Last week was a busy one. But definitely one I look back on with a huge smile.
The weekend before, I requested my very own Autonomous System Number (ASN) and IPv6 address space through ColoClue.
Something I had left behind almost four years ago is now finally back in my life. But this time, it's truly my own.
After my first heart surgery, I managed to return to work. But after my second heart surgery, that never really worked out again.
However, networking and servers are in my blood. And that's not something you can simply get rid of.
So for me, this was a pretty big milestone.
Back to last week
I started by rebuilding my own infrastructure. And if we're going to do something, we might as well do it properly, right?
I have two physical servers in the datacenter, each running its own internet router based on BIRD 3. Underneath that sits my underlay network and the rest of my infrastructure.
First, I configured my IP transit through ColoClue.
Next, I connected to my first Internet Exchange: FRYS-IX.
After that, I established my very first BGP peering session with another ColoClue member: LuJe.net.
And surprisingly, everything went pretty smoothly.
Routing is nice, but you need to keep an eye on things
Of course, a network needs proper monitoring and validation.
So I immediately added RPKI checks, including an hourly check on the route origin validity of prefixes advertised by my peers and exchanges.
Because running your own network is fun, but knowing what's happening on it is even better.
Next, I connected to our association's new Internet Exchange: CLUE-IX.
And naturally, a few more BGP peering sessions followed.
My own little network was starting to become a real part of the internet.
Every network deserves a business card
And a personal network obviously needs its own place on the internet.
So I registered a domain:
And yes, that also meant building a website. In my own style, of course.
Now, I'm definitely not a top programmer, but I think the result turned out pretty nice.
The website includes:
- A public Looking Glass
- Ping, traceroute and MTR tools
- Live BGP peering session status
- Network telemetry and monitoring
- Network and infrastructure information
- A dedicated peering portal
I'm using Zabbix to collect monitoring information and populate the website with data that is as live and accurate as possible.
Because what's the point of a network status page if it doesn't actually show what's happening?
And while we're at it... let's automate peering requests
If you're building a network portal anyway, why not make it possible for other networks to request a peering session directly?
So I built an integration with PeeringDB.
Networks can submit a request through the AS218506 Peering Portal, and I get notified through the channels that matter to me.
There is one important requirement though: your PeeringDB information needs to be properly maintained.
The relevant network information is then recorded in NetBox, which I use as my source of truth.
Because documentation that practically writes itself is the best kind of documentation, right?
The last part of the process is still semi-automated.
I receive the peering request, review it, and manually add the configuration to Ansible and my Git repository.
From there, the routers use Ansible Pull to retrieve their updated configurations.
So the process is automated where it makes sense, while I still have full control over what gets configured on my network.
And honestly, that's exactly how I like it.
So, that was my week
The birth of AS218506, the infrastructure behind it, and the launch of:
AS218506 - My Personal Network Project
A new Autonomous System Number.
Two internet routers.
My own IPv6 address space.
IP transit, Internet Exchanges and BGP peering sessions.
RPKI checks, Zabbix monitoring, NetBox, Ansible automation and a public network portal.
All put together in roughly one week.
You'd almost think I enjoy working with technology. 😁
But for me, this is about much more than an ASN, a few BGP sessions and a website.
Getting a piece of myself back
It's also about recovering a part of my identity that I had lost somewhere along the way.
After two heart surgeries, I had to leave behind something that had been such a huge part of my life.
Not just the technology itself, but also the responsibility that came with it.
Being responsible for a network.
Making sure things work.
Finding problems, solving them, building things, improving them and knowing that everything is running the way it should.
I genuinely loved that responsibility.
And I missed it.
Now I have my own network again.
I get to decide how it's designed, how it operates, what technologies I want to use and what I want to experiment with next.
A little piece of who I used to be.
And especially a piece of what I always loved doing.
No customers depending on my infrastructure. No work pressure. No stress.
But all the fun and passion I used to have for networking is finally back!
And that means more to me than any ASN ever could.
What's next? Maybe the best part is still to come
My next goal might actually be the most exciting one yet.
Returning to Nikhef, but this time with my own switch and my own network.
How awesome would that be?
There is still plenty to build, experiment with and learn.
And that's exactly what makes this project so much fun.
A few well-deserved thank-yous
A big thank you to ColoClue for making all of this possible.
Thanks to FRYS-IX for getting me connected.
And perhaps a special thank you to Jelle Luijten, for handling everything so quickly, arranging all the paperwork with RIPE and ColoClue, and of course for that very first BGP peering session with LuJe.net.
To some people, it might just be an AS number and a bunch of equipment.
But to me, it means so much more.
One very happy guy over here. 😁
And from now on, also the proud owner and founder of AS218506 - Siekman Network.
Want to peer with AS218506?
Interested in establishing a BGP peering session with AS218506?
Visit the AS218506 Peering Portal to submit your request.
You can also find our network information on PeeringDB.
Let's peer! 🌐