Explore ContainerLab: Simulate Complex Network Topologies with Docker Containers
I stumbled across this tool, while am always a fan of VRNET-LAB https://github.com/vrnetlab/vrnetlab and it operates on docker containers, i could not get it properly bridge it with Local network meaning reachability to internet is something that I never worked on.
A container lab is a virtualized environment that utilises containers to create and manage network testing labs. It offers a flexible and efficient way to simulate complex network topologies, test new features, and perform various network experiments.
One striking feature that i really liked about containerlab is that representation is in a straight yaml which most of the network engineers now a days are Familiar with and its easy to edit the representation.
Other advantages
- host mappings are done automatically
- Traffic capture is done with ease
Host mappings after spinning up the lab
Slide explaining the capture process – Courtesy Petr Ankudinov (https://arista-netdevops-community.github.io/building-containerlab-with-ceos/#1)
https://containerlab.dev/quickstart/ – Will give you how to do a quick start and install containerlab.
https://github.com/topics/clab-topo – Topologies contributed by community
https://github.com/arista-netdevops-community/building-containerlab-with-ceos/tree/main?tab=readme-ov-file – Amazing Repo
https://arista-netdevops-community.github.io/building-containerlab-with-ceos/ -> This presentation has some a eVPN topology and also explain how to spin up a quick eVPN with ceos Continue reading
Network CI/CD Pipeline – GitLab Introduction
Hi all, welcome back to our Network CI/CD blog series. In this part, we’ll discuss what exactly GitLab is and the role it plays in the whole CI/CD process. We’ll explore how to use GitLab as a Git repository, how to install GitLab runners, and how to write a GitLab CI/CD pipeline, among other topics. So let’s get to it.
Prerequisites
Before we proceed, let’s go over some prerequisites. This part of the series assumes you have some familiarity with Git, Ansible, and basic Docker concepts. I’m not an expert in any of these, but I have a basic understanding of what each tool does and how to configure and use them. Even if you’re not very familiar, you can still follow along as we go step by step.
Using GitLab as a Git Repo
Git is a version control system that allows you to track changes to your code, collaborate with others, and manage different versions of your projects. It's a fundamental tool for network automation that works with code or configuration files.
Git for Network Engineers
As Network Engineers, we work with various text files such as network device configurations, scripts, and text-based documentation. Managing these Continue reading
Preloading Extra Images with Kubernetes Image Builder
The Image Builder project is a set of tools aimed at automating the creation of Kubernetes disk images—such as VM templates or Amazon Machine Images (AMIs). (Interesting side note: Image Builder is the evolution of a much older Heptio project where I was a minor contributor.) I recently had a need to build a custom AMI with some extra container images preloaded, and in this post I’ll share with you how to configure Image Builder to preload additional container images.
Image Builder isn’t a single binary; it’s a framework built on top of other tools such as Packer and Ansible. Although in this post I’m discussing Image Builder in the context of building an AMI, it’s not limited to use with AWS. You can use Image Builder for a pretty wide collection of platforms (check the Image Builder web site for more details).
To have Image Builder preload additional images into your disk image, there are three changes needed. All three of these changes belong in the images/capi/packer/config/additional_components.json file:
- Set
load_additional_componentstotrue. (The default value isfalse.) - Set
additional_registry_imagestotrue. (This also defaults tofalse.) - Set
additional_registry_images_listto a comma-delimited list of fully-qualified image Continue reading
Worth Exploring: Open-Source Network Automation Labs
Urs Baumann loves hands-on teaching and created tons of lab exercises to support his Infrastructure-as-Code automation course.
During the summer, he published some of them in a collection of GitHub repositories and made them work in GitHub Codespaces. An amazing idea well worth exploring!
The Hedge 241: Starlink Performance w/Geoff Huston
When Starlink first went into service we heard a lot of stories about how its Internet service was slow and unreliable. We’re a few years into Starlink launching satellites–how is Starlink holding up? Is service improving? Geoff Huston joins Tom, Eyvonne, and Russ to look into Starlink’s performance today.
TL002: The Philosophical Roots of Leadership
On this episode of Technically Leadership, we talk about the philosophical underpinnings of leadership. We discuss what it means to hold and drive a vision for a technical organization, how to build a strong team culture, handling layoffs and letting people go, and exploring what philosophy can teach us about leadership. Guest Matt Butcher, CEO... Read more »Reduce Manual Effort, Achieve Better Coverage With AI And Formal Techniques
PARTNER CONTENT Given the size and complexity of modern semiconductor designs, functional verification has become a dominant phase in the development cycle. …
Reduce Manual Effort, Achieve Better Coverage With AI And Formal Techniques was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.
Common Services VRF with EVPN Control Plane
After discovering that some EVPN implementations support multiple transit VNI values in a single VRF, I had to check whether I could implement a common services L3VPN with EVPN.
A common services VPN is a VPN in which server sites can communicate with each other and the clients, but the clients cannot communicate between themselves.
TL&DR: It works (on Arista cEOS)1.
Here are the relevant parts of a netlab lab topology I used in my test (you can find the complete lab topology in netlab-examples GitHub repository):
Nvidia Says “Blackwell” GPU Issues Are Fixed, Ramp Starts In Fiscal Q4
Welcome to the most important earnings call in history, with the weight of the aggregate stock markets of the entire world hanging on what Nvidia says and doesn’t say. …
Nvidia Says “Blackwell” GPU Issues Are Fixed, Ramp Starts In Fiscal Q4 was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.
Interview: Post-Earnings Insight With Nvidia CFO Colette Kress
After Wall Street closed the markets for the day and Nvidia reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, we had the opportunity to chat with Colette Kress, chief financial officer of the accelerated computing giant. …
Interview: Post-Earnings Insight With Nvidia CFO Colette Kress was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.
NAN072: Exploring Internet2’s Network Automation for University and Research Networks
On today’s episode we delve into Internet2’s mission to advance research and education through high-speed connectivity. University and research networks may have more complicated designs, requirements, and restrictions than you’d expect. We talk about these challenges, along with innovative network automation solutions. The discussion emphasizes the collaborative, member-driven approach of Internet2 and its commitment to... Read more »Not All OSPF Inter-area Traffic Traverses Interfaces In Area 0
Everyone knows that OSPF is a link state protocol. Those that study also discover that OSPF behaves like distance vector between areas as Type-1- and Type-2 LSAs are not flooded between areas, but rather summarized in Type-3 LSAs. This means that OSPF is a logical star, or hub with spokes, where Area 0 is the backbone and all other areas must connect to Area 0. This is shown below:
With this topology, since all the areas only connect to the backbone area, traffic between areas must traverse the backbone:
We learn about this behavior in literature where there is a very straight forward topology where each ABR is only attached to one area beyond the backbone. Such a topology is shown below:
In such a topology, traffic between RT04 and RT05 has to traverse the backbone. This is shown below:
However, what if you have a topology which is not as clear cut? Where an ABR attaches to multiple areas? This is what we will explore in this post. We’ll be using the topology below:
In this topology, RT02 and RT03 are ABRs. RT02 is attached to both Area 1 and Area 2 in addition to the backbone, while RT03 Continue reading
PP028: Can SecOps and NetOps Work Together?
IT tends to divide itself by job function and technological specialization, especially as technology gets more complex. However, each IT domain is part of a larger system, and these systems require coordination and cooperation to operate effectively. On today’s Packet Protector we look at how and why Security Operations (SecOps) and Network Operations (NetOps) should... Read more »VMware Wants To Redefine Private Cloud With VCF 9
We all had been wondering what VMware would look like when it became part of Broadcom’s massive universe following the semiconductor giant’s $69 billion acquisition of the virtualization juggernaut. …
VMware Wants To Redefine Private Cloud With VCF 9 was written by Jeffrey Burt at The Next Platform.
HS081: What’s Your Strategic Plan for AI Infrastructure?
AI seems to be changing everything, including your IT infrastructure. Do you have a strategic plan for your AI infrastructure? Today we discuss the merits and challenges of cloud computing, on-premises solutions, hybrid models, and edge computing along with the importance of low latency for real-time AI applications and the potential of edge computing in... Read more »
IBM Shows Off Next-Gen AI Acceleration, On Chip DPU For Big Iron
Big Blue might be a little late to the AI acceleration game, but it has a captive audience in its System z mainframe and Power Systems servers. …
IBM Shows Off Next-Gen AI Acceleration, On Chip DPU For Big Iron was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.
Nvidia Rolls Out Blueprints For The Next Wave Of Generative AI
Hardware is always the star of Nvidia’s GPU Technology Conference, and this year we got previews of “Blackwell” datacenter GPUs, the cornerstone of a 2025 platform that includes “Grace” CPUs, the NVLink Switch 5 chip, the Bluefield-3 DPU, and other components, all of which Nvidia is talking about again this week at the Hot Chips 2024 conference. …
Nvidia Rolls Out Blueprints For The Next Wave Of Generative AI was written by Jeffrey Burt at The Next Platform.
Get Your Data House In Order To Unlock Your Generative AI Strategy
COMMISSIONED Organizations must consider many things before deploying generative AI services, from choosing models and tech stacks to selecting relevant use cases. …
Get Your Data House In Order To Unlock Your Generative AI Strategy was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.