Back Together Although I am Looking Through Some New Projects

Well I did manage to get the rack back together once the window washers left.  In the process, I figured out which cables to disconnect from the equipment in the back.  I now have 5 cables coming in to a desktop patch panel and then connected into SW116, a managed GS108Tv2 switch.  From SW116, it goes to the rack.  This means that I have only two connections to the rack; one ethernet and one power.  I have also setup a connection that I can use to occupy the placement of a cable to my FLINT2 router.  I haven't removed the connection to the rack yet, but this should enable me to move the FLINT2 router to the area behind my rack.  What I want to be able to do is power down the rack but still allow my laptop to work and the table electronics to be worked on with connection to the apartment network.  I could still do this with the FLINT1 that I have in the living room if I wish instead.

So now that I have just admitted this, I don't know what I was thinking of moving the FLINT2 for.  Just shows that my mind is still stumbling over various configurations until I get to the right one. Other than bringing down equipment because it is not being used, I am mistified.

Altering the rack connection so that floor work can be done

Well this is the first time that this has happened, fortunately I have enough time to respond. I am having some flooring replaced under my desk/table that is next to my rack.  My roll around chair evidently has caused the flooring to buckle since I did not have a carpet under my chair.  So I went looking for ways to change the connections between the rack, the desk/table, and the power strip across the back window sill.  I want to be able to disassemble everything in case the flooring installers need more room for their work.

I have USB cables, HDMI cables, and Ethernet cables going between the rack and the desk/table.  I also have a power connection and ethernet cables going to the walls and back window sill power strip.

State of the Network in December 2024

So I have not been blogging about my network for some time.  I have been busy at the end of the year with other things including family and my newfound hobby of genealogy,  I am also adding some WoodShop activity in there as well. So, my time with my network has taken a sideline.  However, now that I find that my Retirement Community is going over to a different way of doing things, I find myself coming back to the rack for some more experiments.

• I have changed the configuration of the rack and have removed the switch for the xPod, and removed both of the special purpose Edgerouter-X boxes
• I added a 24 port 1U keystone panel at the bottom to use for projects in the future
• I removed the SLATE router from the living room, since I was not using it very much
• I am first going to start by modifying a test RPi to have two or more namespaces using OpenVSwitch to provide a NAT router function between the NS
• I will also setup the routing tables to make the two NS get their IPs from different DHCP servers
• I am also going to setup a set of Docker containers that lie on either side of the NAT router
• I want to test the idea that normal flow across the NAT is controlled
• I want to test the setup being done via Ansible
• I am going to print a rack panel to mount a GS108T and ER-X at the bottom of the rack for future projects