CI/CD tools aren't just for automatically deploying apps! Jenkins excels at enabling an engineer to automatically execute and test code - but, it has a hidden super-power: Automating boring and intensive IT tasks(removing toil). Let's take a common and relatable IT problem - it doesn't matter if you're a DevOps …

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Reliably executing repetitive tasks with automation is easy (after the work is done) Given enough work, self-built automation can be easy to consume. Non-consumers (engineers) need to focus on reliability and repeatability, but occasionally there's an opportunity to save time and simplify lives directly. Information …

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Rapidly deploying Linux servers to meet a whim represents the essence of home lab activities, but we spend a great deal of time spinning/configuring machines to meet our specs. Worse, we lose a great deal of time keeping them properly configured and up to date, and none have the privilege of unlimited lab time. Let's …

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It's not a matter of if you will be the victim of a breach, but when. Wired is starting to track breaches by halves (as a general tech publication), and security vendors are moving to monthly reporting due to the volume. It's 2022, and it seems everyone loves to over-share on social media. This may feel good but …

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NSX 4 is now available, and it was a surprisingly sparse release in terms of new capabilities. NSX 4.0 appears to be a "clean house" initiative, so while it's missing "whizz-bang" new data plane features it does address a variety of issues I am happy to say are now closed: Numerous documented API …

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The principles that define the information security field are decades older than computing, and we'd do well to learn from the lessons that precede our industry. We as security professionals naively construct an "our stuff versus them" model when attempting to defend our networks in our early career. As we …

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VMware introduced the ability to double-encapsulate layer 2 frames in via the "Access VLAN" option for VRF instances in NSX Data Center: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-NSX-T-Data-Center/3.2/administration/GUID-4CB5796A-1CED-4F0E-ADE0-72BF7B3F762C.html Q-in-VNI provides a capable infrastructure engineer the …

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VMware's vDS is a bit of a misnomer In a previous post, I covered the concept of transitivity in networking - but in Layer 2 (Ethernet) land, transitivity is critically important to understanding how VMware's Virtual Distributed Switch (vDS) works. The statement "VMware's Virtual Distributed Switch is not a …

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Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) has turned out to be a great tool for deploying virtual network resources, but the "only Cisco VNFs" limitation is a bit much. Let's use this opportunity to really take advantage of the capabilities that NSX-T has for virtual network labs! Overview For the purpose of lab …

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Spanning Tree is the all-important loop prevention method for Layer 2 topologies and source of ire to network engineers worldwide. Usually IT engineers list the Dunning-Kruger Effect in a negative context, depicting an oblivious junior or an unaware manager, but I like to focus on the opposite end of the curve with …

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