Games.  (All are true, by the way.)

Lenny’s a Grammy winner.  Four of them, to Continue reading

How to Fix the SIOCSIFFLAGS Error in Kali Linux

I recently rebuilt my laptop and reloaded the applications I use for pentesting including Virtualbox and Kali Linux. If you need help setting up Kali Linux in Virtualbox here is a great link that walks through the setup process.

Once I had Kali up and running in my virtual environment I plugged in my ALFA wireless adapter and made sure the USB device was running in the virtual environment.

I ran iwconfig to verify the wireless interface.

iwconfig

So far so good and I ran ifconfig to verify the interface was up, but the only interface returned was the loopback.

loopback

After discovering the wireless interface was not up and I ran ifconfig wlan0 up to bring it up and got the SIOCSIFFLAGS error.

siocsifflags

I wrote about this error a while back when I was running Backtrack 5 and I first started using the Fern WiFi Cracker. I decided to expand on that post plus I was asked about creating a script to run all the commands at one time instead of typing them individually. The script should be run every time Kali is booted, but after your adapter is plugged in and recognized.

First open a text editor and type in the Continue reading

The DRY Principle, and Why Network Engineers Should Care

The networking industry has long speculated that coding skillsets are something that will likely become key in the future. I’m sure this will vary from job to job, but I can tell you that - at least for me - it’s already happened. I’m not even just talking about knowing syntax like Python, Java, Ruby, etc. I’ve maintained these skillsets sufficiently throughout my network-specific studies that recalling these skills isn’t that hard (admittedly I’m a youngin so it hasn’t been that long).

The DRY Principle, and Why Network Engineers Should Care

The networking industry has long speculated that coding skillsets are something that will likely become key in the future. I’m sure this will vary from job to job, but I can tell you that - at least for me - it’s already happened. I’m not even just talking about knowing syntax like Python, Java, Ruby, etc. I’ve maintained these skillsets sufficiently throughout my network-specific studies that recalling these skills isn’t that hard (admittedly I’m a youngin so it hasn’t been that long).

What’s better for your big data application, SQL or NoSQL?

One of the critical decisions facing companies embarking on big data projects is which database to use, and often that decision swings between SQL and NoSQL. SQL has the impressive track record, the large installed base, but NoSQL is making impressive gains and has many proponents.  We put the question to experts in both camps.

The Experts
Ryan Betts
Ryan Betts

CTO, of VoltDB says SQL has already earned its stripes in large organizations and big data is just one more job that this stalwart can shoulder. View debate

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

Secret CEF Attributes, Part 5

So far we’ve explored some very cool features of CEF and the attributes we can push into the FIB to identify certain kinds of traffic. We can color the prefixes in the RIB and FIB with a particular IP-Precedence, QoS-group or traffic_index and we can then perform traffic monitoring, shaping and policing and packet marking […]

Author information

Dan Massameno

Dan Massameno is the president and Chief Engineer at Leaf Point, a network engineering firm in Connecticut.

The post Secret CEF Attributes, Part 5 appeared first on Packet Pushers Podcast and was written by Dan Massameno.

The Management Challenges of SDN

The Management Challenges of SDN

by Brian Boyko, Technology Commentator  - March 11, 2014

Really, when we talk about SDN in the WAN, all we’re talking about is separating the control plane (which tells data where to go) from the data plane (which forwards traffic to the next node). We’ll still have physical routers and other infrastructure, but they’ll become “commodity forwarding devices” with the control plan intelligence residing in a server – the SDN controller. This enables us to create virtual network overlays and functions. 

Where this can be a challenge is not so much in figuring out how to integrate it into your network but the lack of widely accepted standards for SDN. Certainly, the Open Networking Foundation is developing one, but it’s yet to see full adoption. And without standards for SDN, it will be difficult to build systems. Now the ONF and other consortia and standards bodies such as the IETF are making progress on this issue – and Packet Design will be part of the process by which progress is made – but until standards are fully established, SDN may be limited only to those companies willing to spend the massive amount of time Continue reading

Comware: Configuring QinQ

The QinQ feature (802.1q over 802.1q), also known as Stacked VLAN or VLAN over VLAN, supports the utilization of two 802.1q tags on the same frame Ethernet for VLAN over VLAN traffic – without altering the original TAG.

For the customer perspective it is like the Service Provider has extended the cable or fiber between 2 points. From the Service Provider perspective, it doesn’t matter if the customer is sending a frame ethernet with or without TAG 802.1q, because it will add one more TAG to the header and remove on edge device just the last insert tag.

doubletag

In a nutshell, the inbound interface configured with QinQ, will add a 802.1q TAG to the frame, even in case if the VLANs were tagged, however on the outbound port, only the last TAG added is removed, keeping the TAG 802.q inserted by the client.

Configuring

QinQ Comware

With the example above, we shall configure both Switches A and B with one VLAN for each client and configure the customer-connected-interfaces, such as “qinq enable”. As a detail, notice that is important to disable the STP on each interface for the BPDU issues, so the BPDUs will not interfere Continue reading

MTU Considerations for VXLAN

When using overlays, its important to remember (in most cases) that an entire Ethernet frame is being encapsulated in something else (usually Ethernet + IP + UDP + Overlay Header). This means that the Maximum Transmission Unit for the underlay must be adjusted. There are a number of posts out there about correct MTU settings for VXLAN. Unfortunately, many of them are either wrong, or unclear as to the math behind these calculations.

MTU Considerations for VXLAN

When using overlays, its important to remember (in most cases) that an entire Ethernet frame is being encapsulated in something else (usually Ethernet + IP + UDP + Overlay Header). This means that the Maximum Transmission Unit for the underlay must be adjusted. There are a number of posts out there about correct MTU settings for VXLAN. Unfortunately, many of them are either wrong, or unclear as to the math behind these calculations.

Protocol Basics – The Network Time Protocol

These days we have become used to a world that operates on a consistent time standard, and we have become used to our computers operating at sub-second accuracy. But how do they do so? In this article I will look at how a consistent time standard is spread across the Internet, and examine the operation of the Network Time Protocol (NTP).

NTP for Evil

There was a story that was distributed around the newswire services at the start of February this year, reporting that we had just encountered the “biggest DDOS attack ever” from a NTP-based attack. What’s going on? Why are these supposedly innocuous, and conventionally all but invisible services suddenly turning into venomous daemons? How has the DNS and NTP been turned against us in such a manner? And why have these attacks managed to overwhelm our conventional cyber defences?

The Ideal Cloud Network: SDN Overlays, Underlays or Both?

Enterprises are still a complex mix of legacy and newer cloud applications, yet smart use of universal SDN-based cloud networks is the great equalizer in bringing enterprises and the new applications of the cloud together. Evolutionary migration strategies from a mainframe to a client-server architecture can also be applied to the next phase of cloud and virtual age networking. To appreciate how they apply, one must better understand the diverse definitions of SDN, and its true applicability in next generation networks. Let’s review some of the terminology often used and confused in our industry.

Overlay SDN: The most visibly promoted controller for SDN overlays today is VMware’s NSX (Microsoft System Center, Juniper Contrail and Nuage Networks may also fall into this category). Some networking features and functions are moved into overlays to control the data, flow or forwarding path. This includes:

1. Software overlays to shift management functions from the control plane of the network to servers

2. Specific use-cases such as server virtualization, L4-L7 load balancing, security, Openflow etc.

Functional controllers leverage existing physical networks and apply features and functions such as provisioning that can be used via abstraction, APIs, a CLI and limited scripting.


Underlay SDN: Controllers do Continue reading

Virtual machine (VM) security still a work in progress

Trying to protect your expanding virtual machine (VM) empire will require a security product that can enforce policies, prevent VMs from being terminated or infected, and deliver the virtual equivalents of firewalls, IPS and anti-virus solutions.We last looked at this product category nearly three years ago, testing five products. At that time, we said that no single product delivered all the features we desired. That’s still true today even though the market matured some. This time around we tested three vendors who were in our previous test -- Catbird, Hytrust and Trend Micro – plus a newcomer, Dome9.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Demo: Common Programmable Abstraction Layer

Over the past few weeks, I’ve written about the idea behind a common programmable abstraction layer.  Previous articles are here and here.  It’s worth stating that something like a CPAL can be used with or without SDN controllers and with or without cloud management platforms.  As can be seen from the previous write ups and the video/demo below, today its primary focus is data extraction and data visibility.  It can use device APIs or controller APIs.  It’s about accessing the data you need quicker.  It’s that simple.  No more jumping from device to device and having to manage text and excel files.  

Edit 3/15/2014:
Github repo for CPAL

If there is a controller in the environment, you can still view data around particular physical and virtual switches in the environments by creating the right modules.  Same can be said if there was a CMP/CMS deployed.  While a CPAL can easily make changes to the network, it’s about taking small steps that can have a larger impact on how we use new APIs on network devices and controllers.  And if we don’t strive for a common framework now, we will end Continue reading

SDN Management Challenges of Wireless Carriers

SDN Management Challenges of Wireless Carriers

by Steve Harriman, VP of Marketing - March 10, 2014

Our CTO Cengiz Alaettinoglu recently published an article in RCR Wireless’ Reality Check column titled “Stumbling Block: SDN Management Challenges.” He discusses three SDN applications that are particularly valuable for wireless carriers: bandwidth calendaring, demand placement, and rapid provisioning. In fact, Cengiz says that rapid provisioning “…is indeed surfacing as the killer SDN application for carriers beyond the data center.”

However, these applications cannot be used successfully in SDN environments until the industry solves numerous management challenges. Traditional, manual management methods and processes cannot keep up in a programmable, automated network environment. As a result, the human operator loses visibility and control, making it difficult to understand how to plan for the rollout of new applications and services. Lack of oversight creates a sort of wild west environment without anyone or anything governing whether or not these programmatic changes should be made.

Cengiz is currently working on a prototype of a Network Access Broker that will verify if the WAN can handle the traffic demands of SDN applications without impacting other applications adversely. You can read more about what he says Continue reading

Show 182 – The Future of Networking Part 1 As Inspired By #NFD7

At Networking Field Day 7, the delegates were treated to vendor demonstrations that challenged our thinking about the future of networking. Perhaps the industry is not agreed on just how we’ll implement and operate our networks in the coming years, but one thing is for certain. The landscape will be different. In this and the […]

Author information

Ethan Banks

Co-host at Packet Pushers

Ethan Banks, CCIE #20655, has been managing networks for higher ed, government, financials and high tech since 1995. Ethan co-hosts the Packet Pushers Podcast, which has seen over 2M downloads and reaches over 10K listeners. With whatever time is left, Ethan writes for fun & profit, studies for certifications, and enjoys science fiction. @ecbanks
TwitterGoogle+LinkedIn

The post Show 182 – The Future of Networking Part 1 As Inspired By #NFD7 appeared first on Packet Pushers Podcast and was written by Ethan Banks.

NAT saves the day!

Introduction NAT is bad, it breaks end to end connectivity. It’s misused as a security tool. Using NAT kills kittens. Yes yes, we all know that. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t valid use cases for NAT and when NAT can save the day. What was the problem? Imagine that you have a device that […]

Author information

ddib

Daniel Dib is a network engineer and CCIE #37149. He mainly works with enterprise networks and network design. You can find his original content at lostintransit.se and on Twitter @Danieldibswe

The post NAT saves the day! appeared first on Packet Pushers Podcast and was written by ddib.

1 … 3,765 3,766 3,767 3,768 3,769 … 3,855