[Info-vax] DECnet challenge

[John H. Reinhardt]

On 3/1/2019 8:04 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
> On 3/1/2019 7:35 PM, Stephen Hoffman wrote:
>> On 2019-03-02 00:09:59 +0000, Dave Froble said:
>>
>>> But to get back to the topic.  Going outside the challenge rules
>>> avoids the challenge,  right?
>>
>> Keep reading to the "ps".
> 
> Did ..
> 
>> And tightening the scope for a pentest or for a bug bounty program might
>> only serve to prop up the appearance of and success of the defenders.
>>
>> Looks good to management.  Until it doesn't.
>>
>> Attackers don't care about scope, nor about code elegance, clarity,
>> stability, nor maintainability.
>>
>>> The only question I have is, how do I find out about switches that can
>>> do what Mark suggests?  All I got are dumb $10 switches.
>>
>> Prices on managed switches have generally cratered in recent years.
>>

I'm currently running on an HP ProCurve 2810.  48 10/100/1000 ports.  Works well and you can pick one up on Ebay for between $60 and $100.
I'm now looking for a 48-port with 2-4 SFP+ 10Gbe ports to attach to a c3000 Blade Chassis with something like a HPE
6120XG Blade Switch for my next iteration in home server foolishness.  Leaning toward a Cisco C4948 48-port which are about $125-$200 on Ebay.  But I also like the HP Aruba 2930F.  However the best price I see for that is $680 which is a LOT more than the Cisco.  Specs are about the same for switching speed and throughput.  But only 48W power usage for the HP as compared to nearly 300W for the Cisco.

>> There are many to choose from.
>>
>> I've been working with switches from various vendors.
>>
>> The ZyXEL web-managed ("smart managed") switches are reasonable in terms
>> of price and features and UI.  ZYWALL USG series boxes, too.
>>
>> ZyXEL GS1920 series would be a starting point, for a low-end and capable
>> semi-managed switch.
> 
> GASP!  Just one of those 8-port switches cost more than all my networking stuff.
> 
> :-)
> 
>> ZyXEL vendor support is decent, too.
>>
>> Haven't had the opportunity to work with Ubiquiti switches, but their
>> Wi-Fi AP products are quite good.
>>

I like Ubiquiti kit, too.  My network access has been through an Edgerouter Lite for the past 5 years and it works well.  The programmable firewall/router software based on the old Vyatta code is relatively easy to use.

I also used one of their UAP-AC-HD Access Points for the new house WiFi and 2 UAP-AC-PRO Access points as wireless bridges for networking in some areas that didn't have hardwired lines.  They work great. It's nice not having to reboot them all the time when access goes wonky.

-- 
John H. Reinhardt