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CCIE recertified

I've recertified my CCIE for three years more.

Feb 13, 2026 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Global Azure 2025

I recently spoke at Global Azure 2025 , an event packed with sessions on AI, cloud, and system engineering.

May 9, 2025 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

In the world of IT, we often categorize costs into two main buckets: capital expenditures (CapEx) and operational expenditures (OpEx). While these two categories are crucial for budgeting and financial planning, there's a third type of cost that often gets overlooked, the decommissioning costs.

Apr 17, 2025 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Welcome 2025 Cisco Champions

I’m proud to share that my participation in the CiscoChampions Insider program has been renewed for 2025!

Apr 7, 2025 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

SDWAN enhancements in a satellite link

Due to some event with extreme weather conditions, a customer decided to use satellite links as a last resort in case of failure of optical and radio links. The use of SD-WAN highlighted some interesting points.

Mar 19, 2025 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Receive Side Scaling

In recent years, I have been working more and more in datacenter networking. It has happened to me on several occasions that during testing, the customer would contest that the network performance of the servers was lower than expected. So I put on my systems engineer hat and dust off my VMware training .

Mar 1, 2025 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Cisco Nexus transceiver temperature

A customer noticed that some SFPs installed in a Cisco Nexus were particularly 🔥hot🔥 and asked for a command to be able to see the temperature of all the transceivers. Sounds like a good opportunity to write some code!

Sep 24, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

NetBox to hosts

Performing a traceroute is a very common task for network operations. In this post I share a simple solution I implemented to make it easier to read the command output.

Sep 18, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Cisco ISE scripts

Cisco ISE is one of my favorite products. Although I cannot call myself an expert on it, I have worked on numerous designs where network security and segmentation are based on ISE with excellent results. More than a few times I have needed to document the inventory of nodes in a cluster, and the certificates in use at the various nodes. For these purposes I wrote a couple of Python scripts that I…

Aug 9, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

The Mythical Man-Month

The Mythical Man-month, some wisdom from the past, still valid today. Technology changes but people stay the same.

Aug 1, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Netbox and Python for network merge

When two large companies merge, they may be required to merge their respective networks as well, including address spaces.

Jul 23, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

CiscoU: Data Center Nexus Dashboard Essentials (DCNDE)

I completed the Cisco Data Center Nexus Dashboard Essentials training provided by CiscoU and collected 22 CE credits for my CCIE.

Jun 27, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

CUOA ICT Management 14

Today I completed the Jobleader ICT Management course , which began last November.

May 18, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

DNA Assurance (DNAAS)

Since I took CCNA I have always tried to renew my certifications with exams from other tracks. Now with Cisco U and the Rev Up program it becomes even easier to get CE credits and at the same time delve into other technologies.

Apr 30, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

TCP latency and loss

Reading this blog made me very curious: Path Quality Part 1: The Surprising Impact of 1% Packet Loss The final result is: In this study, 1% of packet loss caused a 70.7% decrease in throughput. When applications experience performance problems usually someone blames the network. It is not always easy to convince that latency and packet loss significantly affect TCP performance, and speed of light…

Apr 1, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Speedtest

A customer called because they expect the Internet access in the DC to reach 10 Gbps, but a speedtest only shows 1 Gbps throughput. Once again, it's a network issue . Or not?

Mar 13, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Meraki MX tunnel all traffic to VPN

In my role as a network architect, I often find myself validating a design based on documentation provided by the vendor. Whenever possible, I prefer to verify at least the core functionality in the lab. Platforms such as Cisco Meraki on the one hand simplify configurations by introducing automation and abstraction mechanisms that have a great impact on large installations; on the other hand,…

Jan 25, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

CiscoU SD-WAN Operations and Deployment"

I've completed the Rev Up to Recert: SD-WAN Fundamentals (SDWFND) v.2.0 Learning Path and collected 12 CE credits.

Jan 15, 2024 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

CiscoU CBROPS CyberOps Associate"

I've completed the Rev Up to Recert: CyberOps Associate, Understanding Cisco Cybersecurity Operations Fundamentals (CBROPS) Learning Path and collected 30 CE credits.

Nov 6, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

BGP Admin Distance

When chatting with both colleagues and customers about BGP path manipulations, I've picked up on something interesting – the concept of admin distance can often lead to some head-scratching moments. So, in this blog post, I'm going to take you through a few links and hands-on labs. Our goal? To unravel the mysteries surrounding admin distance and its pivotal role in the BGP best path selection…

Aug 17, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Azure NLB probe down behavior

I was recently engaged in a troubleshooting session pertaining to Azure Network Load Balancers (NLBs). The assistance was sought by cloud engineers seeking deeper insights into the operational characteristics of NLBs. The findings are outlined below.

Aug 16, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

CiscoU Understanding Cisco Network Automation Essentials (DEVNAE)

I've completed the Rev Up to Recert: Understanding Cisco Network Automation Essentials (DEVNAE) 1.0 Learning Path and collected 16 CE credits.

Jun 25, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Welcome 2023 Cisco Champions

Happy to be a Cisco Champion ( again )!

May 15, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

NFD31 - BackBox

On the second day of Network Field Day 31 BackBox presented their automation tool.

May 2, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Cloudy zones

On April 25th 2023 Google Cloud has an incident involving a datacenter. The incident impacted multiple zones. If this sounds strange, it is because not all cloud zones are created equal.

May 1, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

NFD31 Delegate

I'm happy to be part again of the Tech Field Day delegates attending Networking Field Day 31 on April 12-13, 2023.

Apr 10, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

CiscoU Rev Up to Recert Python

I've completed the CiscoU Rev Up to Recert: Python Learning Path and collected 15 CE credits.

Apr 4, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

CCIE 38619 - 10 years

Ten years ago I passed the CCIE RS lab exam , now renamed CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure .

Mar 19, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

CiscoU Rev Up to Recert Enterprise

I've completed the CiscoU Rev Up to Recert: Enterprise Learning Path and collected 15 CE credits.

Feb 22, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Cisco Live Europe 2023

This year again I had the privilege and pleasure to attend one of the best events for networkers: Cisco Live Europe 2023 in Amsterdam .

Feb 10, 2023 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate

It has been more than 20 years since my last Microsoft certification exam. Windows NT4 was very common, Windows 2000 was cutting edge, and my first job was to migrate some SMEs in my region from the former to the latter. My goal at the time was to get the famous MCSE , but I never had the chance to finish the certificaton track, stopping after a couple of exams. Then I fell in love with…

Dec 20, 2022 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Welcome 2022 Cisco Champions

Happy to be a Cisco Champion ( again )!

Sep 9, 2022 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Aviatrix ACE and Multicloud

We don't install all our servers in the same DC. But what about clouds? Would you trust one Cloud Server Provider for all your applications? This is the premise of Multicloud.

Aug 18, 2022 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

War stories - VLAN renumbering

For $reasons it happened a few times that I needed to renumber a VLAN in a campus or DC network.

Aug 1, 2022 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

(L)Oops!

This post is about the lack of best practices, workarounds, L2 extensions, tunnels and loops. Fasten your seatbelt and prepare for a ride down the rabbit hole.

Mar 15, 2022 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

IT Blog Awards 2021 Top 25

Results of the 2021 IT Blog Awards are out, my blog made it to the Top25 !

Mar 12, 2022 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Book review: Networking and K8s

Networking and Kubernetes, first steps in the cloud-native world.

Jan 16, 2022 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

CCIE renewed and new certification cycle

I've renewed my CCIE for 3 more years, and learned something along the way.

Jan 13, 2022 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

IT Blog Awards 2021 finalist

Great news! My blog has been selected as a finalist of the 2021 IT Blog Awards , hosted by Cisco ✌

Jan 11, 2022 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Backup Grafana dashboards with API and JQ

In this post I describe how I've reinvented the wheel backup Grafana dashboards with API and Git.

Dec 8, 2021 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

My first GitLab CI/CD

If you can read this post, my GitLab CI/CD setup worked!

Oct 23, 2021 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Meraki Firewalled Services and Poetry

In this post I describe how to use Poetry to build and package a tool to verify the status of Meraki Firewalled Services (ICMP, SNMP and Web).

Oct 10, 2021 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])

Linux tc for SDWAN testing

In my new role as Technical Account Manager I work with the customers to evaluate new products and services to validate the fullfillment of the business requirements. For a recent project I needed to test how some SDWAN appliances reacted to bad network events like packet drops and latency.

Aug 30, 2021 · gp@ifconfig.it (map[name:Gian Paolo photo:https://res.cloudinary.com/ifconfig/image/upload/v1583172355/avatar.png])