Deploying a CNI Automatically with a ClusterResourceSet

Not too long ago I hosted an episode of TGIK8s, where I explored some features of Cluster API. One of the features I explored on the show was ClusterResourceSet, an experimental feature that allows users to automatically install additional components onto workload clusters when the workload clusters are provisioned. In this post, I’ll show how to deploy a CNI plugin automatically using a ClusterResourceSet.

A lot of this post is inspired by a similar post on installing Calico using a ClusterResourceSet. Although that post is for vSphere and this one focuses on AWS, much of the infrastructure differences are abstracted away by Kubernetes and Cluster API.

At a high level, using ClusterResourceSet to install a CNI plugin automatically looks like this:

  1. Make sure experimental features are enabled on your CAPI management cluster.
  2. Create a ConfigMap that contains the information to deploy the CNI plugin.
  3. Create a ClusterResourceSet that references the ConfigMap.
  4. Deploy one or more workload clusters that match the cluster selector specified in the ClusterResourceSet.

The sections below describe each of these steps in more detail.

Enabling Experimental Features

The preferred way to enable experimental features on your management cluster is to use a setting in the Continue reading

HTTP Protocol, Web Page Waterfalls and Complexity

One aspect of networking is that some understanding of the protocols using the network is required. As HTTPS replaces nearly all other protocols I would suggest that everyone needs a working understanding of how a web page is fetched by a web browser. WebPageTest is a community tool that reads web pages and then displays […]

How to Write a Great Talk Proposal for DockerCon LIVE 2021

First off, a big thank you to all those who have already submitted a talk proposal for DockerCon LIVE 2021. We’re seeing some really excellent proposals and we look forward to reviewing many more! We opened the CFP on February 8th and with a few more weeks to go before we close the CFP on March 15th there’s still lots of time to submit a talk. 

If you’re toying with the idea of submitting a talk but you’re still not sure whether or not your topic is interesting enough, or how to approach your topic, or if you just need a little push in the right direction to write up your proposal and click on “Send”, below are a few resources we thought you might find interesting. 

Amanda Sopkin wrote a great article a few years ago that has now become a reference for conference organizers sharing tips on how to get a technical talk accepted for a conference.  We also like Todd Lewis’ 13 tips on how to write an awesome talk proposal for a tech conference. Other interesting articles include: 

How to execute an object file: Part 1

Calling a simple function without linking

How to execute an object file: Part 1

When we write software using a high-level compiled programming language, there are usually a number of steps involved in transforming our source code into the final executable binary:

How to execute an object file: Part 1

First, our source files are compiled by a compiler translating the high-level programming language into machine code. The output of the compiler is a number of object files. If the project contains multiple source files, we usually get as many object files. The next step is the linker: since the code in different object files may reference each other, the linker is responsible for assembling all these object files into one big program and binding these references together. The output of the linker is usually our target executable, so only one file.

However, at this point, our executable might still be incomplete. These days, most executables on Linux are dynamically linked: the executable itself does not have all the code it needs to run a program. Instead it expects to "borrow" part of the code at runtime from shared libraries for some of its functionality:

How to execute an object file: Part 1

This process is called runtime linking: when our executable is being started, the operating system will invoke the dynamic Continue reading

HPE debuts new Opportunity Engine for fast AI insights

HP Enterprise has announced what it calls the Software Defined Opportunity Engine (SDOE), a cloud-based machine-learning platform that enables partners that sell HPE gear to cut the time to create custom sales proposals from weeks to just 45 seconds.In a blog post announcing the service, HPE Storage senior vice president and general manager Tom Black said SDOE does away with an outdated IT infrastructure-buying process at a time when digital transformation has never been more critical.To read this article in full, please click here

HPE debuts new Opportunity Engine for fast AI insights

HP Enterprise has announced what it calls the Software Defined Opportunity Engine (SDOE), a cloud-based machine-learning platform that enables partners that sell HPE gear to cut the time to create custom sales proposals from weeks to just 45 seconds.In a blog post announcing the service, HPE Storage senior vice president and general manager Tom Black said SDOE does away with an outdated IT infrastructure-buying process at a time when digital transformation has never been more critical.To read this article in full, please click here

Impact of Azure Subnets on High Availability Designs

Now that you know all about regions and availability zones (AZ) and the ways AWS and Azure implement subnets, let’s get to the crux of the original question Daniel Dib sent me:

As I understand it, subnets in Azure span availability zones. Do you see any drawback to this? You mentioned that it’s difficult to create application swimlanes that way. But does subnet matter if your VMs are in different AZs?

It’s time I explain the concepts of application swimlanes and how they apply to availability zones in public clouds.

Read more …

Impact of Azure Subnets on High Availability Designs

Now that you know all about regions and availability zones (AZ) and the ways AWS and Azure implement subnets, let’s get to the crux of the original question Daniel Dib sent me:

As I understand it, subnets in Azure span availability zones. Do you see any drawback to this? You mentioned that it’s difficult to create application swimlanes that way. But does subnet matter if your VMs are in different AZs?

It’s time I explain the concepts of application swimlanes and how they apply to availability zones in public clouds.

Read more …

Automating Red Hat Virtualization with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) is a complete, and fully supported enterprise virtualization platform that is built upon a foundation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), oVirt virtualization management projects, and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) technology in order to virtualize resources, processes and applications. 

With RHEL as the compute provider, RHV addsan intuitive web interface with a robust API including SDKs for Java, Ruby, Python, JavaScript and Go for management of virtualization instances and resources that comprise a typical datacenter. 

Interacting with an API through a full fledged SDK may present a barrier to datacenter automation due to requisite knowledge of a programming language before getting started. This also means that collaboration may be stifled due to a lack of resources proficient in one of the available SDKs. Standardizing on Ansible for automating RHV allows for all teams and individuals to create and maintain automation without knowledge of a programming language. 

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform allows for interacting with datacenter services in a cleanly formatted and human readable markup language that offers an on-ramp to automating the datacenter. By leveraging the newly released Ansible Content Collection for RHV, this gentle on-ramp to automation becomes more powerful by Continue reading

Automating Red Hat Virtualization with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) is a complete, and fully supported enterprise virtualization platform that is built upon a foundation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), oVirt virtualization management projects, and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) technology in order to virtualize resources, processes and applications. 

With RHEL as the compute provider, RHV addsan intuitive web interface with a robust API including SDKs for Java, Ruby, Python, JavaScript and Go for management of virtualization instances and resources that comprise a typical datacenter. 

Interacting with an API through a full fledged SDK may present a barrier to datacenter automation due to requisite knowledge of a programming language before getting started. This also means that collaboration may be stifled due to a lack of resources proficient in one of the available SDKs. Standardizing on Ansible for automating RHV allows for all teams and individuals to create and maintain automation without knowledge of a programming language. 

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform allows for interacting with datacenter services in a cleanly formatted and human readable markup language that offers an on-ramp to automating the datacenter. By leveraging the newly released Ansible Content Collection for RHV, this gentle on-ramp to automation becomes more powerful by Continue reading

New Year, New Name: Insights Platform Is Now Internet Society Pulse


In order to align better with the Internet Society’s brand strategy, and to further differentiate our platform from other products with similar names, we have decided to rename our measurement platform.

As of 1 March, 2021, Insights will be known as Internet Society Pulse.


The new URL is: https://pulse.internetsociety.org/

A redirect will be implemented so that anyone navigating to the previous URL will be automatically taken to Internet Society Pulse.

And, if you follow us on Twitter, you’ll see that our handle has been changed from @isoc_insights to @isoc_pulse.

The platform’s look and feel will not change.

Looking Ahead

We launched Insights in early December 2020 and are extremely proud of the impact that the platform has had in just three short months. We’re looking forward to ramping up the platform further in 2021 and will be adding three new focus areas throughout the year:

In 2021, we’ll also expand our analysis and reporting offerings, increase our engagement with the Internet measurements community, bring on board more data partners and add new features to the platform.

Stay up to date by signing up to our mailing list and Continue reading

Cisco closes $4.5B deal on optical powerhouse Acacia

After some legal wrangling earlier this year, Cisco has closed the $4.5 billion deal for optical maker Acacia Communications, Inc. Cisco coveted Acacia for its high-speed, optical interconnect technologies that let data center operators, webscale companies and service providers offer ever-faster service access to widely distributed resources. It also reinforces Cisco’s commitment to optics as a critical building block for networks of the future. “Acacia offers a complete portfolio of long-distance data-transmission solutions that address the full range of applications in the data-center-interconnect and wide-area network segments for metro, regional, long haul, and subsea links,” wrote Bill Gartner, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Optical Systems and Optics Group in a blog about the acquisition.To read this article in full, please click here

Cisco closes $4.5B deal on optical powerhouse Acacia

After some legal wrangling earlier this year, Cisco has closed the $4.5 billion deal for optical maker Acacia Communications, Inc. Cisco coveted Acacia for its high-speed, optical interconnect technologies that let data center operators, webscale companies and service providers offer ever-faster service access to widely distributed resources. It also reinforces Cisco’s commitment to optics as a critical building block for networks of the future. “Acacia offers a complete portfolio of long-distance data-transmission solutions that address the full range of applications in the data-center-interconnect and wide-area network segments for metro, regional, long haul, and subsea links,” wrote Bill Gartner, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's Optical Systems and Optics Group in a blog about the acquisition.To read this article in full, please click here

Attend Future:NET 2021 – A Premier Networking Event

What is Future:NET? 

Sponsored by VMware, Future:NET 2021 is the premier thought leadership event on networking of the year. Scheduled for March 23 in AMER and March 24 in EMEA and APJ, the event will be simulcast live around the world—showcasing authentic, in-depth discussions led by the who’s-who of networking leaders. Come prepared to hear open, honest, and sometimes lively conversations about the future direction of networking. 

How is Future:NET 2021 Different from Previous Years? 

Future:NET has always been an invite-only, in-person event held during VMworld U.S. This year, we are taking it to the next level with a virtual format that will be broadcast live to a global audience on a new, interactive online platform. This will preserve the intimate, authentic feel of past events while allowing participants to share valuable insights with change agents around the world. 

Why Attend Future:NET? 

Future:NET is a different kind of industry event. While other networking conferences have been reduced to vendor showcases, Future:NET disallows product pitches in favor of open debates that foster in-depth conversation among professionals across the industry. This will not be a VMware showcase or a think tank. Future:NET is a vendor-agnostic industry event led by those who have forecasted, created, or disseminated change and who are lured by new technology and its ability to transform the world. Hear from luminaries such as Albert Greenberg from Azure, Bikash Koley from Google Cloud, Nick McKeown of Stanford University, Pere Monclus from VMware, and Vijoy Pandey from Continue reading

Rethinking BGP on the DC Fabric (part 5)

BGP is widely used as an IGP in the underlay of modern DC fabrics. This series argues this is not the best long-term solution to the problem of routing in fabrics because BGP is not ideal for this use case. This post will consider the potential harm we are doing to the larger Internet by pressing BGP into a role it was not originally designed to fulfill—an underlay protocol or an IGP.

My last post described the kinds of configuration required to make BGP work on a DC fabric—it turns out that the configuration of each BGP speaker on the fabric is close to unique. It is possible to automate configuring each speaker—but it would be better if we could get closer to autonomic operation.

To move BGP closer to autonomic operation in a DC fabric, there are several things we can do. First, we can allow a BGP speaker to peer with any other BGP speaker it receives an open message from—this is often called promiscuous mode. While each router in the fabric will still need to be configured with the right autonomous system, at least we won’t need to configure the correct peers on each router (including the Continue reading

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