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 …

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VMware introduced RESTful APIs with their vSphere 7.0 release train; migrating from the old MOB APIs is a welcome choice. REST clients provide a powerful tool for automating processes, but it's important to embody reliable practices when interacting with infrastructure. The neat thing about published and documented …

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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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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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Ever wonder what it would be like to have a platform dedicated to Continuous Improvement / Testing / Labbing? Cisco's put a lot of thought into good ways to do that, and Cisco Modeling Labs(CML) is the latest iteration of their solutions to provide this as a service to enterprises and casual users alike. CML is the …

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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 …

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Have you seen this selector when building machines on vSphere? This causes some fairly common issues in NOS VMs, as most don't really know what distribution the NOS is based on. "Guest OS Version" doesn't just categorize your workload, though. Selecting "Other Linux" instructs vSphere to maximize …

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Here's how to set both static IPv4 and IPv6 addressing on Debian 11. The new portions are outlined in italics. First, edit /etc/network/interfaces 1auto lo 2auto ens192 3iface lo inet loopback 4# The primary network interface 5allow-hotplug ens192 6iface ens192 inet static 7 address {{ ipv4.address }} 8 gateway …

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Let's be realistic about the API craze - it seems everything has one, and everybody is talking about API consumption in their environment as if they've invented fire. Here are a few things to know about APIs that could have been communicated better: Writing code to consume an API is easy. Most of the time, a cURL …

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Palo Alto Networks has provided a tool for public use - Minemeld - that will collate threat intelligence feeds and other indicators for a more dynamic security policy enforcement strategy with their firewalls: https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/products/secure-the-network/subscriptions/minemeld I have a slightly …

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