Python OpenPYXL Poor Performance Optimisation Problem:OpenPYXL is a python library for parsing excel files. It's fantastic and works really well. Plenty of features are supported but my primary use-case is to simply read data from various sheets
Docker in FreeNAS Problem:I have a NAS, it runs FreeNAS. I also have a server, running Docker. I don't want the server anymore. Time to run it on FreeNAS! Solution:FreeNAS now supports docker via
The shortcomings of Cisco DNS & NAT Introduction: Usually these posts are centered around solving a problem - and this is no exception, however I'm going to rant a little more than usual as the experience with DNS and NAT
Cisco GUI management for small docker services - Specifically AAA. Introduction:As stated before - I love docker. It's great. But I also run a number of virtual machines for various purposes. One of those VMs happens to be Cisco ACS 5.8.
Cisco Cisco 'new' TACACS+ Config A real short post to keep track of the new config for TACACS+ on Cisco devices. It's not really that new, but it avoids the deprecated warning! Old Style: tacacs-server host <server
Cisco Cisco Zone Based Firewall (IPv4 & IPv6) Introduction:I don't like security. It just gets in the way when you're trying to get stuff done. But that is no excuse to have nothing in place! I typically trust NAT, and
Cisco ACI Fabric Discovery - Not working! Problem: I work with ACI - but in test environments. I am frequently in a position where the fabric needs totally resetting, or a new fabric is being built from switches & components
Persistent Static routes - macOS High Sierra Problem: I've got a mac at work. It's connected to two physically separate networks, one of which has a default route, but the other needs routes when the adapter is plugged in. Surprisingly,
Ubuntu Server 18.04 x64 Deployment Introduction: It's been a while since I wrote my guide for the deployment of ubuntu 16.04, so I figured I would make one for the latest LTS release: 18.04! Implementation: First,
Cisco Cisco ACI bits 'n' bobs Introduction I'm fairly new to ACI, and am coming across new things all the time. Here I will provide quick bits and pieces of things I find which are useful to know and
Docker Better 'docker stats' output (with Name) Problem: The docker stats command isn't great - it gives you container ID vs name, which when you have a pretty small deployment like me (~20 containers) you usually know what services you're
Docker Ghost (blog) migration to 1.0 Introduction: It's been some time since Ghost 1.0 was released, and I've been putting off this day for a while. Essentially the migration strategy I was trying to use wasn't working in
Linux HAProxy 'home' Load Balancer Introduction: I've done a few posts in the past about using nginx as a reverse proxy / loadbalancer, however I thought I'd look into HAProxy as a possible alternative to some of the issues
Cisco Import Certificates into Cisco IOS Router (SSL VPN) Problem: So I've made a few posts on automating SSL VPN with LetsEncrypt etc etc, however what if you're already using some way of generating certificates? Be it LetsEncrypt or otherwise. Essentially these
Alexa Windows PC Wake up / Shut down - Automated Problem: I've just got an Amazon Echo. As the previous post suggests I've got it talking to Jenkins, so anything that can be done in Jenkins Alexa can now call, which is rather
Docker Amazon Echo - Integration to Jenkins Problem: So if you've ever dealt with an Amazon Echo (Alexa) you'll probably know that it's pretty awesome. There's all sorts of things you can do. As far as I could tell there
Cisco Cisco IR829 Tinkering Introduction: The IR829 router is a rather interesting beast, it has 4G, wireless, GPS, an accelerometer, water resistant, fanless, gigabit switchports + WAN and vehicle ignition system features. It's also got the ability to
Python Netmiko Python package on Alpine Problem: For a current project I was looking to use netmiko to administrate a Cisco router - and given my natural affinity for Docker I'm planning to use a container to run the
Linux Reset VMware vCenter root password Problem: The vCenter appliance requires a complex password for the root user, which of course you'll forget after 5 minutes if you're just spinning something up for test purposes. Naturally what then happens
Docker Shorten & Alias 'docker ps' output Problem: The default 'docker ps' command has a rather verbose output. This (especially for me) is due to the sheer number of ports associated to containers. As a result, I need a super
Sky Fiber Broadband with a Cisco Router (897VA) Problem: I've written a post previously of how to get sky ADSL broadband working with a Cisco router HERE however this particular implementation just got upgraded to Fiber (or VDSL). So, I've had
Linux Ghost blog account recovery Problem: Naturally I'd never be so silly to forget my own password....however Billy is not so sensible and forgot his password. For some reason (I've not even bothered to look) the forgot
Boiling Water: Kettle vs Microwave Introduction: Now this is a rather unusual post, however I consider myself scientific and myself and a couple of colleagues (to those of you who know me reading this - I am of
Misc Online email obfuscation Problem: This blog has been a great place to brainstorm and share my ideas and activities with the world however it's always bugged me slightly that I've had no way to get feedback
Nginx Correct IP in nginx logs behind reverse proxy / load balancer Problem: So I finally got a log solution I like working properly. Logs in the load-balancer are correct in terms of their external IP. The problem is when I look at the webserver