10-23, 11:50–12:20 (US/Eastern), Main Room
Virtual Networks, Container Networks and Software Defined Networking have all added layers of abstraction and complication on what used to be straightforward and very tactile, plug in a cable then watch the packets flow. But the basic protocols and how our systems exchange information largely remain the same. This talk is a back to basics look at how we can remember some basic principles to troubleshoot modern problems.
As with all modern computing, the network stack has gotten increasingly abstracted away as we move to cloud services and cloud native infrastructure, but underneath it all, we’re still trying to accomplish the same things as always, get data from one system to another as quickly and efficiently as possible without interruption or eavesdropping. Starting with the classic interview question, “What happens when you try to access a website from your computer?” this talk reviews the modern complexity of the internet and reminds us about how some functional routing, switching and firewall knowledge can help us untangle the modern messes generated by layers of abstraction. We’ll start with some things like, “what about before I even get an IP address” and end up talking about BGP, the routing protocol that runs the internet. You’ll leave with a better understanding of what’s actually happening after you apply your chosen network settings to your cluster or hyperscaler, and a better framework for understanding how your cloud native applications and services are communicating across the web.
Aaron Aldrich is a Developer Advocate at Equinix Metal, rotating host for the Traceroute and Greater Than Code podcasts, and has organized DevOpsDays events in Hartford, New York City and Boston. Passionate about Resilience Engineering and Mental Health in the tech industry, they believe that every technology problem is ultimately, when you get right down to it, a people challenge. Find them at crayzeigh.com for thoughts on technology and people or on twitter @CrayZeigh for a potluck of technology, politics and general tomfoolery.