SCHEDULE
Upcoming Training: How the Internet Really Works Part 1
I’m teaching How the Internet Really Works over on Safari Books Online on the 24th of March—in a couple of weeks. From the description:
This live training will provide an overview of the systems, providers, and standards bodies important to the operation of the global Internet, including the Domain Name System (DNS), the routing and transport systems, standards bodies, and registrars. For DNS, the process of a query will be considered in some detail, who pays for each server used in the resolution process, and tools engineers can use to interact DNS. For routing and transport, the role of each kind of provider will be considered, along with how they make money to cover their costs, and how engineers can interact with the global routing table (the Default Free Zone, of DFZ). Finally, registrars and standards bodies will be considered, including their organizational structure, how they generate revenue, and how to find their standards.
Infrastructure Privacy Live Webinar
I’m teaching a three-hour webinar on infrastructure privacy this coming Friday. From the description—
Privacy is important to every IT professional, including network engineers—but there is very little training oriented towards anyone other than privacy professionals. This training aims to provide a high-level overview of privacy and how privacy impacts network engineers. Information technology professionals are often perceived as “experts” on “all things IT,” and hence are bound to face questions about the importance of privacy, and how individual users can protect their privacy in more public settings.
There is a recording for anyone who registers.
Troubleshooting Live Training
My next live training course is coming up on the 16th of December: Troubleshooting. This is one of those classes where I’m taking formal training from a former life (electronic engineering) and applying it to the networking world. From the description—
Troubleshooting is a fundamental skill for all network engineers, from the least to most experienced. However, there is little material on correct and efficient troubleshooting techniques in a network engineering context, and no (apparent) live training in this area. Some chapters in books exist (such as the Computer Networking Problems and Solutions, published in December 2017), and some presentations in Cisco Live, but the level of coverage for this critical skill is far below what engineers working in the field to develop solid troubleshooting skills.
This training focuses on the half-split system of troubleshooting, which is widely used in the electronic and civil engineering domains. The importance of tracing the path of the signal, using models to put the system in context, and the use of a simple troubleshooting “loop” to focus on asking how, what, and why are added to the half-split method to create a complete theory of troubleshooting. Other concepts covered in this course are the difference between permanent and temporary fixes and a review of measuring reliability. The final third of the course contains several practical examples of working through problems to help in applying the theory covered in the first two sections to the real world.
Upcoming Live Training: Data Center Fabrics
I’ve rebuilt my data center fabrics live training class, adding a lot of new material across the board, and adding a few new topics. To cover all this new material, the class has been expanded from three to six hours. I’m teaching it for the first time on the 29th and 30th of this month.
From the Safari Books description—
Data centers are the foundation of the cloud, whether private, public, on the edge, or in the center of the network. This training will focus on topologies and control planes, including scale, performance, and centralization. This training is important for network designers and operators who want to understand the elements of data center design that apply across all hardware and software types.
This class consists of two three-hour sessions. The first session will focus on the physical topology, including a short history of spine-and-leaf fabrics, the characteristics of fabrics (versus the broader characteristics of a network), and laying out a spine-and-leaf network to support fabric lifecycle and scaling the network out. The first session will also consider the positive and negative aspects of using single- and multi-forwarding engine (FE) devices to build a fabric, and various aspects of fabric resilience.
The second session will begin with transport considerations and quality of experience. The session will then consider underlay control planes, including BGP and IS-IS, and the positive and negative aspects of each. Routing to the host and the interaction between the control plane and automation will be considered in this session, as well. EVPN as an overlay control plane will be considered next, and finally the relationship between security and control plane design will be examined.
IEEE Conference on Network Softwarization
I’m moderating a panel at the upcoming IEEE Conference on Network Softwarization. This is one of the various “good sources” out there for understanding what might be coming in the future for computer networks. The conference is hybrid, so you can register and watch the sessions live from the comfort of your home (or office).
I’m moderating the distinguished experts panel on the afternoon of the 30th.
How the Internet Really Works
Gentle reminder that I’m teaching a three-hour webinar on Safari Books this coming Friday on Internet operations. The course is roughly divided into three parts.
The first part covers DNS operations, including a high-level overview of how DNS works and some thoughts on how DNS providers “work” financially. The second part is a high-level overview of packet transport, focusing on routing, the different kinds of providers, and how each of of the different kinds of providers “work” financially. The third part is a collection of other odds and ends.
Anyone who registers is able to watch a recorded version of the training afterwords.
I’m teaching part 2 next month, which I call Navigating the DFZ.
Hedge May Update
A short update on upcoming classes and episodes of the Hedge for May, as well an update on what I’m working on and other places where I’m publishing material.