Summary of the key elements of the Shortest Path Bridging Protocol IEEE 802.1aq.
Basics: What’s the Difference Between STP BPDU Guard and Root Guard
9th July 2012 by 3 Comments
BPDU Guard and Root Guard are enhancements to Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) enhancements that improve the reliability of the protocol to unexpected events ad are primarily to ensure design enforcement ( integrity / security). There they must configured in specific locations in the networks.
Sponsored: Brocade Virtual Symposium – Storage Convergence
16th May 2012 by Leave a Comment
Continuing the series from the Brocade Virtual Symposium. In a special video session that was sponsored by Brocade, we got Chip Copper in the room with Stephen Foskett to talk about storage convergence.
Over the last few years, I’ve been very critical of Ethernet storage protocols like [FCoE](http://etherealmind.com/tag/fcoe/) and the fact that storage protocols are unlikely to work well. There are few times here where Chip was able to give me answers and a different viewpoint that gave me a different take on the solutions.
Does SDN Represent the Evolution of Network Management ? Yes but No It Doesn’t
9th May 2012 by 4 Comments
SDN/OpenFlow is about Network Management, at least, in part. But the rich tools for software control dont’ exist. I also think don’t think that todays management _platforms_ (such as Tivoli, OpenView and BMC) are suitable for network orchestration in the future.
Tech Notes: Juniper QFabric – A Perspective on Scaling Up
14th February 2012 by 12 Comments
Juniper QFabric is a new approach to Ethernet Switch Fabrics. When it was announced last year,it was noted that the underlying physical design is a completely different approach to building Switch Fabrics. Here I’m taking a loosely research based approach to understand how Juniper QFabric is different from all other approaches to the problem, and also a look at some of the challenges ahead.
Comparing Embrane and Nicira Is Pointless – They Are Different
9th February 2012 by 2 Comments
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
1st February 2012 by 8 Comments
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
27th January 2012 by 7 Comments
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.
Responding: On Optimizing Traffic for Network Virtualization
23rd December 2011 by 15 Comments
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.
Scaling Virtual Appliances With Embrane
12th December 2011 by 2 Comments
Embrane uses concepts of IP Flows to scale virtual appliances. Embrane does this by managing IP flows and then directing to other appliances, in effect creating what I would call a two tier load balancing.
