Hmmm: Rail-Optimized Networking for AI Workloads
Phil Gervasi’s recent piece promotes a “rail‑optimized” networking approach for AI training workloads, describing a mapping of endpoints to a dedicated plane within a standard leaf‑spine fabric. The article argues that keeping traffic within leaf switches and using server‑bus paths reduces congestion and creates isolated failure domains. However, industry observers note that the technique is essentially smart workload placement, a practice documented in private‑cloud designs since at least 2014. The concept does not introduce a new topology but repackages existing ideas like load‑splitting and SAN‑style segregation.
SR-MPLS Workshop Materials
The Segment Routing MPLS (SR‑MPLS) workshop kicked off on April 20, 2026 at ITNOG 10 in Bologna. Organizers provided a comprehensive slide deck, lab topologies, and detailed usage guidelines for attendees. All materials are hosted online via IPspace and a public GitHub repository,...
Lab: Integrated Routing and Bridging (IRB) with EVPN MAC-VRF Instances
The article introduces a hands‑on lab that walks network engineers through Integrated Routing and Bridging (IRB) using EVPN MAC‑VRF instances with anycast gateways. It shows how to attach IP addresses to VLAN interfaces in a controlled, step‑by‑step environment. The lab...
Testing FRRouting Pull Requests with Netlab
The article outlines a straightforward workflow for testing FRRouting pull requests using the netlab automation framework. By cloning the FRR repository, checking out a PR branch, and building the FRR Docker image, users can configure netlab to launch a lab...
BGP Labs: Graceful Degradation for Unsupported Devices
BGP Labs has added graceful degradation for labs that use unsupported external routers. A new generic plugin now adjusts the topology and validation tests based on each device's feature set, turning hard errors into informative warnings. This change lets users...
Public Videos: Docker 101
ipSpace.net announced that its "Introduction to Docker" webinar, originally produced a few years ago, is now publicly available to anyone with an ipSpace.net account. The free video walks beginners through core Docker concepts such as images, containers, Dockerfiles, and basic...
Worth Reading: Shameless Guesses, Not Hallucinations
Scott Alexander argues that AI outputs are better described as "shameless guesses" or bullshit rather than hallucinations, because training rewards correct answers but does not penalize errors. He notes that saying "I don’t know" is discouraged for commercial reasons, turning...
Lab: Summarizing IS-IS Level-1 Routes
IS‑IS was originally built for NSAP addressing, separating node and area prefixes, but its IP implementation mirrors OSPF by defaulting to no automatic prefix summarization. Network operators must manually configure summarization to aggregate Level‑1 routes into the Level‑2 backbone. The...
Every Layer of Review Makes You 10x Slower
Avery Pennarun’s latest column reiterates that each additional review layer can slow work by roughly tenfold, emphasizing that technology—including AI—cannot compensate for fundamentally broken processes. The piece warns that AI evangelists often ignore this reality, promoting tools without addressing the...
Lab: Anycast Gateways on VXLAN Segments
Anycast gateways, traditionally limited to VLAN segments, are now officially supported on VXLAN segments, extending a decade‑old Arista capability. The new lab exercise demonstrates how to configure dual anycast gateways across VXLAN underlay and overlay networks. It can be run...
MANRS for Enterprise Customers
The MANRS initiative, aimed at securing Internet routing, has few participants in Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, leaving enterprises in those markets without verified ISP compliance. The author highlights the difficulty of locating MANRS‑certified providers and points to a new MANRS...
Network Device Telemetry Protocols with Dinesh Dutt
In the latest episode of Software Gone Wild, the host discusses network device telemetry with Dinesh Dutt, a leading authority on the subject. The conversation examines why many operators still rely on screen‑scraping despite the availability of modern protocols such...
IPv4 ECMP Works on Arista cEOS Release 4.35.2F
Arista’s cEOS 4.35.2F release finally supports IPv4 ECMP, allowing forwarded traffic to be balanced across multiple equal‑cost paths in an anycast topology. The lab test shows packets alternating between two downstream nodes, confirming functional ECMP. However, locally originated traffic still...
Netlab 26.03: EVPN/MPLS, IOS XR Features
Netlab 26.03 has been released, bringing a suite of new multi‑vendor features to the network‑lab platform. Cisco IOS XR now supports SR‑MPLS, MPLS/VPN, EVPN over MPLS, VRRP, advanced BGP session parameters and extensive routing policies. Juniper cRPD, EVPN/VXLAN on vPTX and...
Automating Netlab-Based Cisco SD-WAN Deployment
Netlab, an open‑source lab generator, does not include native support for Cisco SD‑WAN. Sebastien d’Argoeuves created a GitHub repository that automates Cisco SD‑WAN deployment once a netlab lab is launched. The solution reads netlab’s JSON/YAML topology, maps device roles, and...