If you only read one thing then make it the last link in this post about the BA failure….
Automation, orchestration and labs
- Vagrant setup on windows (Cumulus Spine and leaf with Ubuntu servers) – very easy to follow with detailed instructions
- Jon Spriggs - Test Driven Development (TDD) for networks, using Ansible.
- Ansible config management a starters guide
- Realworld network automation 1hr YouTube video
- NetDevOps Ansible 101, 1hr 37min YouTube video
- Repository of Juniper Vagrant boxes and top level box search
- Ansible webinars
- Brief YouTube video intro to a Python course for Network engineers
- France-IX’s Approach to Network Automation
Security
- Learn about the basic tenets of a secure network in a new Juniper book Understanding Security Building Blocks
SDN
- Opendaylight commentary
- Service provider – YouTube video intro to SDN
- Opendaylight and Cisco OFM YouTube (GNS3) video & text
Juniper
- Network convergence node slicing
- Managing commit time
- BGP Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) - a framework towards securing BGP and Internet infrastructure
- QFX controllerless overlay with all-active Ethernet segments blog post
- Junos Fusion Data Center Architecture PDF
Cisco
- Cisco Digital Network Architecture – little bit damming but gives an overview of Cisco’s recent announcement
- Good Cisco related blog with labs, Networking with fish
VMware
- Deploying Nested ESXi with a ESXi Virtual Appliance
- VMware partner NSX resources
- NSX study guide PDF
- Routing with NSX using multiple sites (eBGP) YouTube video
Intent or Intuitive networking
- Data Centre related - watch “Apstra Operating System (AOS): Vendor-Agnostic, Intent-Driven Network Automation” on YouTube
IP address Mgmt and Data Centre Infrastructure Mgmt (IPAM/DCIM)
- Impressive tool that’s just past its one year open source birthday. Netbox Open source IPAM
Training and knowledge
- List of Free or Low-Cost IT Training
Data Centre
- EVPN DCI options & config (Juniper) blog post
- Compliments of Cumulus, BGP in the Data Centre PDF with accompanying GitHub code
Optical networking
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Optical Networking 1hr 27min YouTube video
- Juniper - Packet Optical Networks and Forward Error Correction (FEC) PDF poster
Various
- To Jumbo or Not to Jumbo? Blog post
- Carrier-Grade Networking Only US based at the moment and have only just started operation. Details in this podcast. They have a very high capacity and available network comprising of Juniper QFX10Ks, MXs and some vMXs + a load of optical kit and experience with a easy to use and powerful provisioning portal. It uses VXVLAN with BGP-EVPN along with some MPLS (RSVP-TE) – they seem to be offering highly available, high speed, high capacity connectivity across North America with low contract terms built using Ansible and custom software to give customers very fast turn up of connectivity and flexibility on billing. They seem to be planning rapid expansion in the US along with European presence by the end of this year along with parts of Asia
- British Airways failure. Nicely dovetails into the last posts link about inevitable failure – BA failure analysis