This simple post shows you the commands needed to use a USB memory stick to upgrade a comware switch. This has been tested on Comware7 only but may work for v5. Firstly, inserting a memory stick into the USB hole that is FAT32 formatted (other formats may work) automatically mounts the file system. No commands... Continue Reading →
Netbox: Custom Link to Run a Custom Script that Specifies the Object to Pass as a Paramter
This is a short and simple post to describe how in netbox you can create a custom button that invokes a netbox custom script, with parameters pre-populated. In the example I use, the FindOwners button below is found only in the device page. Clicking it navigates to a particular script with the device in question... Continue Reading →
Selective Packet Loss Over VXLAN (fat packets dropped)
I've recently spent hours trying to work out why certain traffic types have been dropped over VXLAN. Particularly when wifi traffic traversed the campus wide network but also certain streaming services. After a hunch I worked out the commonality amongst failing traffic types was packet size. Large packets were being silently dropped. This was a... Continue Reading →
Upgrading Aruba CX VSX Pairs
Aruba AOS-CX contains a technology for logically linking a pair of switches so that they exchange specific types of information and states. A typical use case is to have two physical switches act as a single LACP partner (MC-LAG). Config and other info can be kept in sync automatically if desired. When using this technology... Continue Reading →
Aruba AOS-CX Internal VLANs
First, an easy CCNA level question: How many VLANs can you configure on a standard switch? If you answered 4094 and you run anything other than AOS-CX then you are maybe correct. If you run AOS-CX the answer (by default) is 4040. Thats right, Aruba have stolen 54 VLANs. Aruba CX have a concept of... Continue Reading →
Scheduled reboot on CX
It is a common task to need to reboot a switch at a pre-defined time, such as early in the morning. The most common reason being to invoke an upgrade. This can be achieved using network automation if done at scale but it may also be necessary for a single switch. This post describes the... Continue Reading →
Renaming Interfaces in bulk in Netbox
Netbox has a handy feature in the interface section that permits the bulk edit of interface names. This is really handy when you have switch stacks and want the name to represent the full port name so the CLI and netbox agree. In my example I have member 2 of a stack. When created ports... Continue Reading →
Aruba AOS-CX packet capture including VXLAN decoding
This post shows you how you can capture packets directly on an Aruba CX switch using the linux tcpdump utility. When you start using the CX CLI you'll see it is very much built on Linux and allows for a lot of the same commands. If you run the diagnostics command you unlock a set... Continue Reading →
ACL Scaling on HPE Comware
This post will be of zero interest to anyone who doesn't need to create very large ACLs on HPE Comware switches. If you are normal, look away now. I had a need to understand the ACL scaling limits on HP5130 switches. ACLs elsewhere on the network consist of a handful of rules to permit/deny specific... Continue Reading →
Is Cisco certification essential for career progression?
I've read the discussions over the last half a decade that Cisco's grip on the certification market, and the grip of certification on the job market, has dwindled. I believed what people were saying that such traditions had been replaced by a broader vendor outlook from employers together with the requirement to demonstrate broader skills... Continue Reading →
Constantpinger 