Ansible is a fantastic tool for Linux-based and NOS-based automation. Have you seen this error before? 1"changed": false, "msg": "Failed to connect to the host via ssh: Host key verification failed." When you use Ansible with SSH transport (as opposed to an API), you rely on the SSH key trust …

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 …

There are numerous advantages to deploying an internal root CA to an enterprise: Autonomy: Enterprises can control how their certificates are issued, structured, and revoked independently of a third party. Slow or fast replacement cycles are permissible if you control the infrastructure, letting you customize the CA to …

What is the point of all this software-defined infrastructure if you don't use it? In prior examples, it's a fairly straightforward path to SDN when deploying NSX Data Center, allowing a VI admin or network engineer to deploy virtual network resources via a GUI. This isn't the end of an effort, but the start of a …

DNS is a vital component of all computer networks. Also known as the "Internet Yellow Pages," this service is consumed by every household. DNS services are typically deployed in several patterns to support users and systems: DNS Forwarder: This deployment method is the most common. Everybody needs name …

At some point, we can't "do it all" with one block of code. As developers, we need to store persistent data for a variety of reasons: We want it for later execution (or to compare it to another result) We're sick of storing variables in code. This matters a lot more in compiled languages than runtime ones We …

Continuous Delivery: No Rest for the Wicked Now that we have: A method to generate Desired State Configurations, by defining Declaratively what the device config should be, and combining it with what a device config should have A method to apply configurations automatically, without PuTTY Copy-Pasting We now can …