The Fat Pipe - All Packet Pushers Pods

Today’s Heavy Networking introduces Nornir, an automation framework written in Python. Nornir provides a system to manage inventory and data, and provides glue code to tool such as Netmiko and Napalm.

We chat with three Nornir developers to explain to us what the heck a framework is, what I’m supposed to do with the Nornir framework, and how Nornir fits in with my other automation tools like Ansible, among other things.

Our guests today are David Barroso, a Principal Engineer at Fastly; Kirk Byers, Founder of Twin Bridges Technology; and Dmitry Figol, a Systems Engineer at Cisco. All three guests help maintain Nornir.

We discuss:

* What the Nornir name means

* Nornir’s capabilities

* The difference between a framework and a library

* What problems it helps solve

* How it works with Netmiko and Napalm

* How it compares to Ansible

* Installation and Nornir basics

Sponsor: ITProTV

Get over 65 hours of free technical training from ITProTV. ITProTV offers online instruction in CompTIA, Cisco, VMWare, Microsoft and more. You can stream courses live and on demand on your favorite device. Sign up for a free membership at itpro.tv/packet-pushers and try it with no obligation.

Sponsor: Cumulus Networks

Cumulus Linux allows you to affordably build and efficiently operate your network like the world’s largest data center operators, unlocking vertical network stacks. Combined with Cumulus NetQ, an operational management tool, organizations can take advantage of deeper analytics and advanced telemetry to increase visibility across the network and reduce mean time to resolution. Find out more at cumulusnetworks.com/epicpushers.

Show Links:

Nornir

If you operate an IT environment where some of your resources live in AWS and some live on-premises, you’ve had to face the hybrid cloud DNS problem.

What problem is that? The Route 53 service isn’t a name server like you’re used to, but AWS has enhanced Route 53 to make hybrid cloud DNS easier for enterprises to deal with.

Today, the Datanauts help you understand integrating the Route 53 Resolver with the rest of your DNS environment. Our guide to this integration is Matt Adorjan, Cloud Engineering Manager at Balyasny Asset Management.

In part 1, Matt and the Datanauts discuss how cloud influences and changes traditional IT roles, and then talk about CloudPing.co, a utility Matt created that runs in each AWS region and pings all the other regions to track latency among them.

Part 2 dives into cloud DNS and the challenges that AWS’s Route 53 presents for hybrid cloud deployments. They talk about how Route 53 differs from traditional DNS, why you can’t route to the Route 53 resolver IP across VPN or DX connections, and how to address those limitations.

Part 3 examines the inbound and outbound endpoint feature that AWS added to Route 53, how it works, what it costs, and the pros and cons of this solution vs. other workarounds.

Sponsor: Quest Software

Quest Software is your go-to for everything Microsoft. Migrate to a new SharePoint or Office 365 environment, move to OneDrive for Business, consolidate Active Directory and Exchange, secure your AD from insider threats, and much more! Learn more at Quest.com/DatanautsPod.

Sponsor: Open Systems

Open Systems brings security, automation, and expert management to SD-WAN. Get visibility, flexibility, and control combined with performance, simplicity and security with SD-WAN from Open Systems. To find out more, go to Open-systems.com/packetpushers and get a free beanie and a Gartner report on the economics of SD-WAN.

Show Links:

CloudPing.co

Matt Adorjan on Twitter

Hybrid DNS for the Enterprise in AWS – Matt Adorjan On Medium

An Update to Hybrid DNS for the Enterprise on AWS — Introducing Route 53 Resolver for Hybrid Cloud! – Matt Adorjan On Medium

Amazon Route 53 Resolver for Hybrid Clouds – AWS Blog

Matt’s blog

If you operate an IT environment where some of your resources live in AWS and some live on-premises, you’ve had to face the hybrid cloud DNS problem.

What problem is that? The Route 53 service isn’t a name server like you’re used to, but AWS has enhanced Route 53 to make hybrid cloud DNS easier for enterprises to deal with.

Today, the Datanauts help you understand integrating the Route 53 Resolver with the rest of your DNS environment. Our guide to this integration is Matt Adorjan, Cloud Engineering Manager at Balyasny Asset Management.

In part 1, Matt and the Datanauts discuss how cloud influences and changes traditional IT roles, and then talk about CloudPing.co, a utility Matt created that runs in each AWS region and pings all the other regions to track latency among them.

Part 2 dives into cloud DNS and the challenges that AWS’s Route 53 presents for hybrid cloud deployments. They talk about how Route 53 differs from traditional DNS, why you can’t route to the Route 53 resolver IP across VPN or DX connections, and how to address those limitations.

Part 3 examines the inbound and outbound endpoint feature that AWS added to Route 53, how it works, what it costs, and the pros and cons of this solution vs. other workarounds.

Sponsor: Quest Software

Quest Software is your go-to for everything Microsoft. Migrate to a new SharePoint or Office 365 environment, move to OneDrive for Business, consolidate Active Directory and Exchange, secure your AD from insider threats, and much more! Learn more at Quest.com/DatanautsPod.

Sponsor: Open Systems

Open Systems brings security, automation, and expert management to SD-WAN. Get visibility, flexibility, and control combined with performance, simplicity and security with SD-WAN from Open Systems. To find out more, go to Open-systems.com/packetpushers and get a free beanie and a Gartner report on the economics of SD-WAN.

Show Links:

CloudPing.co

Matt Adorjan on Twitter

Hybrid DNS for the Enterprise in AWS – Matt Adorjan On Medium

An Update to Hybrid DNS for the Enterprise on AWS — Introducing Route 53 Resolver for Hybrid Cloud! – Matt Adorjan On Medium

Amazon Route 53 Resolver for Hybrid Clouds – AWS Blog

Matt’s blog

On today's Heavy Networking, we explore with sponsor Silver Peak the combination of SD-WAN and security; namely, how Silver Peak has partnered with Zscaler for cloud-based security scanning. We talk with a Silver Peak customer for an on-the-ground perspective, then drill into the tech details of the partnership, including encryption, policy enforcement, and operational impacts.

Today’s sponsored Heavy Networking episode is a two-part conversation about SD-WAN and security; namely, how SD-WAN vendor Silver Peak has partnered with Zscaler, which operates a cloud-based security service, to give customers more options to inspect their WAN traffic without having to backhaul to a data center.

In part one, we talk with Nuffield Health, a U.K.-based healthcare company to get a real-world perspective on how this Silver Peak and Zscaler partnership works in production.

We discuss the business drivers for cloud-based security inspection, which traffic gets sent to Zscaler, whether the scanning affects performance, and why Silver Peak’s service chaining and app ID capabilities were key. Our guest is Dan Morgan, IT Infrastructure & Services Director at Nuffield.

In part two, we go deeper into the networking and operational impacts of using Silver Peak and Zscaler together, including how the two systems handle encryption, potential latency impacts, where and how incident response happens, and day-to-day management.

Our guests for this section are Damon Ennis, SVP of Products at Silver Peak; and Steve House, Vice President of Product Management at Zscaler.

Show Links:

SD-WAN Demo – Silver Peak

Silver Peak on Twitter

Today's Network Break examines a $65 million investment in CloudGenix and what it says about the SD-WAN market, a new cloud-based packet processor from Nubeva, why Apple settled with Qualcomm just before trial, and more tech news.

Take a Network Break! Today’s episode examines what CloudGenix’s $65 million VC infusion means for the SD-WAN market, discusses Nubeva’s new cloud-based packet processor, and parses FCC chair Ajit Pai’s recommendation to block China Mobile from providing telecom services in the United States.

Apple relents in a long-standing legal battle against Qualcomm just before the trial starts, a reporter outlines reasons to avoid first-generation 5G phones, and Fortinet settles with the United States for misleading government resellers.

Facebook reveals that it exposed millions, not thousands as previously stated, of Instagram accounts to internal employees; and Blackberry Messenger announces that the end has come for its consumer service.

Sponsor: Gluware Intent

Join the Packet Pushers live in New York City on May 14th for a free, half-day conference on data center and network automation with Gluware. Hear case studies from Gluware customers including Merck, see technology demos, and attend a live Packet Pushers recording. Tickets are free but space is limited, so register now.

Show Links:

CloudGenix Announces $65 Million in Funding, 300% Year-Over-Year Growth and the Industry’s Largest Gen-1 SD-WAN Replacement – Globe Newswire

Analysts: SD-WAN 5-year annual growth rate tops 40% – Network World

Nubeva Launches New Prisms Service Processor with Elastic Packet Processing for Public Cloud Networks – Nubeva

Tech Bytes: Nubeva Enhances Cloud Packet Broker With New Processing Capabilities (Sponsored) – Packet Pushers

FCC chief seeks to block China Mobile from operating in U.S. – Axios

Ajit Pai proposes blocking China-owned telecom from US phone market – Ars Technica

Qualcomm and Apple agree to drop all litigation – Apple

Qualcomm just beat Apple into submission – SemiAccurate

Why did Intel kill off their modem program? – SemiAccurate

Apple-Qualcomm deal reshapes U.S. chip business – Axios

What's the difference between network architects and network engineers? On today's Heavy Networking we gather four people who've held both roles to explore this question. Topics include the career path to becoming an architect, the tradeoffs, and advice for those pursuing such a role.

Today’s Heavy Networking is the result of a listener request. We discuss the differences between network architects and network engineers.

What’s different about each role? Where is the overlap? If you are an architect and find yourself doing engineering, is that a bad thing?

Should an engineer aspire to be an architect? Are architects so out of touch with reality that engineers rightfully hate them?

If an architect and an engineer pass each other in the hall, does the engineer have to kiss the architect’s ring every time, or just the first time?

To answer these questions, we’ve gathered guests who’ve held both roles in their careers (as has your host).

Our guests are Robin Gilijamse, IT Infrastructure Architect; Oli Elliott, Network Architect at the University of Bristol; and Tom Ammon, Sr. Network Architect at a regional service provider in the United States.

We talk about:

* The definitions of an engineer and an architect

* The path to becoming an architect

* The perspective of tactics vs. strategy

* Whether you have to give up hand-on networking

* Why architects have to get more deeply involved with business requirements and nurture personal relationships

* Advice for folks new to the architect role

Sponsor: INE

If you’re looking for training, consider INE.com. INE is a training resource for networking and a whole lot more. Visit ine.com/packetpushers to get a free 3-day trial. INE–experts at making you an expert.

Sponsor: Open Systems

Open Systems brings security, automation, and expert management to SD-WAN. Get visibility, flexibility, and control combined with performance, simplicity and security with SD-WAN from Open Systems. To find out more, go to Open-systems.com/packetpushers and get a free beanie and a Gartner report on the economics of SD-WAN.

Show Links:

Robin Gilijamse’s blog “Interesting Traffic”

Tom Ammon’s blog

The Packet Pushers stop by the IPv6 Buzz studios for a follow-up conversation with Tom Coffeen and Ed Horley on IPv6 address planning, including why nibble boundaries are so useful for subnetting, use cases for PI and PA address spaces, and tool recommendations.