My EtherealMind» Opinion

Is OpenFlow Open ? I Ask – Compared to What ?

Greg Ferro — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:08:53 +0000

I’ve always wondered whether the Open Networking Foundation is the correct caretaker of the standards process for Software Defined Networking. Recently, we’ve seen some questioning of the direction of those standards on OpenFlow, and, now that we are beginning to understand the concepts of controllers, Software Defined Networking these are good questions to ask. it shows [...]

Comparing Embrane and Nicira Is Pointless – They Are Different

Greg Ferro — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:32:51 +0000

Had a few conversations, and some articles, where comparisons are being made between Embrane and Nicira and wanted to point out that there are few similarities between these companies.

Predicting What Will Not Be Big in 2012

Greg Ferro — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:05:32 +0000

I've been working on making some predictions about 2012 and networking. I like to do this in the year of 2012 (not 2011 like everyone else) and I like to go further than anyone else and predict what WILL NOT be big in 2012.

Using Underscores, Hyphens or CamelCase in Naming Standards

Greg Ferro — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:05:32 +0000

I’ve been considering a small but vital problem in naming conventions in Networking. Namely, the use of underscores and hyphens in object names and devices. It’s a hot topic for argument when the time comes for corporate standards (and when Network Engineers have beverages in a public house). Now, I figure that there are three possible grammar options for making names - hyphens, underscore and CamelCase.

VRRP. CARP. Open Standards and Royalties on LC Connectors

Greg Ferro — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:05:45 +0000

In which I look at CARP vs VRRP, the nature of open standards and closed source fibre optic connectors that you pay royalties on, but you probably don't know about.

Merchant Silicon and Vendor Software – The Hype in 2012

Greg Ferro — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:01:35 +0000

The thing about merchant silicon is how far it has penetrated the network vendors. In fact, it's getting difficult switches that don't have the same Network Processor inside as any other vendor. Networking hardware is looking like servers hardware - glue some chips and then market the heck out of your pretty colours.

Musing:Cloud Data, Ownership and Government Sponsored Data Theft

Greg Ferro — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:50:45 +0000

Pondering on data ownership, and whether governements could legally steal data from offshore organisations

Responding: On Optimizing Traffic for Network Virtualization

Greg Ferro — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:10:47 +0000

I'm responding to Brad Hedlund's post "On optimizing traffic for network virtualization" where he seems to missed a key point. It's about cost of ownership in terms of ability to troubleshoot.

Dear Network Santa, for Christmas Can I Have ……

Greg Ferro — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:37:17 +0000

I'm sitting on Santa's knee, and telling him how good I've and been and what I would like for Christmas. When you say it like that, it's kind of creepy.

European Research on Future Internet Design – White Paper

Greg Ferro — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:30:19 +0000

I was reading this research paper "European Research on Future Internet Design" and was struck by this diagram….

Worklife – Should You Take Share Options in Your Salary Package ?

Greg Ferro — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:00:58 +0000

A reader wrote asking about whether share options are a good bet. Answer: Only if you think winning the lottery is realistically possible.

Requirements Terminology – Defining MUST, SHOULD and MAY

Greg Ferro — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:30:19 +0000

One of the problems of working with the PRINCE2 practitioners is that the people tend to get highly focussed on definitions in the Scope of Works. A Scope of Works defines what the deliverables the customer is to received. The problem with a Scope of Works is that it is usually prepared before the work is started and/or fully understood. maybe you have a Gap Analysis, or a Consulting Reports or a Requirements Document to setup the initial engagement (every company has their own name of the same thing).

Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom

Greg Ferro — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:17:33 +0000

Knowledge + Experience leads to Wisdom

What Does Twenty Percent Growth Mean ?

Greg Ferro — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:29:24 +0000

Over the years, I've had many CIO/CTO deliver the news that the company plans to have twenty percent growth for the next five years. I've often noticed that most people in IT Infrastructure don't find this staggering. I find it hard to believe that many people just blindly accept this and fail to make the differences when planning.

So Long and Farewell ATM : EOS & EOL for Cisco MGX Media Gateway Product Family

Greg Ferro — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:30:03 +0000

It's been a long time coming but this EOL/EOS notice from Cisco on the MGX family signals the final death throes for ATM.

Rant: Who Is Cisco’s Customer ? Me or the Reseller ?

Greg Ferro — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:49:50 +0000

I resent the fact that Cisco partners get more information than Customers on Cisco's website. Shows you who Cisco thinks the Customer really is. What special powers do resellers have that makes them more effective ? How does withholding information from Customers give a better outcome ? Me ? Many resellers are not competent enough to be business and need a headstart to be useful to customers. Without some sort of "special needs" assistance, they wouldn't be in the race. Too harsh ? IBM and HP don't rely on resellers to win business. Why does Cisco ?

RFC 6244 – Network Management Using NETCONF and YANG

Greg Ferro — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:10:41 +0000

I've been watching NETCONF and YANG for about four years and it seems that it might be breaking through the noise to set a new standard for Network Management data exchange. In short, SNMP isn't working and the next generation of "blah blah Cloud" will require more sophisticated communication than SNMP can handle. In the last four years, NETCONF has matured and slowly percolated its way through the industry. Now that is has teamed up with YANG we have something that looks like it's about to burst into the mainstream.

vCenter Integration Mantra – vEverything Is Not Wise.

Greg Ferro — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 10:54:08 +0000

One of the problems of the dominance of VMware is that many engineers see the entire Infrastructure solution framed and solved within the reference of VMware products. VMware is a great product, and have good market positioning, but there are other products in the markets such as Xen, HyperV that also are markets for management tools. Calling for all products to conform to VMware's view of the world is a bit narrow and self-centred. I hope it doesn't become wide spread. Or you'll end up like networking where people only understand Cisco's way of networking and now that Cisco isn't quite a good as it used to be, it's a complicated and challenging time in the networking business.

HP Is Not the Death Star – But HP Doesn’t Have a Firewall

Greg Ferro — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:00:58 +0000

HP doesn't have a firewall product in Western markets. Why the bloody hell not ?

Egregious Use of “Cloud” – Cisco Wireless LAN Flex Cloud Controller

Greg Ferro — Sun, 29 May 2011 07:51:37 +0000

Because nothing says "Cloud Computering" like a Wireless LAN Controller.

EOL/EOS for the Cisco NAC Network Module (Clean Access) – Cisco Systems

Greg Ferro — Wed, 18 May 2011 07:50:05 +0000

Makes me wonder if Cisco's commitment to Network Modules is a thing of the past. I would think that the cost of appliances is cheaper and easier to build (because of merchant silicon/commodity hardware whereas the ongoing development of the modules would be relatively difficult.

Review: HP and Optical Backplanes

Greg Ferro — Sun, 15 May 2011 13:05:19 +0000

There were a lot of cool things at InterOp, but not much that was new from the big vendors. For example, Cisco didn't announce anything, probably waiting announce at Cisco Live in July where they can control the press and message much more tightly. However, HP announced the A10500 switch (action pictures ) which is a new campus switch and Gnodal arrived with new products.

However in the centre of the HP stand there was something very cool - a prototype E8212 ProCurve switch with a fully optical backplane.

HP A10500 FlexiCampus – Action Pics

Greg Ferro — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:29:50 +0000

I wanted take a quick look at the guts of the A10500 switch because its got some interesting features. And since no one else in the press even looked at the box, I feel it's necessary to do some nerd action photos with the line cards.

Complex Systems Have Complex Failures. That’s Cloud Computing.

Greg Ferro — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:00:48 +0000

Exposing cloud failures The result of the Amazon EC2 failure this week has exposed a number of technology strategies in cloud infrastructure as being less than perfect. Complex systems have complex failures The most vexing problem of Cloud Computing is that these systems are complex, and the more complex system the more complex the failure. [...]

Microsoft Teredo Is a No-Go Area for IPv6.

Greg Ferro — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:43:43 +0000

I've talked before about Microsoft Teredo protocol for IPv6 tunneling and called it a bag of crap. Geoff Huston puts some solid information down about Teredo and why it should not be considered. My gut feeling : Teredo = NetBIOS (and we all know how that worked out) but Microsoft continues to develop it's own proprietary technology and embed it into their products. Geoff Huston has some evidence about how bad it is.