I am hopeful when it comes to new tech. I really am. In part, technologists are employed because of tech’s ever-changing landscape. But I am also dubious during any technology’s formative years. I take a wait-and-see approach, and I’ve never been sorry for doing so. I believe that being a late, not early, adopter of technology pays off for most organizations.
When Stretching Layer Two, Separate Your Fate
The big idea is to support the same IP address in multiple locations, but to NOT have fate-sharing, where a problem like a bridging loop and resulting broadcast storm at one site would take down the other site. That means we can’t just throw up a tagged VLAN link (trunk) between the DCs. Instead, we have to divide the L2 broadcast domain (the VLAN) into different L2 domains separated by a routed segment. This way we’ve created two failure domains that will not share fate.
It’s Not What You Say. It’s How You’re Heard.
In written communication, technical people can sometimes come across as impolite. I see this on Slack (talking down), Twitter (the angry tweeter), in emails (blunt and terse), in blog comments (bitter sarcasm or pedantry), Hacker News discussions (aggressive confrontation), and other places IT builders gather online. Perhaps you, as just such a technical person, don’t […]
Free Networking ArubaOS-CX Lab Image From Aruba Networks
Aruba offers a virtual version of ArubaOS-CX delivered as an OVA. You can use the OVA as-is, or extract the OVA tarball to get to the vmdk and convert the vmdk to a qcow2 image, all depending on what your hypervisor needs. This is a continuation of my series documenting hassle-free, virtualized network operating system images you can download for labbing and learning.
Free Networking Lab Images From Arista, Cisco, nVidia (Cumulus)
Here’s my current list of no cost, minimal headache, easily obtainable networking images that work in a virtual lab environment such as EVE-NG or GNS3. My goal is to clearly document what these images are and how to obtain them, as this data is less obvious than I’d like.
Don’t Be Complex When Simple Will Do
We love shiny things. Sometimes, we work with technologies not because our company needs them, but because we want to put new skills on our resumes. Sometime when faced with a problem, we’ll default to how we solved it last time, rather than analyzing the new situation to see what’s most appropriate. We care more than the business does at times, because our switches and our servers and our cloudy constructs become pets we cherish and teach tricks to so we can show off to others. Our designs become laws. This is the way.
You Can’t Think If You’re Always Thinking
My mind brings revelations to the surface when I’m out in the woods hiking, biking, or running, as I rarely listen to media when I’m out there. (It’s the bears, you see. Gotta listen for those bears.) So, why don’t I create more quiet time for myself?
New Tech Skills In Two Hours
How long does it take to learn a new skill? It’s like…a really long time, right? You never have that much time to learn whatever it is. Most people who learn new skills are dedicated super humans who put in 25 hour days doing labs and reading books and taking courses and sniffing markers. Those folks sacrifice everything to stay ahead and earn the tough certs. Right? Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work? Don’t overthink it.