buildnetworktogether

28/11/2025

CCDE grind mode: ON.
Trying to detect the questions I can’t remember… while handling the ones I definitely don’t want to meet again 😂🔥

This is the moment when you realise:
➡️ Some questions you know.
➡️ Some questions you THINK you know.
➡️ And some questions… were never born on this planet 😅

But hey — chapter by chapter, note by note, mistake by mistake…
We get closer to that CCDE number.
Design mindset. Business mindset. Resilience mindset.
Let’s go 🚀👊

17/10/2025

CCDE 400-007 in progress 💻

04/08/2025

🚀 Yesterday LDP, Today SR — What’s Next?

We used to build MPLS backbones with LDP and RSVP-TE like an artists carefully labeling paths hop-by-hop.

Then came Segment Routing — simplicity, scale, programmability. 👋 saying goodbye to LDP and RSVP.

But the real question is:

What comes after SR?

✅ Intent-driven networking
✅ Closed-loop automation
✅ AI-assisted path computation
✅ SRv6 for seamless cloud-native routing

The CLI isn’t dead — but the future speaks APIs, telemetry, and real-time decision loops.

Are you ready for autonomous networking?

01/08/2025

🔍 PCEP vs Traffic Engineering — What’s the Real Difference?

In the world of high-performance networks, the terms Traffic Engineering (TE) and PCEP often get tossed around — but they serve very different purposes.

Let’s break it down simply:

📡 Traffic Engineering (TE)
➡️ Objective: Optimize how traffic flows across your MPLS or Segment Routing network.
➡️ Tools: RSVP-TE, SR-TE, manual policies
➡️ Think of it like designing the ideal roads and lanes in a city.

🧠 PCEP – Path Computation Element Protocol
➡️ Objective: Communicate with a central “brain” (PCE) that calculates optimal paths.
➡️ Roles:
• PCC (Client) = the router asking for directions
• PCE (Server) = the brain giving best path recommendations
➡️ Think of it like using Waze or Maps to get live route optimization.

🎯 Together, they’re better
TE builds the structure.
PCEP gives the intelligence to adapt in real time.

07/07/2025

“Loopback-First”: The Quiet Rule Behind Every Stable Network I Design

In every network I design—whether for ISPs, data centers, or enterprise WANs—I follow one golden rule:

👉 Design around loopback interfaces. Not physical ones.

Here’s why it matters (and why it still works, even in EVPN and Segment Routing environments):

💡 Loopback-First Benefits in Real-World Design
1. Stability:
Loopbacks don’t go down unless the router goes down. Period.
2. Scalability:
iBGP sessions over loopbacks = fewer failures, smoother convergence.
3. Segment Routing Ready:
Loopbacks act as node SIDs and traffic-engineering endpoints. Predictable and clean.
4. Simplified Troubleshooting:
Ping the loopback, and you know the router’s alive. Traceroute becomes meaningful.
5. Cleaner IGP Topologies:
IS-IS or OSPF with loopbacks creates less flapping and fewer LSP recalculations.

🎯 Whether you’re building MPLS L3VPNs, BGP EVPN overlays, or hybrid SD-WANs—loopback-first keeps things modular, fast, and resilient.

🔁 What’s your design principle you won’t give up?
Tell me how you design clean and scalable networks👇

24/04/2025

Platform
Mac, Windows, Linux, browser—work wherever you are.

Pro Tip: Use layers and custom libraries to create dynamic, scalable network templates for repeated use.

At the end of the day, it’s not about the fanciest tool—it’s about the one that fits your workflow.

Are you using Draw.io? Let me know your favorite feature.
And if you’re still using Visio only—give this one a try, you might be surprised!

17/03/2025

🚀 Mastering the Future of IP Networks: SR-MPLS & SRv6 Training in Progress! 🚀

In the ever-evolving world of IP/MPLS networks, staying ahead of the curve is not an option—it’s a necessity! That’s why I’m currently diving deep into Segment Routing (SR-MPLS) and SRv6, two groundbreaking technologies reshaping modern network architectures.

🔍 What am I focusing on?
✅ SR-MPLS – Simplifying traffic engineering, reducing protocol complexity, and enabling seamless scalability.
✅ SRv6 – The future of IP routing, leveraging IPv6 for stateless, flexible, and highly programmable networks.
✅ Fast Reroute (TI-LFA) – Ensuring sub-50ms failover for unmatched network resilience.
✅ SR-TE (Traffic Engineering) – Optimizing paths dynamically to maximize performance and efficiency.
✅ Interoperability – Working with Cisco, Juniper, and Nokia solutions to build a vendor-agnostic skillset.

Segment Routing is revolutionizing SDN, 5G transport, cloud networking, and large-scale ISPs, making it a must-have expertise for network engineers aiming for the next level.

Cisco Learning & Certifications Cisco Service Provider

27/01/2025

🌐 Exploring Multicast Sparse Mode in Enterprise Networks

In modern IP networks, efficient delivery of data streams like live video or audio to multiple receivers is critical. This is where IP multicast comes into play. Let me share a design leveraging PIM Sparse Mode to deliver optimized multicast traffic.

📍 The Design:
• Source (192.168.200.100/24) sends multicast traffic through VLAN 200.
• SW2 acts as a PIM forwarder and connects the source to the network. It has direct communication with the Rendezvous Point (RP) for efficient traffic routing.
• The Rendezvous Point (R2/RP) (10.10.205.20) serves as the heart of multicast control, ensuring receivers get only the data they need.
• R1 handles the multicast join requests from the receiver and forwards traffic to the Receiver (10.10.22.131/25) in VLAN 22.

✨ Key Highlights:
• PIM Sparse Mode: A scalable and efficient multicast routing protocol that ensures traffic is only sent to receivers who explicitly join the group.
• RP Placement: The RP is pivotal in managing group membership and ensuring multicast packets are efficiently distributed.
• IGMP Join Group: R1 facilitates the multicast group’s request for 239.9.9.9, ensuring the receiver in VLAN 22 gets the required data.

💡 Benefits of this Design:
• Minimized bandwidth usage by delivering traffic only to interested receivers.
• Scalable architecture for supporting large multicast deployments.
• Improved traffic efficiency and network performance.

This design demonstrates the seamless integration of multicast sparse mode principles into enterprise networks, enabling high-performance data delivery with optimized resource utilization.

17/01/2025

As a network architect, I would like to share with my network my experience in network OS. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with Cisco’s diverse operating systems. Also, with other network constructors which make me Multivendor Management 🤩 . but in this post is reserved only about Cisco OS, strengths, tailored to specific needs, and here’s how I’ve experienced them:

💻 Cisco IOS XE
I first encountered IOS XE while working on enterprise projects (LAN). Its Linux-based modular architecture amazed me with how easily it integrated programmability into traditional routing and switching. Perfect for SD-WAN and modern enterprise networks! (Note: there’s a small difference between cEDGE and vEDGE CLI config).

📡 Cisco IOS XR
This one has been a game-changer for service provider environments. I’ve seen firsthand how its carrier-grade reliability and ability to handle massive scalability make it the backbone of high-performance networks. Multiples features like modular and distributed architecture, high availability through in-service upgrades, scalability for large networks, fault tolerance, and robust security and traffic management capabilities.

🏢 Cisco NX-OS
To be honest, I’ve never had the chance to work with NX-OS. Despite hearing about its impressive capabilities in data center environments—like its focus on low-latency fabric technologies (e.g., VXLAN, EVPN).
My career in Algeria and France has kept me focused on enterprise and service provider networks. Maybe 2025 or 2026 will be the year I finally dive into NX-OS!

Cisco’s operating systems truly reflect the company’s ability to meet the diverse challenges of enterprise, service provider, and data center networks.

💬 I’m curious to hear about your experiences with these systems. Which one has made the biggest impact in your career? Let’s share and learn together!

16/01/2025