Terry's Blog

Per-core licensing charges?

2008-08-18T15:08:00Z

Some vendors are charging licensing fees for each processor or even each processor core in a server. In an article on Network World Oracle is described as charging for each individual core on multi-cpu, multi-core systems. My view is that this type of pricing is too confusing and cumbersome for vendors or customers to track, espeically as virtualization allows a server instance to migrate between various physical systems. I think the licensing should be according to the server instance and dispense...(read more)

Paris Traceroute

2008-08-14T16:06:00Z

Marty Adkins over at Netcraftsmen recently found an interesting network diagnostic tool: Paris Traceroute . It can find multi-path routes through a network where one device is doing load balancing of some sort. I've not yet used it,but it looks pretty useful. The source code is available! The web site (see link above) has a nice description of how it works and how it is better than the traditional traceroute. Good thinking on the part of the project members! -Terry...(read more)

Cloud Computing Applied to Network Management

2008-08-04T18:39:00Z

One of the new technology rages in the market today is Cloud Computing (and Storage), of which Amazon's Web Services ( S3 , SQS, SimpleDB, EC2, and HaDoop) is one example. As I was reading through the example of "Grep the Web" described in the paper Cloud Architectures , I wondered what applicability this technology had to network management. In just a few minutes, I had a couple of ideas. Data storage. Keep large NMS data sets in the S3 storage system . The rates seem pretty reasonable...(read more)

Configuration Rollback

2008-07-30T19:40:00Z

We were talking with Debra Curtis of Gartner yesterday about Network Configuration and Change Management (NCCM) and the topic of Rollback came up. Juniper has supported the 'commit' operation since they started, allowing their devices to be rolled back easily. However, Cisco only recently added the 'commit' feature and when you examine it carefully, you find that it doesn't always work the way you want (e.g., rollback of ACLs is problematic). A basic rollback function re-installs...(read more)

Cisco IOS 12.4(20)T Packet Capture Feature

2008-07-29T16:49:00Z

Jamey Heary, CCIE No. 7680, who writes for Network World's Cisco Subnet, recently wrote about a set of new features in Cisco's IOS 12.4(20)T release . One of the features he describes is pretty neat: Packet Capture. At times, the only way you can troubleshoot a network problem is to get a packet capture of some application or of the traffic on a suspect link. So you need to take your packet analyzer out to the site and capture data for this analysis. Distributed Sniffer and similar systems...(read more)

Chilling Network Topology Discovery Patent Application

2008-07-24T19:07:00Z

I discovered a patent application (not yet granted) this week that gave me chills. Part of its claims* are performing Layer 2 and Layer 3 network topology discovery and display, as of October 2001. Huh? Network topology discovery and display was being done way before then. What's chilling about this patent application? Having a patent granted that covers basic network discovery. That's the foundation of many/all network management products, prior to the filing date and subsequent to then...(read more)

Troubleshooting VoIP

2008-07-21T20:15:00Z

I've done a few seminars on troubleshooting VoIP at VoiceCon (Fall 07 and Spring 08). Somewhere along the way, someone mentioned a relatively new web site to me: voiptroubleshooter.com I finally took time today to look at it. The content is potentially useful, depending on your level of expertise. If you're a long-time VoIP troubleshooter, then you'll already know much of what's there (or should). If you're getting started, it has some useful background knowledge and procedures...(read more)

Publishing product power consumption and heating requirements

2008-07-15T16:22:00Z

In my last post, I described a common repository for EOL/EOS data for all vendors. Continuing the wishful thinking, I propose that vendors publish the power consumption and heat generation parameters for their products in a common format. With these parameters, site administrators can more readily measure the power consumption and cooling load of groups of equipment, such as in a data center or wiring closet. The rising cost of energy is forcing the IT industry to include these parameters into life...(read more)

Identifying End-of-Life and End-of-Sales products

2008-07-15T15:18:00Z

You can save a lot of money by identifying obsolete products in your network that are costing more money to keep on maintenance contracts than replacement products cost. Vendors announce their obsolete products with End-of-Life or End-of-Sales postings. I would like to see the creation of a central repository and format for this information, so that it is easy for anyone to determine which equipment is out of date. There is a common format in use for security announcements, so why not a similar format...(read more)

The Original CCIE Lab's Plaque

2008-06-20T20:35:00Z

Stuart Biggs, who was awarded CCIE number 1025, was able to track down the original CCIE lab's number plaque and get a picture (see below). I asked where it was currently located: They moved it to bldg K - ground floor where the elevators are. Stuart Stuart noted that the frame's glass makes it difficult to get a good photo. Perhaps the certification group at Cisco can get a couple of close-ups of the emblem and the label to go with the overall photo. See you at Networkers (or Cisco Live...(read more)