This post details how I’ve been using OpenSSL to generate CSR’s with Subject Alternative Name Extensions. You may have noticed that since Chrome 58, certificates that do not have Subject Alternative name extensions will show as invalid. Amazing, I must have missed the memo on that. Most of the certificates I use in my home
Here is an overview of the Home networking lab setup. You might ask why even have a home lab these days? You can build a fairly grown up enterprise grade topology using virtulization? Agreed, especially if you have high spec workstation or choose a cloud provider for the compute. Why I built a home lab
I was approached recently by friend requesting some help with a very difficult situation. A member of their family had sadly passed away. The deceased was a husband and father of two young children. My friend was trying to assist the wife of the deceased with various financial issues that arise when a someone passes away. The
Keeping relevant in this industry can be challenging. With the DevOps, SDN, public cloud and insert acronym here revolutions, everything is moving so quickly consuming information can feel like drinking from a fire hose. A strategy of mine is to listen to industry related podcast’s both security and data networking. Podcasts are a great way
I’ve just completed a project implementing VyOS routers into the home lab. In this post I’ll detail why and how I use VyOS. VyOS is a fork of what was Vyatta Core, the opensource community edition of Vyatta. When Brocade acquired Vyatta they discontinued the core edition but in 2013 VyOS was born as an opensource project.
I’ve spent many years working in operational roles supporting complex architectures. Almost everyone one of them had a high degree of Technical debt. Network architectures that have been poorly designed, do not scale well or too complicated to support without an armada of highly trained and skilled engineers. This picture I came across on twitter
One of the objectives of a recent home network redesign was to incorporate IP Surveillance cameras. I’ve always had external cameras at home, I like the assurance I get from 24 hour visibility of my property. It’s reassuring to access the surveillance setup remotely and check up on the house. My old setup was a stand alone
Superbly written by Laura Chappell the Wireshark Network Analysis (Second Edition) is a must have book. Not only to learn the Wireshark tool in great depth but also protocol analysis in general. I’ve been eager to study for the WCNA (Wireshark Certified Network Analyst) for some time now so I made the purchase a few
This week I migrated the web site over to https. I opted for an extended validation certificate which means we get the shiny green box with “Net Assured Limited” in the browsers URL bar. The process to obtain an EV certificate is lengthy and in some cases can take weeks to be validated and certificate
A few months back I registered with Brocade for a promotion to study and take the Brocade Certified vrouter Engineer exam (BCVRE). I’ve had some time recently to take the online course, install the vyatta vrouter in my lab and have a play. I took the exam this morning and passed, I thought I’d write a few notes