Routing and switching

University of Florida PHD offers new energy-saving Ethernet idea

At Interop Las Vegas 2008, I talked with the Ethernet Alliance and their University White Paper Challenge Winner Francisco Blanquicet, a PHD student at University of South Florida. In this video he explains the topic of his winning white paper, “PAUSE Power Cycle: A new backwards compatible method to reduce energy of Ethernet switches.” (Sorry about the quality… I’m working on it.)

Open source networking hums along, quietly

Open source has been buzzing lately: Gartner identified it as one of the top 10 trends for 2008, and last week Microsoft announced it was publishing 30,000 pages of documentation for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista and launching an “Interoperability Initiative.” Google is pushing open applications and development of the new Android operating system, while Verizon claims to be opening its network.

In the networking industry, however, while open source adoption seems to be growing at a good clip, I don’t see much hoopla about it. So I’ll forgive you if you missed Shamus McGillicuddy’s article about the launch of ZipForge, a new website Alterpoint developed to support its ZipTie open source network configuration product. The ZipForge site provides a place where AlterPoint vendor partners can post interoperable ZipTie components that developers and users can download, review, and contribute to.

It would be great to see users take advantage of this repository to consolidate other networking-specific software tools, much like a true SourceForge (from which the new site partly takes its name) for networking pros. According to the article, networking has experienced less of an upsurge in open source because the technology itself is so reliant on hardware. While that may be true in a basic sense, software is becoming far more important and familiar. There are already several open source programs that networking folks use regularly, and that list is bound to expand.

Network engineers have long used open source software to run routers, VPNs and VLANs on run-of-the mill servers. Snort, OpenNMS, Nagios and Nessus are staples in networks big and small. And the popularity of Asterisk, the open source IP telephony platform, continues to grow in leaps and bounds.

Open source is definitely a part of the network, but I think that’s how most networking pros view it — as just a part of the network. They choose it because it works well, it interoperates, or it’s cheap, and they don’t get too caught up in the idealism and spreading the word about the benefits of open source. Also, most networking pros wear so many hats that they can’t spend a lot of time thinking about one system or product. They are even less likely to use that time evangelizing or flaming posts over at Slashdot.

I recall a network administrator I met a while back at a trade show. He had installed a few Vyatta routers, and he thought they were fantastic. But he was also in the throes of rolling out Avaya IP telephony to multiple locations and installing a new supply chain automation system. So while he was happy with his open source routers, they probably weren’t the first thing on his mind. The buzz about open source in the network is there, but sometimes you have to listen hard to hear it.

IPv6 makes inroads on the Internet

This week, ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) announced that it made almost half of the Internet’s root server networks IPv6 capable. According to the release:

IPv6 addresses were added for six of the world’s 13 root server networks (A, F, H, J, K, M) to the appropriate files and databases. This move allows for the possibility of fuller IPv6 usage of the Domain Name System (DNS). Prior to today, those using IPv6 had needed to retain the older IPv4 addressing system in order to be able to use domain names.

This actually surprised me, because over at SearchNetworking, we’ve been writing about migrating to IPv6 for quite a while. I didn’t realize that while corporations, schools and government agencies were upgrading to the new protocol, they also had to keep running IPv4 for Internet transmissions because the Internet itself did not support IPv6. Sending and receiving IPv6 traffic across the Internet was a clunky, expensive process that involved the use of specialized gateways to perform DNS mapping and/or network address translation.

The ICANN changes will allow devices to use IPv6 directly to reach a good portion of the Internet, with more to come in the near future, we presume. And almost all new networking equipment you buy now is IPv6-enabled. That combination will help simplify upgrades for networking teams that are just beginning to think about it.

For more technical detail, a comprehensive report on ICANN’s DNS changes is available from their Root Server and Security Advisory Committees, prepared by networking expert Dave Piscitello.

For readers who plan to procrastinate indefinitely and ignore the reports of address space running out (the IPv6 Forum predicts it will be in 1648 days), keep in mind that the U.S. government is requiring all its networks to be IPv6 compliant by June 30. All companies that have contracts with or are suppliers to any government agency must also comply, so that will trickle down to a large percentage of U.S. businesses. Ramping up your IPv6 skills now may be worth your while in the long run.

Video tour of Juniper’s EX 4200 series network switch

Juniper’s Michael Peachey, senior product marketing manager, points out some of the major features — including an LCD screen, hot-swappable fans and user-replacable batteries — of the newly-launched EX 4200 series network switch.

Juniper’s causing a stir in crowded switching field

Before even having time to digest, let alone write about, yesterday’s Juniper announcement that the company was entering the switching market, we received two responses to it from two competitors. It sounds like switch manufacturers feel crowded enough with Cisco’s dominance and aren’t happy about another big name entering the fray. But they might raise some valid points. Does Juniper not “gets the enterprise,” as some critics have charged? I also wonder if they were expecting this warm a reception from their new competitors. See excerpts after the jump.

Continued »

“Most awesome router ever”

Last Friday, G4TV’s Attack of the Show named the wireless Belkin N1 Vision the “most awesome router ever.” Co-hosts Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn rattled off a list of winning specs including 802.11n (although it runs in “mixed” mode), multiple SSIDs, a “guest-enable” feature and easy installation without CDs or software (you just turn it on and your computer detects it automatically).

The obvious thing that’s most impressive about the N1, however, is its sleek design and LCD display, which tells you a lot more about your connectivity status than the traditional blinking lights. The N1 is getting a lot of press for its sexy appearance; it looks more like an iPhone than your typical Linksys box.

So is this just for home users with gadget lust? Would you shell out $200 for this sleek 802.11n router — or would you prefer something that looks more like, well, a router? (Hey, we thought routers were sexy all along.)

World Cyber Games network taking shape

Day two of setting up the network for the World Cyber Games has seen the network take shape.

After a quick trip to Sears to grab some extra tools — a wrench and a screwdriver set — the 25 switches have been configured and assigned names and IP addresses, which will allow the team from ProCurve Networking by HP to manage them centrally. The more than 700 PCs have been fired up and assigned to their switches, making each gaming station its own miniature network. Ben Van Kerkwyk, the lead engineer, said each switch will provide gamers with 1 gig speeds and localizing the network to each gaming table cuts down on hops, which could degrade performance, which in a gaming environment could be disastrous.

Crews laid down more cable, creating a maze of multi-colored wires streaming to and from all of the ports. Once cabling is complete, the network will be segmented into separate VLANs and subnets, making it easier to manage, Van Kerkwyk said. The ProCurve team will also make some sections of the gaming area wireless for VIPs and admins.

There is also an overflow of extras — two more core switches arrived today, and there are extra 2650 switches on hand in case something goes wrong.

“We have three core switches and 15 power supplies, so we’re good if something goes down,” Van Kerkwyk said.

Here’s a draft of what the network will look like upon completion:

And here’s ProCurve technical consultant Chris Ruybal rack-mounting the 8212 core swtich:

World Cyber Games set up delayed, thanks to Bryan Adams

The World Cyber Games Grand Final is gearing up to be the gaming event of the year, with gamers from all over the globe gathering at Seattle’s Qwest Field Event Center to battle each other in FIFA ‘07, Counter Strike, StarCraft and others…sorry, no Ms. Pac Man or Donkey Kong for us old-schoolers. Picture the Super Bowl of the gaming world, a contemporary version of the events documented in The Wizard or King Of King.

But before the game-fest kicks off in earnest on Oct. 4, teams are working feverishly to set up the massive network to ensure the games go off without interruption and without a hitch. Imagine the network dropping out the final lap of Need For Speed Carbon?

In less than 48 hours, a team from ProCurve Networking by HP — with help from several other groups along the way — will assemble an enterprise-grade network powering roughly 1,000 network devices, more than 700 of which are gaming systems. A tall order for a temporary network.

Today was all about setting the stage. The ProCurve team used diagrams to plot the layout. It spent some time tracking down an elusive ProCurve 8212zl core switch (which was in the building, but nowhere to be found … despite the gaming festival being the 8212’s first public appearance). The rest of the day was spent powering up and troubleshooting more than 20 ProCurve Switch 2650s and mounting the found 8212. Elsewhere, teams laid cable, set up PCs and ensured things were good to go. And that was just in the balcony.

But, alas, progress was cut short on Thursday and the main event floor was off limits because 80s rocker Bryan Adams is performing at the venue Friday night. His sound check was set to begin at 4 p.m. Thursday, meaning all set up was suspended until Friday morning.

“That’s one of the challenges for setting up for an event like this,” said ProCurve Technical Consultant for the Americas Chris Ruybal. “The on again and off again.”

I guess Adams was right when he crooned, “It cuts like a knife.”