Ansible is a fantastic tool for Linux-based and NOS-based automation. Have you seen this error before? 1"changed": false, "msg": "Failed to connect to the host via ssh: Host key verification failed." When you use Ansible with SSH transport (as opposed to an API), you rely on the SSH key trust …

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Distributed Virtual Port-Groups (dvPGs) in vSphere are a powerful tool for controlling network traffic behavior. vSphere Distributed Switches (vDS) are non-transitive Layer 2 proxies and provide us the ability to modify packets in-flight in a variety of complex ways. Note: Cisco UCS implements something similar with …

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Let's take a look at the new lifecycle management process for vCenter. The old process via the VAMI was easy to execute - the industry is upping the ante with automated pre- and post-testing. Cisco's NX-OS installer is another example - complex procedures (in Cisco's case, sequential PGA or microcode updates) invite …

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Have you ever heard someone say "I'm not a coder" at work? The IT industry is changing again. Our humble origins began as polymaths moved from adjacent industries and created a new world from scratch. The pioneering phase led to unique opportunities, creating our transport protocols, programming languages, …

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Not every application is designed to leverage a load balancer. Early load balancing solutions capitalized on this fact - which may seem odd. The solution to the supportability issue creates new opportunity; we'll look at some examples here. Adjusting application behaviors quickly becomes a powerful tool when enhancing …

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CI/CD tools aren't just for automatically deploying apps! Jenkins excels at enabling an engineer to automatically execute and test code - but, it has a hidden super-power: Automating boring and intensive IT tasks(removing toil). Let's take a common and relatable IT problem - it doesn't matter if you're a DevOps …

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Reliably executing repetitive tasks with automation is easy (after the work is done) Given enough work, self-built automation can be easy to consume. Non-consumers (engineers) need to focus on reliability and repeatability, but occasionally there's an opportunity to save time and simplify lives directly. Information …

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Rapidly deploying Linux servers to meet a whim represents the essence of home lab activities, but we spend a great deal of time spinning/configuring machines to meet our specs. Worse, we lose a great deal of time keeping them properly configured and up to date, and none have the privilege of unlimited lab time. Let's …

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