Home Network 2020

Recently I moved to a new house and as a lot of reconstruction was done to bring the house up to date. I took the opportunity to have something I’ve always wanted in my home: a server rack! In my previous lab set-ups they were either located in my employers lab location or placed in […]

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Heavy Networking 548: Automating Multi-DC EVPN With Apstra (Sponsored)

If you’ve been looking at automation for your network, you should listen to this episode. This is one of those discussions that can help you understand whether you should roll your own artisanal automation, lovingly handcrafted with Python scripts flowing from your keyboard, or whether your organization would be better served with a commercially supported tool like Apstra. That’s the choice Beelastic needed to make, and we’re going to discuss why they went the Apstra direction. Apstra customer Beelastic is going to tell their tale of data center fabric, multiple data centers, automation, validation, multi-tenancy, EVPN, and more.

Heavy Networking 548: Automating Multi-DC EVPN With Apstra (Sponsored)

If you’ve been looking at automation for your network, you should listen to this episode. This is one of those discussions that can help you understand whether you should roll your own artisanal automation, lovingly handcrafted with Python scripts flowing from your keyboard, or whether your organization would be better served with a commercially supported tool like Apstra. That’s the choice Beelastic needed to make, and we’re going to discuss why they went the Apstra direction. Apstra customer Beelastic is going to tell their tale of data center fabric, multiple data centers, automation, validation, multi-tenancy, EVPN, and more.

The post Heavy Networking 548: Automating Multi-DC EVPN With Apstra (Sponsored) appeared first on Packet Pushers.

Remotely Triggered Black Hole Filtering

Remotely triggered black hole (RTBH) filtering is a technique that provides the ability to drop undesirable traffic before it enters a protected network. It is used for the mitigation of distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) and DoS attacks. We will show configuration of destination and source RTBH for Cisco IOS-XR in a network depicted on the Picture 1. […]
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The Dangers of Flying Pigs (RFC1925, rule 3)

There are many times in networking history, and in the day-to-day operation of a network, when an engineer has been asked to do what seems to be impossible. Maybe installing a circuit faster than a speeding bullet or flying over tall buildings to make it to a remote site faster than any known form of conveyance short of a transporter beam (which, contrary to what you might see in the movies, has not yet been invented).

One particular impossible assignment in the early days of network engineering was the common request to replicate the creation of the works of Shakespeare making use of the infinite number of monkeys (obviously) connected to the Internet. The creation of appropriate groups of monkeys, the herding of these groups, and the management of their output were once considered a nearly impossible task, similar to finding a token dropped on the floor or lost in the ether.

This problem proved so intractable that the IETF finally created an entire suite of management tools for managing the infinite monkeys used for these experiments, which is described in RFC2795. This RFC describes the Infinite Monkey Protocol Suite (IMPS), which runs on top of the Internet Protocol, the Continue reading

What is an IP address? And what is your IP address?

An IP address is a long string of numbers assigned to every device connected to a network that uses Internet Protocol as the medium for communication; it’s the digital world’s equivalent of the mailing address associated with your home or workplace.The way Internet Protocol works is that information is transmitted over the network in discrete chunks called packets; each packet is mostly made up of whatever data the sender is trying to communicate, but also includes a header, consisting of metadata about that packet.Among other pieces of data stored in the packet header are the IP address of the device that sent the packet and the IP address of device where the packet is heading. Routers and other network infrastructure use this information to make sure the packets get to where they’re supposed to go.To read this article in full, please click here

How IXPs Can Help Achieve Digital Transformation across the Middle East

In September the Internet Society, in cooperation with Middle East Network Operators Group, held an online workshop on Internet Exchange Points (IXPs). This was part of a workshop series launched by the Internet Society to foster open dialogue and coordinate with governments and other stakeholders to achieve digital transformation across Arab countries. Last year, workshops included the participation of several governments, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Jordan.

These discussions provided a framework for two policy documents: Middle East & North Africa Internet Infrastructure Report and Internet Infrastructure Security Guidelines for the Arab States. The reports show that supporting and developing the few existing regional IXPs, plus creating new ones, is an essential requirement for developing the Internet in the region.

The September workshop was divided into two parts: In the first part, a number of experts from Africa, Europe, and Asia shared their experiences in establishing and operating IXPs. The second part was an open discussion with participants.

The workshop aimed to explain the role of each stakeholder in establishing and operating IXPs – in addition to reviewing the best practices applied around the world, drawing on experiences from Italy to Pakistan.

IXPs create a direct path Continue reading

Tech Bytes: First Bank’s Automation With Gluware. The Real Story.

In this Tech Byte, we talk with Gluware customer, First Bank. First Bank is a family-owned, privately held bank operating in the Midwest and California, with roughly 100 locations in 5 different states. Our guests are Julie Wehling, Solutions Architect at Gluware; and Mike Pazarena, Network Engineer at First Bank. Mike talks about starting his […]

The post Tech Bytes: First Bank’s Automation With Gluware. The Real Story. appeared first on Packet Pushers.

Amazon Web Services launches Nvidia Ampere-powered instances

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of a new GPU-powered instance called Amazon P4d that is based on Nvidia’s new Ampere architecture, and the two firms are making big performance claims.AWS has offered GPU-powered instances for a decade now, the most current generation called P3. AWS and Nvidia are both claiming that P4d instances offer three times faster performance, up to 60% lower cost, and 2.5 times more GPU memory for machine learning training and high-performance computing workloads when compared to P3 instances.To read this article in full, please click here

Amazon Web Services launches Nvidia Ampere-powered instances

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of a new GPU-powered instance called Amazon P4d that is based on Nvidia’s new Ampere architecture, and the two firms are making big performance claims.AWS has offered GPU-powered instances for a decade now, the most current generation called P3. AWS and Nvidia are both claiming that P4d instances offer three times faster performance, up to 60% lower cost, and 2.5 times more GPU memory for machine learning training and high-performance computing workloads when compared to P3 instances.To read this article in full, please click here

Trick or Threat: Ryuk ransomware targets the health care industry

Introduction

A recent report [1] from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) has alerted the public about possible forthcoming ransomware attacks that target the health industry.
This report has raised concerns [2] especially because of the current pandemic, which has strained the resources of hospitals and care centers. As a consequence, a ransomware attack, in addition to crippling a healthcare provider’s infrastructure, might actually put at risk the lives of patients.

The advisory describes in detail the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) followed by the malicious actors who, at the moment, seem to be associated with Russian crime groups.
The attack uses a number of malware components, such as TrickBot, BazarLoader, Ryuk, and Cobalt Strike, in order to compromise networks, create bridgeheads, and then move laterally so that, eventually, a ransomware attack can be successfully carried out.

In the rest of this report, we present the characteristics of the various components of the attacks. We look at both the actual malware components (i.e., the code that performs the malicious actions), as well as the network evidence associated with their actions. Even though a number of these components (as well as similar ones) have been covered previously Continue reading

Looking Ahead: Five Opportunities on The Horizon According to Tech Leaders

Looking Ahead: Five Opportunities on The Horizon According to Tech Leaders

Dozens of top leaders and thinkers from the tech industry and beyond recently joined us for a series of fireside chats commemorating Cloudflare’s 10th birthday. Over the course of 24 hours of conversation, these leaders shared their thoughts on everything from entrepreneurship to mental health — and how the Internet will continue to play a vital role.

Here are some of the highlights.

On the global opportunity for entrepreneurs

Anu Hariharan
Partner, Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund

Looking Ahead: Five Opportunities on The Horizon According to Tech Leaders

Fast forwarding ten years from now, I think entrepreneurship is global, and you're already seeing signs of that. 27% of YC startups are headquartered outside the US. And I'm willing to bet that in a decade, at least 50% of YC startups will be headquartered outside the US. And so I think the sheer nature of the Internet democratizing information, more companies being global, like Facebook, Google, Uber — talent is everywhere. I think you will see multi-billion dollar companies coming out of other regions.

People have this perception that everything is a zero sum game, or that we are already at peak Internet penetration. Absolutely not. The global market cap is ~$85 trillion. Less than 10% is e-commerce. Internet enabled businesses is $8 Continue reading