Idempotence and Declarative Methods - not just buzzwords Idempotence Coined by Benjamin Peirce, this term indicates that a mathematical operation will produce a consistent result, even with repetition. Idempotence is much more complicated subject in mathematics and computer science. IT and DevOps use a simplified …

Read More

Why should an infrastructure engineer leverage REST APIs? I'm sure most IT workers have at least heard of REST APIs, or heard a sales pitch where a vendor insists that while a requested functionality doesn't exist, you could build it yourself by "using the API". Or, participate in discussions where people …

Read More

VMworld 2021 is online this year I'll really miss some of the sessions and exploration we've had in past years in person, but I think VMware made the right call this year. We can expect to see a fundamental shift with online conventions - and this will need some unique strategy compared to previous years. The Basics I …

Read More

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 …

Read More

TL;DR If you see either of these errors, check grep 'ERROR' /opt/avi/log/cc_agent_go_{{ cloud }} for the potential cause. In my case, the / character was not correctly processed by Avi's Golang client (facing vCenter). The Problem When trying to configure NSX ALB + NSX-T on my home lab, I am presented nothing but the …

Read More

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 …

Read More

For this example deployment, I'll be using my NSX-T Lab as the fabric, VyOS for the Overloaded Router role, and trying out hyperglass: Installation (VyOS) I already have a base image for VyOS with its management VRF set up - and updating the base image prior to deployment is a breeze due to the vSphere 7 VM Template …

Read More

Load Balancing is Important Load balancing is an important aspect of network mobility. How is a network useful if you can't move around within it? Cellular networks lose their appeal if you drop connectivity every time you roam between towers Wi-Fi networks are designed to facilitate smaller-scale movements. Imagine if …

Read More

It's probably safe to say that service provider networking is pretty unique. One particular design pattern - Looking Glasses - is extremely useful for complex dynamically routed networks. I'd really like to shift the gatekeeping needle here - networks that are complex enough to benefit from a looking glass should move …

Read More

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 …

Read More