The Network CLI is Dead, Long Live XML! (just kidding, it’s an Ansible+NETCONF+YANG Deep Dive)

Now that I've startled you, no, the network CLI isn’t going away anytime soon, nor are people going to start manipulating XML directly for their network configuration data. What I do want to help you understand is how Ansible can now be used as an interface into automating the pushing and pulling of configuration data (via NETCONF) in a structured means (via YANG data models) without having to truly learn about either of these complex concepts. All you have to understand is how to use the Ansible Content Collection as shown below, obfuscating all technical implementation details that have burdened network operators and engineers for years.

 

Setting the stage

Before we even start talking about NETCONF and YANG, our overall goal is for the network to leverage configuration data in a structured manner. This makes network automation much more predictable and reliable when ensuring operation state. NETCONF and YANG are the low-level pieces of the puzzle, but we are making it easier to do via well known Ansible means and methodologies.

What we believe as Ansible developers is that NETCONF and YANG aren't (and shouldn't) be quintessential or ultimate goals for network automation engineers. You should not need to Continue reading

Network Automation Isn’t Easy

Contrary to what some evangelists would love you to believe, getting fluent in network automation is a bit harder than watching 3-minute videos and cobbling playbooks together with google-and-paste… but then nothing really worth doing is ever easy, or everyone else would be doing it already.

Here’s a typical comment from a Building Network Automation Solutions attendee:

I’m loving the class. I feel more confused than I ever have in my 23 year career… but I can already see the difference in my perspective shift in all aspects of my work.

Read more …

Network Automation Isn’t Easy

Contrary to what some evangelists would love you to believe, getting fluent in network automation is a bit harder than watching 3-minute videos and cobbling playbooks together with google-and-paste… but then nothing really worth doing is ever easy, or everyone else would be doing it already.

Here’s a typical comment from a Building Network Automation Solutions attendee:

I’m loving the class. I feel more confused than I ever have in my 23 year career… but I can already see the difference in my perspective shift in all aspects of my work.

Read more …

Navigating your Linux files with ranger

Ranger is a unique and very handy file system navigator that allows you to move around in your Linux file system, go in and out of subdirectories, view text-file contents and even make changes to files without leaving the tool.It runs in a terminal window and lets you navigate by pressing arrow keys. It provides a multi-level file display that makes it easy to see where you are, move around the file system and select particular files.To install ranger, use your standard install command (e.g., sudo apt install ranger). To start it, simply type “ranger”. It comes with a lengthy, very detailed man page, but getting started with ranger is very simple.To read this article in full, please click here

Kubernetes Q3-2020: Threats, Exploits and TTPs

Kubernetes has become the world’s most popular container orchestration system and is taking the enterprise ecosystem by storm. At this disruptive moment it’s useful to look back and review the security threats that have evolved in this dynamic landscape. Identifying these threats and exploits and being a proactive learner may save you a lot of time and effort…as well as help you retain your reputation in the long run. In this blog we’ll look at some critical security issues faced by the Kubernetes ecosystem in the recent past, and examine the top tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) used by attackers.

Major Vulnerabilities

Everyday, new Kubernetes ecosystem Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) are published. Let’s take a closer look at some of the cloud shakers…

CVE-2020-14386: Using privilege escalation vulnerability to escape the pod
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel before 5.9-rc4. Memory corruption can be exploited to gain root privileges from unprivileged processes.

We received notification that some instances in our cloud infrastructure are vulnerable to this CVE. When we took a closer look, it appeared to be a typical privilege escalation vulnerability using AF sockets on hosts. Unprivileged users with CAP_NET_RAW permissions can send packets Continue reading

Introducing VMware Transit Connect for networking and security on VMware Cloud on AWS

As you migrate and expand your deployments on VMware Cloud on AWS, your network connectivity provides the foundational infrastructure for all workloads in your SDDCs. When you then scale across multiple SDDCs — which also need to network with several data centers and tens or even hundreds of VPCs — scaling network connectivity becomes a critical challenge.  

In this context, we’re excited to announce a number of new networking and security capabilities on VMware Cloud on AWS. 

  • SDDC Groups – a way to organize SDDCs together for ease of management
  • VMware Transit Connect –high bandwidth, resilient connectivity for SDDCs in an SDDC Group
  • Multi-Edge SDDCs – the ability to add network capacity for north-south traffic to the SDDC

Together, these new features enable seamless connectivity to your SDDCs from on-prem data centers and AWS VPCs while unlocking the capacity you need to efficiently drive your workloads in the cloud. 

Let’s take a closer look at each one. 

SDDC Groups 

SDDC Groups enable customers to manage multiple SDDCs as a single logical entity. This simplifies operations while maintaining the flexibility that customers rely on. SDDCs in a Group can be interconnected with VMware Transit Connect, and Continue reading

Can You Spare a Minute? Network Time Security Featured on The Hedge Podcast

Are you interested in finding out more about Network Time Protocol (NTP), Network Time Security (NTS), and discovering why synchronized time is an essential foundation for online security?

Today is International Podcast Day, so why not spend it listening to the The Hedge Podcast #49: Karen O’Donoghue and Network Time Security.

Network Time Protocol (NTP) is one of the oldest Internet protocols in use. It enables the synchronization of clocks on computer networks to within a few milliseconds of standard universal coordinated time (UTC).  Accurate time is also a critical component for online security, and many security mechanisms, such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and digital signature creation and verification, depend on accurate timekeeping. 

Updated Mechanism 

NTP’s security mechanisms, however, were designed back in an era when the risk of attack was unlikely. Due to the continued expansion of the Internet, these mechanisms have become outdated. Work has been underway for many years in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Network Time Protocol Working Group to develop replacement technology, which will help to secure the Internet’s time synchronization infrastructure well into the future. The result of this work is in the Continue reading

VMware amps up security for network, SASE, SD-WAN products

At its virtual VMworld 2020 conclave this week, VMware took the wraps off a number of security enhancements aimed at the growing COVID-driven remote workforce.For starters, the company boosted security for remote and mobile workers by extending its partnerships with zScaler and Menlo for its secure-access service edge (SASE) offering, VMware SD-WAN Zero Trust Service. VMware's SASE technology melds its Workspace ONE platform with its SD-WAN package. To read this article in full, please click here

Day Two Cloud 068: Achieving Crucial Cloud Visibility With Riverbed (Sponsored)

Today's show explores cloud visibility with sponsor Riverbed. Perhaps best known for its Steelhead WAN optimization appliances, Riverbed has a suite of solutions that target cloud performance and visibility, and we'll get to know them. Our Riverbed guests are Dr. Vincent Berk, VP, Chief Architect Security, CTO; and Brandon Carroll, Director, Technical Evangelist, Worldwide Marketing Management.

Day Two Cloud 068: Achieving Crucial Cloud Visibility With Riverbed (Sponsored)

Today's show explores cloud visibility with sponsor Riverbed. Perhaps best known for its Steelhead WAN optimization appliances, Riverbed has a suite of solutions that target cloud performance and visibility, and we'll get to know them. Our Riverbed guests are Dr. Vincent Berk, VP, Chief Architect Security, CTO; and Brandon Carroll, Director, Technical Evangelist, Worldwide Marketing Management.

The post Day Two Cloud 068: Achieving Crucial Cloud Visibility With Riverbed (Sponsored) appeared first on Packet Pushers.

Arista adds IoT, remote-work management to campus family

Arista Networks has taken the wraps off extensions to its campus-networking portfolio that promise to help customers manage IoT devices, improve wireless connectivity and cope with COVID-era remote-networking requirements.When it comes to managing the campus and the edge it’s important for IT to understand what devices are in the network, what they're doing, and making sure they are properly segmented, said Ed Chapman, vice president of business development for Arista.  Customers need to manage wireless and wired systems as one entity to gain visibility, intelligence,  and analytics on the overall environment.To read this article in full, please click here

You Can’t Do Everything, And That’s Okay

You’re a responsible human–a reliable person who does everything that’s expected and more. Congratulations! Here’s more work to do.

Yep, that’s the rub. If you’re good at your job and other people notice, you get never-ending opportunities to prove once again how good you are. More work to do, and more work to do, and more. The balance in your life is lost as you drown under a pile of opportunities and challenges with deliverables, due dates, and project managers scheduling recurring meetings to get status updates.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

If you’ve been through a few jobs, no doubt you’re familiar with this cycle. You leave the old job with a sense of relief, having transitioned your projects to others in a ceremony known as “the hand-off.” You chuckle a bit to yourself as your co-workers and manager who clearly didn’t grasp what all you were handling go glassy-eyed as you talk them through it.

You start the new job with a lightness in your heart. No projects. No due dates. No recurring meetings. The anxiety of getting familiar with a new company, figuring out your role, learning the politics, sure–there’s all that to contend with. But Continue reading

Nigeria’s IXPs – Enabling Better Connectivity, Faster Internet Delivery, and Improving Internet Service

Nigeria grew its local Internet traffic from  30% to 70% in the past eight years, connecting more people, increasing speed, and reducing costs. They did this through Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), according to the Internet Society report Anchoring the African Internet Ecosystem: Lessons from Kenya and Nigeria’s Internet Exchange Points Growth.

Between 2012 and 2020, the number of peering networks has grown from 30 to 71 and new exchange platforms have been set up in Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt. More networks and more IXPs increased the amount of Internet traffic exchanged in Nigeria from 300 Mbps to peak traffic of 125 Gbps in Lagos.

Muhammed Rudman started the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) in 2006, when the industry was developing. Most networks did not peer in Nigeria. One major submarine cable, Sat3, offered services across the country with others getting service via VSATs. This meant ninety-nine percent of websites were hosted abroad.

“The terrain was tough,” says Rudman, an IT veteran and founding Chief Executive Officer of IXPN, which is based in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. Approaching Internet service providers, he was often asked how many networks were already peering. Without any networks exchanging traffic, he’d often hear, “When you Continue reading

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