Mr.TechSparrow

NetBox is an open-source tool widely considered the industry's go-to "Source of Truth" for IP Address Management (IPAM) and Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM). It allows network administrators and engineers to maintain dynamic, centralized documentation of a network's current state, unlocking the ability to automate device configuration, provisioning, and deployment. Whether you are a student exploring network management or an engineer building an emulation lab, having a safe sandbox to experiment in is invaluable. This guide will demonstrate how to successfully deploy an isolated NetBox lab environment on Ubuntu 24.04 using Docker. Prerequisites  To follow along with this guide, make sure you have the following ready: Host Environment : A local hypervisor (like VMware or VirtualBox) or a cloud VPS. (Tip: If you need a cloud host, you can use my DigitalOcean referral link to sign up and get $200 in free credits!) Operating System : A fresh installation of U...

In the previous guide , we covered how to spin up a MikroTik CHR instance on a Windows host using VirtualBox. In this guide, we will focus on the bare-minimum initial configuration and essential security hardening steps required to get the router up and running, and how to perform them using the CLI. The configurations shown here are intentionally kept simple and may vary depending on your network design, environment, and security requirements. This guide assumes that you have followed the previous guide and have a freshly set up MikroTik CHR instance running in VirtualBox, with access to the router via the CLI. Step 01: Removing the Default “admin” User MikroTik routers ship with a default user named admin. Even when protected with a strong password, it is considered best practice to remove or disable this default account and create a new administrative user to improve security. You can view the currently configured users using the command: user print Based on the command output, only...

In AWS, a Launch Template is a reusable configuration that defines how an EC2 instance should be created. It allows you to save common instance settings—such as the AMI, instance type, key pair, security groups, and storage volumes etc. —and use them whenever you launch a new instance. Launch Templates are especially useful when working with Auto Scaling Groups , where all instances need to follow the same setup. They are also helpful for testing and development , where you may need to create identical EC2 instances multiple times. Launch Templates also support versioning , which means you can update the configuration later without changing or breaking instances that are already running. In addition, a Launch Template can be shared across teams or AWS accounts (with the right permissions), making it easier to maintain consistent setups in larger environments. Overall, Launch Templates help reduce manual work, avoid configuration mistakes, and keep EC2 deployments consistent. In th...