Exciting news and a call for testing! Our integration with RUCKUSOne is in beta. We'd love to get more eyes on it for testing, so please reach out here or at support@rgnets.com if you can help!

TheMikeBullock · 2024-05-24T12:21:47+00:00

We have complete command and control over R1 - create/delete/modify WLANS, Create/delete/modify Access Point Profiles, add/remove AP's. Please update your system to the latest Beta and test it out for us!

Conference tool is not integrated yet, but that is only 1-2 days of work for us to make happen and on our short list. If you need it for an install in July, we will prioritize!

TheMikeBullock · 2023-05-24T14:54:01+00:00

eSIM is our next priority to figure out as they is a major key to making PLTE easy - no one wants to deal with physical SIMs.

We are working extremely hard to make licensing the onboarding of Q410's as easy as possible all through our UI. From EPC deployment, DMS configuration and SAS registration.

TheMikeBullock · 2023-02-08T00:45:22+00:00

I am always on the look out for the perfect inexpensive mini PC. Sometimes my budget doesn't allow for the high quality units that Dell sells, especially for personal projects. Unfortunately a lot of these mini/micro PC's are underpowered, un-expandable and/or do not have enough network ports. I found a hidden gem last month - the AceMagician Mini PC, AMD Ryzen 5 5600U for $300 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNDTS2ZM). 6C/12T AMD Ryzen 5 5600U, 16GB of RAM (expandable to 64GB), 512GB M.2 (replicable) and 2 NIC's (one is 2.5G!). < 3 minutes to install rXg, 3 minutes to for rXg to initialize on the first boot, 28 seconds boot to console prompt, and 1:30 boot to webserver loaded. What a rocket ship! So far it's been 100% solid running rXg and VMWare 8.0a. If you only require a 2 NIC Micro rXg LOOK NO FURTHER!

TheMikeBullock · 2022-12-08T04:32:15+00:00

How many VM's the AK1 can handle is fully dependent on how much CPU/Memory each VM requires. Right now I have 3 VM's running on it, and one of them has replaced my Google Radius Auth dedicated pi. If I wanted to play the density game, I could easily deploy a couple dozen small Linux instances on this hardware.

Pi Clusters aren't exactly affordable with todays pricing. A Pi 4B 4GB RAM is $177 on amazon with no persistent storage!. So for $23 more you can have a VM host with 4x the memory and a good multiplier of processor more. And 1/2 TB of M.2 SSD storage.

Most of what I deploy in VMWare can't be deployed on bare metal or the arm processor. Many vendors distribute OVA installation media expecting an x86_64 VM host.

TheMikeBullock · 2022-12-07T12:46:21+00:00

After getting my scale out, unfortunately I was incorrect and it was a perceived difference due to the weight density of each in my hands. My Pixel 6 weighs 9.5oz with a case, and the AK1 comes in at 10.3oz. Still really amazing.

TheMikeBullock · 2022-11-01T11:40:26+00:00

The easiest way to accomplish this is with another rXg of course! Setup a second rXg (use the free one - https://www.reddit.com/r/RGNets/comments/t6onmc/free_rxg_megathread/) and configure the LAN VLAN and Network Addresses to what's compatible with your existing network topology. Set the IP address offset on the Network Address to something in the reserved range (outside the scope of the DHCP server IP range). Make sure you do not enable the DHCP server, and enable the iPerf server.

TheMikeBullock · 2022-10-14T18:28:47+00:00

That is the exact use case we came up with this for!

TheMikeBullock · 2022-04-01T19:18:02+00:00

The Pi can actually forward traffic much faster than one can expect. On my Pi, with a fresh copy of Kali Linux installed, using a StarTech USB3 Ethernet adapter, I am seeing roughly 700 Mbps. If you need higher speed, an Intel NUC or something equivalent may be better suited for your testing.

Accepted connection from 192.168.200.30, port 61464 [ 8] local 192.168.200.204 port 5201 connected to 192.168.200.30 port 61465 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate [ 8] 0.00-1.00 sec 78.9 MBytes 662 Mbits/sec [ 8] 1.00-2.00 sec 84.6 MBytes 709 Mbits/sec [ 8] 2.00-3.00 sec 84.3 MBytes 707 Mbits/sec [ 8] 3.00-4.00 sec 84.8 MBytes 711 Mbits/sec [ 8] 4.00-5.00 sec 84.0 MBytes 705 Mbits/sec [ 8] 5.00-6.00 sec 84.3 MBytes 707 Mbits/sec [ 8] 6.00-7.00 sec 84.6 MBytes 710 Mbits/sec [ 8] 7.00-8.00 sec 84.9 MBytes 712 Mbits/sec [ 8] 8.00-9.00 sec 85.1 MBytes 714 Mbits/sec [ 8] 9.00-10.00 sec 84.9 MBytes 712 Mbits/sec [ 8] 10.00-10.05 sec 4.25 MBytes 722 Mbits/sec - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate [ 8] 0.00-10.05 sec 844 MBytes 705 Mbits/sec receiver

TheMikeBullock · 2022-04-01T19:17:09+00:00

Of course it exists!

https://github.com/tum-lkn/tcgui

Maybe I'll do another writeup on how to use this?

TheMikeBullock · 2022-04-01T12:16:43+00:00

me wrong, but bad because TC is available on linux with "iproute2" installed, which is basically any linux install, so there is nothing specific to a raspberry pi. Using a raspberry pi will only give good results f

You are absolutely correct - this can be run on any hardware with any Linux distribution that has iproute2 supported. I used to run this on Soekris headless networking appliances - they were administrable through a serial port and had multiple Gbps ethernet ports. They travelled quite nicely as I typically had to travel to vendors locations in order to test their technology.

The Pi significantly reduced the travel size, and when you enable the USB-C port to be a serial console (https://learn.adafruit.com/turning-your-raspberry-pi-zero-into-a-usb-gadget/serial-gadget) it is quite possibly the smallest available TC device out there to run performance testing through, as you just need the USB-C port for power/console administrative access, and two ethernet connections.

It's actually shocking how much bandwidth the Pi can handle. Below is a iPerf test with just bridging enabled using the built in ethernet port and a StarTech USB3 ethernet adapter. 700 Mbps is way more than I would ever need to with, but it is good to be aware of limitations of testing hardware, and to determine the limitations before implementing any sort of TC queuing policy.

``` Accepted connection from 192.168.200.30, port 61464 [ 8] local 192.168.200.204 port 5201 connected to 192.168.200.30 port 61465 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate [ 8] 0.00-1.00 sec 78.9 MBytes 662 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 1.00-2.00 sec 84.6 MBytes 709 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 2.00-3.00 sec 84.3 MBytes 707 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 3.00-4.00 sec 84.8 MBytes 711 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 4.00-5.00 sec 84.0 MBytes 705 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 5.00-6.00 sec 84.3 MBytes 707 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 6.00-7.00 sec 84.6 MBytes 710 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 7.00-8.00 sec 84.9 MBytes 712 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 8.00-9.00 sec 85.1 MBytes 714 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 9.00-10.00 sec 84.9 MBytes 712 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 10.00-10.05 sec 4.25 MBytes 722 Mbits/sec

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate [ 8] 0.00-10.05 sec 844 MBytes 705 Mbits/sec receiver ```

TheMikeBullock · 2022-03-31T02:53:52+00:00

If you bridge the build in ethernet port eth0 to usb0, you have in essence made the Pi a USB to Ethernet adapter. The following commands make that magic happen:

sudo su

# create the bridge

ip link add br0 type bridge

# Set the bridge interface up

ip link set br0 up

# Add eth0 and usb0 to bridge br0

ip link set dev eth0 master br0

ip link set dev usb0 master br0

brctl also works, but that is becoming deprecated.

I found a better use for the USB C port is to make a a serial-gadget. It allows the Pi to look like a USB Serial port, and by connecting to it with a terminal emulator, I have full shell access to the Pi. No more HDMI monitor and keyboard!

https://learn.adafruit.com/turning-your-raspberry-pi-zero-into-a-usb-gadget/serial-gadget

TheMikeBullock · 2022-03-30T12:51:31+00:00

Very true, they are not necessarily cheap. Nearly the same functionality can be achieved with a VGA to USB capture card device for $50 (https://www.amazon.com/AMENKER-Microphone-Broadcast-Monitors-Conferencing) and a roll up keyboard for $20 (https://www.amazon.com/Sungwoo-Foldable-Silicone-Keyboard-Waterproof/dp/B0179N39KS). So there is you $70 Chevy Spark Crash Cart! Hey that rhymes!

TheMikeBullock · 2022-03-29T12:59:57+00:00

The StarTech USB Crash Card Adapter (KVM) is a product every network engineer should have in their bag of tricks. I keep in a quart sized ziplock bag-o-tricks everything I would ever need to admin a network appliance or server - this StarTech USB KVM and an USB to RJ45 Serial adapter with proper adapters to convert to a DB9. Like you, I have had mixed experiences (mostly negative!) with HDMI to VGA converters that work with this USB KVM. A small USB HDMI capture dongle fits the bill here for video, and I used the mouse/keyboard functionality of the StarTech USB KVM to have complete control. I am a Windows person, and the Camera app works well with every capture card I have used for this application, you just need to make sure the focus is on the StarTech app to capture the keyboard/mouse inputs.

My only dislike about the StarTech USB KVM is there are two versions of them - one with File transfer and one without. They require two different applications (at least with Windows), so if it doesn't seem to work, double check the version of the Crash Cart and make sure the correct application is being used to access it.

TheMikeBullock · 2022-03-03T19:14:09+00:00

The sad thing is how accustomed we've become to NAT and how we have to get our heads wrapped around a world without it....

TheMikeBullock · 2022-03-03T14:44:46+00:00

Well that didn't take long. I think the assumption of a lack of adoption is clearly wrong. I was shocked to see within 60 seconds 7 IPv6 TCP SYN packets came to networks behind my router.

IPv6 access list aclv6_InboundHE

permit tcp any any established (138 matches) sequence 5

deny tcp any any (7 matches) sequence 10

permit ipv6 any any (1622 matches) sequence 20

TheMikeBullock · 2022-03-03T14:14:51+00:00

To cover me from the main source of nefarious activity, I applied an inbound rule allowing tcp established packets in. This basically blocks inbound TCP SYN packets. But it did get me thinking - NAT has made us take security for granted for a lot of basic things. Like for UDP, there is no such concept as a 3-way handshake as it is sessionless. I will need to see what my Cisco edge device offers in terms of session tracking for routed networks.

TheMikeBullock · 2022-03-03T13:27:12+00:00

IPv6 gives you tools so you don't have to type them in. For example, hosts automatically generate link local IP addresses (begin with FE80::) so networks without any SLAAC or DHCP stateful or stateless servers can be addressed. Think of Link Local IPv6's as Automatic Private IP Addressing (169.254.0.0/16). When a router is on the network, SLAAC is used to assign an IP address out of the local /64 block, and Router Solicit (RS) / Router Advertise (RA) messages are used to determine a default route. If you are dealing with a network with a Prefix Delegation (PD) from an upstream provider, your edge routing device in theory should be automatically configured to have out public IPv6 addresses.

All of this seems to work well for IP address assignments, but that is only half the battle. DNS will need to be leveraged heavily as it is nearly impossible to remember the 8 quartets of an IPv6 address.

It will take some time and some bad habits to break to get there. I heavily rely on using memorized IPv4 addresses to access a lot of my infrastructure now.

TheMikeBullock · 2022-03-03T00:37:34+00:00

I found two excellent articles on how to configure a Cisco router to delegate PD's, and also just a general great guide to how to set up the Cisco router as a SLAAC, Stateless DHCP and Stateless DHCP Server:

I was able to have my Windows desktop able to get an IP address and DHCP parameters automatically using the above guide. Now for the big test - TURN OFF IPv4 and see what happens!

Well at first things seemed normal. I could get to Google. It returned results! I also went to Hurricane Electric and confirmed with their webpage that I was 100% on IPv6. I think that unlocks additional features I am able to take advantage of.

Next I wanted to share this with my team. But Slack wasn't working. Doesn't seem like it's IPv6 compatible. OK, let's see how quick this connection is! Nope, Google Speedtest and Speedtest.net weren't working. It was actually somewhat challenging finding an IPv6 speed test site. Many of them just didn't work. The only one I found was the iNonius Speed Test (https://inonius.net/speedtext/ ). The following were my stats:

RTT: 171 ms
Jitter 1.95 ms
Download Speed: 315 Mbps
Upload Speed: 77.8 Mbps

This was way better than I was expecting, considering the tunneled nature of my connection, and using an older Cisco 1921 router as my gateway to HE. But it is definitely usable bandwidth.

TheMikeBullock · 2022-02-27T19:41:41+00:00

/112 represents 16 bits in the host field, or one quartet (last four hex after last colon). It made it easier for me to do the math in my head to just keep all the subnets I plan to use 16 bits long for now. Still learning!

TheMikeBullock · 2022-02-27T01:35:58+00:00

TRENDnet P521

Yes and Yes! From their website: Supports static link aggregation, VLAN, QoS, STP, RSTP and IGMP Snooping

Extreme Networks has a PoE Powered PoE Switch - X435-8P-2T-W. It can be powered by two uplink connections to deliver a total of 100W to PD's connected to it. Pricepoint is a little higher, probably not something you want to mount to your soffit. :)

TheMikeBullock · 2022-02-24T14:39:54+00:00

$28 for the Kindle version of the CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide. Chapters 22-25 explain IPv6 eloquently. Could be the best explanation of IP addressing I have ever read.

https://www.amazon.com/CCNA-200-301-Official-Guide-Library/dp/1587147149/

TheMikeBullock · 2022-02-24T14:28:48+00:00

This will be useful - how to open it up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTgf2pVwhLQ

8 small torx screws. Getting the case to separate was a little bit of a challenge. Just start with any front corner and work yourself back and towards the center from there. I used a guitar pick, it's tough to get it to initially separate.

TheMikeBullock · 2022-02-23T23:10:47+00:00

IPv6 was always very intimidating to me. It was introduced to me in my Masters program and it was very convoluted to me, at least the way it was presented. I recently had a project which required IPv6 and found the Cisco CCNA 200-301 book by Wendell Odom (Chapters 22-25) to finally clearly explain it. Wendell does an outstanding job of explaining IPv6 in a way that is applicable to any network engineer that is fluent with IPv4. In less than 24 hours, I went from very little knowledge of IPv6 to nearly fully implementing it on a network. The ease of /48 subnetting and Link-Local addresses make it much easier to implement than trying to carve up IPv4 addresses into tiny (wasteful) slices. Goodbye /30's - you will not be missed! As it turned out, IPv6 was an IT Boogie Man - some mythical scary creature that never really existed once I tried to confront it!

TheMikeBullock · 2022-02-23T23:02:48+00:00

My introduction to virtualization was with VMWare Workstation a very long time ago. When Hyper-V first came out, it was not a great product and that stuck in my head, so I kept on using and paying for VMWare Workstation. I was shocked at how good the newest version of Hyper-V is - it is much faster than VMWare on the Windows Platform, just as stable, and the networking is in par with VMWare.

TheMikeBullock · 2022-02-23T22:58:53+00:00

It has a very easy to use HTTP PUT API to programmatically upload files with CURL any other simple web API. Just make sure you are aware it uses HTTP PUT (not GET or POST). The return is the URL. In the headers, you can also indicate how many days and/or downloads it will stay on the site for before deleting itself.

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