Several of you have heard me talk about modular network design. There are five distinct advantages of a modular network design. <\/p>\n
1.Scalable
\nYou can upgrade pieces easier than all-in-one devices. Being able to upgrade a certain module for that big new client might mean the difference between being able to do it in 10 days instead of 30.<\/p>\n
2.Resilient
\nYou can avoid single points of failure. You are not depending on “big iron” for everything. You have multiple modules as a part of your design.<\/p>\n
3.Performance
\nIf routers, switches, access points, or whatever are doing less then you get better performance out them. CPUs are dedicating more time toward less processes. This results in better performance. Routers that are doing just BGP are able to process route tables better than ones doing stuff like OSPF or radius.<\/p>\n
4.Flexible
\nYou are less dependent on certain vendors, or product families. Instead of having some big router that does BGP, OSPF, and other functions you can have a modular design where a router does, lets say, just BGP. Now you have more choices in hardware because it might not. This allows you to try out newer products or new product features.<\/p>\n
5.Easier to maintain
\nDoing software upgrades on a modular devices, which is doing less things, means bugs and interoperability things don’t happen as often. Every piece of code has bugs. If the device is doing 5 tasks instead of 15 then the chance of a bug affecting the device is less. It also allows you to compartmentalize certain parts of the network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Several of you have heard me talk about modular network design. There are five distinct advantages of a modular network design. 1.Scalable You can upgrade pieces easier than all-in-one devices. Being able to upgrade a certain module for that big new client might mean the difference between being able to do it in 10 days […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[17],"tags":[125,124,123,126],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6VLMf-3v","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":309,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/osfp-and-areas\/","url_meta":{"origin":217,"position":0},"title":"OSFP and areas","author":"j2sw","date":"June 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"OSPF areas are one of the more common topics I am asked about as networks grow. \u00a0 Before we dig into this, we need to understand the reasons why OSPF areas were created in the first place. \u00a0Next, we will go into how to apply areas to modern network designs.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"areas\"","block_context":{"text":"areas","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/tag\/areas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2421,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/cambium-and-management-vlans\/","url_meta":{"origin":217,"position":1},"title":"Cambium and Management vlans","author":"j2sw","date":"September 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a quick diagram on how to separate Management traffic on an ePMP network. The aps\u00a0and CPE are in bridge mode in this setup. The Cambium CPE are in bridge mode with CNPilot routers doing PPPoE, which the ISP has control over as a managed router. Our netonix has a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cambium"","block_context":{"text":"Cambium","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/cambium\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aps_vlans-e1536254028499.jpg?fit=647%2C532&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2464,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/guest-article-can-my-router-catch-a-virus\/","url_meta":{"origin":217,"position":2},"title":"Guest Article: Can my router catch a virus?","author":"j2sw","date":"October 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Our friends over at TechWarn have their take on routers vulnerable to virus attacks https:\/\/www.expressvpn.com\/blog\/can-my-router-catch-a-virus\/ Big price differences between routers are often confusing to consumers as, unlike with personal computers, the quality difference is not always obvious. As routers are normally tied to a physical location, it is also\u00a0rather difficult\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/download.jpg?fit=236%2C213&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1626,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/quick-reference-ospf-network-types\/","url_meta":{"origin":217,"position":3},"title":"Quick Reference: OSPF Network Types","author":"j2sw","date":"July 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Point-to-multipoint is treated as a collection of point-to-point links and thus no DR\/BDR is required. Point-to-Point is a single link and no election is needed. Broadcast: OSPF routers on broadcast networks will elect a DR and a BDR (since it is multiaccess) - OSPF packets are multicast. NBMA: Routers will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"ospf\"","block_context":{"text":"ospf","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/tag\/ospf\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":488,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/mtin-introduces-mnet-service-for-mikrotik-and-ubiquiti-routers\/","url_meta":{"origin":217,"position":4},"title":"MTIN introduces Mnet service for Mikrotik and Ubiquiti routers","author":"j2sw","date":"January 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"MTIN is excited to announce our newest support offering, Mnet. Mnet allows customers using Milkrotik and Ubiquiti routers an option of a tiered support level on a per device basis. This allows customers a guaranteed support level at a fixed price. This is an enterprise level support option for critical\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mikrotik"","block_context":{"text":"Mikrotik","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/mikrotik\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2837,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/baicells-public-ips-on-client-routers\/","url_meta":{"origin":217,"position":5},"title":"Baicells: Public IPs on client routers","author":"j2sw","date":"February 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Public IPs on Baicells Client Routers. I needed to Provide a few customers with Public IPs while most of the UEs and clients got private IP. 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