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In a prior blog, Cumulus Linux on Dell Networking Switches, I demonstrated how to install Cumulus Linux on a Dell S6000 switch and do some basic configuration. In this blog, I’ll demonstrate how to configure routing on Dell switches running Cumulus Linux. The example covered demonstrates a Spine-Leaf architecture with OSPF on unnumbered interfaces. In this example 2 x Dell S6000-ON and 2 x Dell S4810-ON switches [Cumulus Linux 2.1.1] are utilized. The lab setup is depicted by the network diagram below. Continue reading →

Starting with Java 8 Update 20 (Java 8u20) and later versions the option to lower the security setting in the Java Console Panel to Medium has been removed. Prior, changing the setting to Medium would quickly resolve issues where certain unsigned Java applets would not run. Now, with Java 8u20 and later, only High and Very High levels are available. These security levels are described on the java.com website as stated below. Continue reading →

Please checkout the white paper Dell Networking: Multitenancy Across Physical and Logical Environments with VRF-lite and VMware NSX. In the white paper I discuss use cases and how NVO and VRF-lite can be used together to deploy a consistent multitenant framework across logical and physical networks. In this short blog, I expand on the concept I presented in a prior blog, Multitenancy on Dell Networking Switches via VRF-lite, of how NVO and VRF-lite together can be used to deploy a consistent multitenant framework across logical and physical networks. Continue reading →

One very exciting and strong use case for VMware NSX is advanced security. VMware NSX has some inherent security features and also allows for 3rd party security appliance integration. In this blog, I’ll briefly discuss the firewalling and micro-segmentation capabilities of VMware NSX-vSphere. Continue reading →

It’s pretty cool that Dell allows its customers to install other network switch OSes on their networking switches; it’s the only major networking hardware vendor in the industry that allows for this. Other networking hardware vendors tie their proprietary network switch OS to the networking hardware they sell. Two Dell switches you can currently buy that support operating systems by other vendors are the Dell S6000-ON switch and the Dell S4810-ON switch. These Dell Networking switches come installed with the Open Network Install Environment (ONIE). ONIE is open source and defines an open “install environment” for bare metal network switches allowing customers to install their choice of OS. Continue reading →

In a prior blog, Creating Logical Networks and Services with VMware NSX on Dell Infrastructure, I discussed how easily VMs can be moved from physical (VLANs) to logical networks (Network Virtualization Overlays or NVOs). In practicality, there will almost always be some physical resources on a network that are not virtualized or remain on the physical network (VLANs). So how can VMs on a logical network communicate with resources on the physical network?

One method of communication can be done with the VMware NSX L3 Edge Services Router. However, if you want to just bridge between the logical and physical entities such as bridging between VXLAN to VLAN, the VMware NSX L2 Gateway can be used and this specific use case is discussed in more detail in this blog. Continue reading →

The Mac prompt is defined by the ‘PS1’ environment variable which can be defined in the ‘.bash_profile’ hidden file. To customize your Mac Terminal Shell Prompt in OS X Yosemite, follow the below steps. Continue reading →

Check out the Dell Networking: Multitenancy with VRF-lite white paper. I describe in detail how multitenency can be achieved on supported Dell Networking switches via Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF). VRF-lite supports multitenancy by allowing multiple different routing tables within one physical L3 switch/router. This allows for a multitenant network without having to buy additional hardware. In the diagram directly below, each color represents a different customer tenant utilizing the same IP address space (overlapping IP addresses). Such a setup can also be useful for development and testing where traffic isolation is needed; the overlapping IP addresses can be used for ensuring consistency between each development/test environment. Continue reading →

If you haven’t already, please checkout the Dell-VMware NSX Reference Architecture (RA) whitepaper. In the reference architecture I explain in detail the foundational NSX-vSphere components and also how Dell can provide a complete end-to-end infrastructure (servers, networking, storage) to support a robust SDN solution with NSX. In this blog, I will provide a quick overview, some insight on NSX, and examples of VMware NSX deployment with a complete end-to-end Dell infrastructure. Continue reading →

Larry Wall: “Shell programming is a 1950s juke box …”

In this short blog I write a small Python utility script to create directories and demonstrate how to utilize it and pass it arguments via BASH shell script. The functionality is similar to the ‘mkdir’ UNIX command. The name of the directory or directories to be created is the argument I pass in to the Python script. I then create a BASH shell script to call the Python script. Continue reading →

Cumulus Linux on Dell Switches: Spine-Leaf Architecture & OSPF on Unnumbered Interfaces

Mac OS X: Java – “Application Blocked by Security Settings” Solution

Dell VRF-lite & VMware NSX: Multitenancy Across Physical & Logical Networks

Firewalling & Micro-segmentation with VMware NSX

Cumulus Linux on Dell Networking Switches

Dell Networking and VMware NSX: Bridging Between Logical & Physical Networks

Customize the Mac Terminal Shell Prompt in OS X Yosemite

Multitenancy on Dell Networking Switches via VRF-lite

Creating Logical Networks and Services with VMware NSX on Dell Infrastructure

BASH Shell Scripting: Passing Arguments to a Python Script

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