Unimog – Cloudflare’s edge load balancer

As the scale of Cloudflare’s edge network has grown, we sometimes reach the limits of parts of our architecture. About two years ago we realized that our existing solution for spreading load within our data centers could no longer meet our needs. We embarked on a project to deploy a Layer 4 Load Balancer, internally called Unimog, to improve the reliability and operational efficiency of our edge network. Unimog has now been deployed in production for over a year.

This post explains the problems Unimog solves and how it works. Unimog builds on techniques used in other Layer 4 Load Balancers, but there are many details of its implementation that are tailored to the needs of our edge network.

The role of Unimog in our edge network

Cloudflare operates an anycast network, meaning that our data centers in 200+ cities around the world serve the same IP addresses. For example, our own cloudflare.com website uses Cloudflare services, and one of its IP addresses is 104.17.175.85. All of our data centers will accept connections to that address and respond to HTTP requests. By the magic of Internet routing, when you visit cloudflare.com and your Continue reading

Hacking Ethernet out of Fibre Channel cards

Hacking Ethernet out of Fibre Channel cards

This story, like another in the past, started as an eBay purchase that I wo

Where Do We Need Smart NICs?

We did a number of Software Gone Wild podcasts trying to figure out whether smart NICs address a real need or whether it’s just another vendor attempt to explore all potential markets. As expected, we got opposing views from Luke Gorrie claiming a NIC should be as simple as possible to Silvano Gai explaining how dedicated hardware performs the same operations at lower cost, lower power consumption and way higher speeds.

In theory, there’s no doubt that Silvano is right. Just look at how expensive some router line cards are, and try to figure out how much it would cost to get 25.6 Tbps of forwarding performance that we’ll get in a single ASIC (Tomahawk-4) in software (assuming ~10 Gbps per CPU core). High-speed core packet forwarding has to be done in dedicated hardware.

How Do We Ensure the Internet Grows and Improves? Start with the Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit

The Internet has been revolutionary for human progress. Bit by bit, byte by byte, it has come to underpin modern life. For those of us online today it is hard to imagine (or remember) a world where the Internet was not the fabric of our social lives, education, entertainment, innovation, and culture. But what makes the Internet such a success, and how can we ensure its future? What takes a “network of networks” and makes it the Internet? We’ve launched the Internet Way of Networking’s Internet Impact Assessment Toolkit (IIAT) to to help answer that question.

The current pandemic has showed us both the value and the opportunities the Internet holds. For societies to pivot to a reality where most of our lives became digital overnight is a true testament to the possibilities that are inherent in the Internet.

But while the Internet has proved its resilience under the weight of an online society, it is easy to forget that its fundamental premise is not about cables and computers, but about collaboratively interconnecting independent networks to a greater whole. Because what fundamentally makes up the Internet, and what it could grow to become in the future, is rooted in its Continue reading

Use TCL to Pingsweep a Subnet on a Cisco IOS Device

Improving the moisture model – the final phase

Back from this post http://r2079.com/2020/03/17/telnyx-api-p-sms-and-aws-iot-saves-my-plants-every-single-time/, I did see that using Telnyx and Aws MQTT did indicate the moisture. All good, so why drag this topic ?

Links reference :

https://www.espressif.com/en/products/socs/esp32 – microcontroller used in the project

https://vruzend.com/ – lithium ion 18650 batteries

https://micropython.org/ – micropython

http://telnyx.com/ – Telecom provider

https://aws.amazon.com/ – Cloud provider

Well, there are multiple aspects to the design itself

1. The system always required usb external power – batteries well dint last long
2. The system always required to be internal or inside home – reason it wasnt weather resistant
3. Costly [ Mqtt Push and and if plant dried out, it would make Telnyx API send me a lot of messages which in turn is a cost ]
4. I never wanted a 24×7 system, I wanted something which comes online once per day and then sort of sleeps for rest of the day
5. Wanted to use micropython, python programming language is something I always found easy on beginners like me, where as C and CPP are difficult in my opinion.
6. I wanted something small and less or Continue reading

Using the Linux stat command to create flexible file listings

The stat command supplies a lot of detailed information on files.It provides not just the date/time of the most recent file changes, but also shows when files were most recently accessed and permissions changed. It tells you the file size in both bytes and blocks. It displays the inode being used by the file along with the file type. It includes the file owner and the associated user group both by name and UID/GID. It displays file permissions in both the “rwx” (referred to as the “human-readable” format) and numerically. On some systems, it might even include the date and time that a file was created (called its “birth”).[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.] In addition to providing all this information, the stat command can also be used to create file listings. These listings are extremely flexible in that you can choose to include any or all of the information described above.To read this article in full, please click here

IBM/Red Hat open hybrid-cloud application market

IBM and its Red Hat company have opened up what they call a one-stop-shop for customers looking to build, deploy and manage hybrid-cloud applications on-premises or in multicloud environments.With Red Hat Marketplace, enterprise customers can find and buy the  tools and services they need to build cloud-native applications across public and private cloud environments through one curated repository, Red Hat executives said.[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.] IBM and Red Hat executives said the enterprise software and service marketplace is specifically aimed at hybrid-cloud computing customers.To read this article in full, please click here

IBM/Red Hat open hybrid cloud application market

IBM and its Red Hat company have opened up what they call a one-stop-shop for customers looking to build, deploy and manage hybrid-cloud applications on-premises or in multicloud environments.With Red Hat Marketplace, enterprise customers can find and buy the  tools and services they need to build cloud-native applications across public and private cloud environments through one curated repository, Red Hat executives said.[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.] IBM and Red Hat executives said the enterprise software and service marketplace is specifically aimed at hybrid-cloud computing customers.To read this article in full, please click here

Telco Mini Channel at AnsibleFest 2020

As we adapt AnsibleFest into a free virtual experience this year, we wanted to share with our automation lovers what to expect. Seasoned pros and brand new Ansiblings alike can find answers and guidance for Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, the enterprise solution for building and operating automation at scale. We are giving our attendees an inside peek of exactly what to expect from each channel. Let’s take a closer look at what is to come from the network-telco mini channel at AnsibleFest 2020.

Network-Telco Automation at AnsibleFest

Telecommunication service providers have extremely critical and complex workflows that require specialized attention for automation. The network is no longer isolated to the data center, but extends to the enterprise and now the edge, each that have specific requirements. 

This is the first time Telco as an industry or use case has been specifically highlighted as part of its own channel at AnsibleFest. Data center automation has long been a use case for Ansible automation, but as Telco workloads are moving to the edge, so does the need to automate the enterprise, branch-office and entry points for end-users. 

Attendees can expect to hear about targeted use cases for Telecommunications Continue reading

Cumulus Linux 4.2

Virtual Open Office Hours – Mid September 2020

It Has to Work

From time immemorial, humor has served to capture truth. This is no different in the world of computer networks. A notable example of using humor to capture truth is the April 1 RFC series published by the IETF. RFC1925, The Twelve Networking Truths, will serve as our guide.

According to RFC1925, the first fundamental truth of networking is: it has to work. While this might seem to be overly simplistic, it has proven—over the years—to be much more difficult to implement in real life than it looks like in a slide deck. Those with extensive experience with failures, however, can often make a better guess at what is possible to make work than those without such experience. The good news, however, is the experience of failure can be shared, especially through self-deprecating humor.

Consider RFC748, which is the first April First RFC published by the IETF, the TELNET RANDOMLY-LOSE Option. This RFC describes a set of additional signals in the TELNET protocol (for those too young to remember, TELNET is what people used to communicate with hosts before SSH and web browsers!) that instruct the server not to provide random losses through such things as “system crashes, lost data, Continue reading

Network Break 300: Cisco Mixes Microservices And SD-WAN; Broadcom Rolls Out Gen7 Fibre Channel Switches

Network Break 300: Cisco Mixes Microservices And SD-WAN; Broadcom Rolls Out Gen7 Fibre Channel Switches

Network Break dives into a new Cisco project that ties microservices to SD-WAN, a CenturyLink outage, new vulnerabilities in IOS-XR, Broadcom's new Gen7 Fibre Channel switches, and more IT news.

The post Network Break 300: Cisco Mixes Microservices And SD-WAN; Broadcom Rolls Out Gen7 Fibre Channel Switches appeared first on Packet Pushers.

NSX for vSphere to NSX-T Migration Resources at VMworld 2020

VMworld, the industry’s largest virtualization-specific event, is right around the corner! As you get ready for VMworld, this blog is your resource for key sessions around migrating from NSX for vSphere to NSX-T. And, via the comments below, this blog is also your channel to connect back with us if you have any questions, need further clarifications, or would like a follow up call on migration strategies.

Learn from the Experts at VMworld

So, you’re on NSX for vSphere and you’ve been coming across all the use cases addressed by NSX-T. To take advantage of those use cases, you decide you want to move to NSX-T. And you’re wondering:

1. Are there any VMware-supported built-in tools?
2. Can I do this by myself?
3. Is there a migration process that resembles upgrading?
4. Can this be done without adding net-new hardware?

We Answer Those Questions At VMworld Breakout Sessions

Join us at the VMworld breakout session VCNC1150: Migrating from NSX for vSphere to NSX-T Data Center Using Migration Coordinator as we explore various migration approaches and dive into a detailed demo of Migration Coordinator. Designed to provide the simple experience of an upgrade, Migration Coordinator is a built-in tool that allows our customers Continue reading

Heavy Networking 538: Running An Open, Automated Data Center Fabric With Nokia (Sponsored)

Heavy Networking 538: Running An Open, Automated Data Center Fabric With Nokia (Sponsored)

Today's show dives into Nokia's approach for automating and operating data center fabrics. In this sponsored episode we examine key elements of Nokia's approach including the SR Linux network OS and its Fabric Services Platform. Our guest is Steve Vogelsang, CTO for IP and Optical Networks at Nokia.

The post Heavy Networking 538: Running An Open, Automated Data Center Fabric With Nokia (Sponsored) appeared first on Packet Pushers.

6 days left to save on the NFA Early Bird special license offer

The Noction Flow Analyzer official release is in 28 days, but the countdown clock on early-bird pricing runs out in just six. Secure the best possible

The post 6 days left to save on the NFA Early Bird special license offer appeared first on Noction.

Public Cloud Providers and IPv4 Address Space

When planning to move your workloads to a public cloud you might want to consider the minor detail of public IPv4 connectivity (I know of at least one public cloud venture that couldn’t get their business off the ground because they couldn’t get enough public IPv4 addresses).

Here’s a question along these lines that one of the attendees of our public cloud networking course sent me: