One Ethernet Cable for Two Appliances: Innovative Networking at a Proof of Concept
- Pavan Raja
- Apr 8, 2025
- 3 min read
Summary:
The document recounts an incident during a proof of concept (PoC) event where networking challenges arose due to limited resources. Despite lacking Ethernet hub/switch and only one Ethernet connection available, the author successfully connected their laptop to the customer's network, obtained a DHCP address, and configured eth3 on the Connector Appliance (ConApp) as a static IP address. This setup allowed them to receive events from the production network through ConApp without issues. The devices' Ethernet NICs were auto-sensing, but various straight and crossover cables were available for use. The author kept the original IP addresses unchanged, adhering to advice given by Victor during deployment.
The passage also details how the team utilized static IP addresses for their laptops, set up SSH tunnels for secure communication between appliances and laptops, enabled email notifications via SSH tunneling through an ESM appliance, and configured two appliances (ESM and ConApp) to communicate with each other over a network on the same subnet. The software product "Jive for Microsoft Office" is mentioned as facilitating collaboration on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents through integration with Jive, requiring Windows and Office 2003-2013 for usage. Users can download and install the plugin by entering their login credentials on a specified website URL after installation, using version 8.0.0.0 8c4, revision: 8.0.0.0_8c4_328_d191c49. Jive software features such as Rooms and Contacts suggest a platform for team collaboration.
Details:
The passage describes an experience during a proof of concept (PoC) event where networking challenges arose due to limited resources. The author and their team faced difficulties with two appliances, no Ethernet hub/switch, and only one Ethernet connection for DHCP usage.
To overcome this issue, the author initially connected his laptop to the customer's network and obtained a DHCP address. He then configured eth3 on the Connector Appliance (ConApp) using this IP address as a static address. Assuming that the DHCP lease was set for a week, he hoped no other device would use their IP address. This allowed them to receive events from the production network through ConApp.
Additionally, the Ethernet NICs on the appliances were auto-sensing, and they had various straight and crossover cables available. Therefore, the author kept the original IP addresses on both appliances (eth0) unchanged, as advised by Victor during deployment. This setup allowed them to proceed with their PoC without further complications.
In this scenario, the author describes setting up two appliances (ESM and ConApp) to communicate with each other over a network where they are on the same subnet. They use static IP addresses for their laptops and configure SSH tunnels to establish secure communication channels between the appliances and their laptops. Additionally, they set up email notifications by enabling SSH tunneling through an ESM appliance using a license key that has SSH enabled. The process of setting up these connections allowed them to save time and efficiently manage network traffic between the two appliances.
The text describes a software product named "Jive for Microsoft Office" which is designed to facilitate the creation, opening, collaboration on, and sharing of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents through integration with Jive. It states that Windows and Office 2003, 2007, 2010, or 2013 are required for its use. To download and install the plugin, users need to enter their login credentials on a specified website URL: https://irock.jiveon.com after installation. The version of Jive Software mentioned in the text is 8.0.0.0 8c4, revision: 8.0.0.0_8c4_328_d191c49. Additionally, there are mentions of Jive software features such as Rooms and Contacts which suggest a platform for team collaboration.
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