Mike Courtney
mikec11.bsky.social
Mike Courtney
@mikec11.bsky.social
#Masshole in Kansas - #LFK #RockChalk #RCJH! VFR Pilot in Training. Cisco SE. Bird Watching + Astronomy. ACEX #5. #RocketTurtle 4 Life. #Wrestling #WWE
But, they truly believed in me and my colleagues to figure it out and gave us the leeway to work through it, which we did. I'll always appreciate that level of trust when I needed it the most.

20/100

#SiliconPrairie #Networking #NetworkingIsCool
May 2, 2025 at 2:57 PM
One lesson I learned the hard way: I ride or die on 9000+ MTUs, no matter the design.

And, the personal lesson.

The management team could have pulled the plug on this project. They could have doubted what we were building.
May 2, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Over the next two weeks we tested with jumbo packets across these new 9200 MTU links; the server guys were amazed at how much data they could now move going from 1Gb to 2 x 10Gb LAGs.

We setup a follow up maintenance window a few weeks later and successfully cut over the network.
May 2, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Well, except maybe having to put your tail between your legs and to apologize to your team for the wasted effort.

The problem was the MTUs on the point-to-point links in the new routed network. We had kept them the default - and low and behold - VMotions require 1600+ bytes to operate correctly.
May 2, 2025 at 2:57 PM
I don’t even know what you wrote…
May 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM
I'll post the back half of the story on Friday.

19/100

#SiliconPrairie #Networking #NetworkingIsCool
May 1, 2025 at 3:15 AM
new network.

The old network adage of "it's pinging, so we're good, right?!" was in full affect.

But - sometimes in networking you get the sneaking suspicion that it's isn't working as you expect...
May 1, 2025 at 3:15 AM
We moved the servers and whole subnets from the legacy network to the new network. I could see the gateways start to originate on the new network and the VPLS instances came online. We physically migrated the servers from the blades of the old the network onto the fan out switches of the
May 1, 2025 at 3:15 AM
connecting it to the new ring, and testing various IP schemas and against regular servers, as we didn't have a testing VMWare environment.

I felt comfortable with the testing, as we had gone over our cutover goals multiple times.

We scheduled a maintenance window and began our work.
May 1, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Lab 6 is an MPLS / VPLS, active / active configuration for redundancy between two discrete data centers.

The goal was to provide a redundant VMWare environment and facilitate VMotions over this L2 VPLS construct, rather than over a spanned VLAN.

I spent weeks mocking up the design,
May 1, 2025 at 3:15 AM
2. Provide a crisis debrief for families to help process this event.
3. Provide a website – relevant to *this event* with sexual assault prevention and response resources and updates for families on the investigation.
Sincerely,
(your name)
(your affiliation)
(your email)
(+/- your phone number)
April 28, 2025 at 3:44 AM
To the School Board,
I am writing regarding the allegations of sexual assault at Prairie Park Elementary. I ask that you:
1. Conduct an external, expert audit of USD497 policies and procedures to help us understand how sexual assault occurred and prevent future incidents.
April 28, 2025 at 3:44 AM
The next board meeting is tomorrow, Monday April 28th at 6:00pm. They will NOT be taking public comments this week.

And, you can still offer your support by copying and pasting the below to: [email protected]
April 28, 2025 at 3:44 AM
representatives and for our children.

Maya Hodison from the Times is also interested in speaking with district parents, off the record, to get an idea of how our community is feeling in the wake of these events. You can contact her at [email protected] @lawrencekstimes.com
April 28, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Please copy and paste the below. I talk to so many of you who are upset and frustrated - these emails can make a difference.

The kids *need* us to push for change and make sure they are safe. Even if you don't have kids at Prairie Park, use your voice to demand better from our elected
April 28, 2025 at 3:44 AM
in the future.

2. TWENTY SIX - the number of days left in the school year until the District believes they can sweep this under the rug. For the sake of our children's safety and this teacher's victims, we won't let that happen.
April 28, 2025 at 3:44 AM
1. ZERO - the number of external audits disclosed. The School Board and District have not disclosed any intention to conduct an external audit, nor have they disclosed the results of any external audit. Community members are asking for an audit to prevent this from happening to any other children
April 28, 2025 at 3:44 AM