Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
blog.benjojo.co.uk
Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
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Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
#2How much throughput does a device like this get with wireguard?
Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
#3You don't need ONIE, nor any of that "Open" Compute stuff.
Linux has recently got native framework for control of switching chips called "Distributed Switch Architecture." This turns a lot of very cheap hardware with very basic hardware switching chips into high performance routers.
Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
#4My main thought reading this as a non-network admin was of Mr Robot, and all the Linux installs on low level hardware used for hacks on that show.
Very interesting read and lots of upside to what is discussed, but the thought of the uncountable, almost invisible operating systems running in a large network give me a odd feeling in the pit of my stomach. So many potential places for malfeasance to hide.
Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
#5You don't need ONIE, nor any of that "Open" Compute stuff. Linux has recently got native framework for control of switching chips called "Distributed Switch Architecture." This turns a lot of very cheap hardware with very basic hardware switching chips into high performance routers.
Can that do L2 port management as well or is it restricted to L3 operations?
Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
#6You don't need ONIE, nor any of that "Open" Compute stuff. Linux has recently got native framework for control of switching chips called "Distributed Switch Architecture." This turns a lot of very cheap hardware with very basic hardware switching chips into high performance routers.
I don’t think there are any DSA drivers for Broadcom switch ICs (like the one in the device in the article) though? At least not in mainline last time I checked…
EDIT: No, actually, I was mistaken - there is one Broadcom series supported now I look again, BCM53xx, of which the one in the article does indeed appear to be. Looks like since the 4.8 kernel though, so not in the 4.4 kernel that comes with the device.
Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
#7I'm not seeing them on this side of the pond for less than about $425...did the author drop a zero in the price?
Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
#8You don't need ONIE, nor any of that "Open" Compute stuff. Linux has recently got native framework for control of switching chips called "Distributed Switch Architecture." This turns a lot of very cheap hardware with very basic hardware switching chips into high performance routers.
Can that do L2 port management as well or is it restricted to L3 operations?
Yes. For example, if you bridge switch ports, it actually sets up the switch to do it in the switch hardware instead of in the kernel.
Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
#9Minor Quibble: £85 is not a cheap ethernet switch.
It's an entertaining and informative read, but it's more like low-end datacentre hardware than that cheap €25 switch I've got in my home office.
A little disappointing as I was hoping I'd have a cheeky high-bandwidth raspberry-pi alternative on my hands ...
Re: Teaching a cheap ethernet switch new tricks (2019)
#10How much throughput does a device like this get with wireguard?
Normally, terrible. These systems are built with anemic, usually single-core CPUs usually in the low 100s MHz. The only way they can actually do gigabit switching is by hardware offload to dedicated ASICs. Anything going through the main CPU, even without encryption, will have terrible performance.