// Network Engineering
BGP Communities Networking RTBH RFC 8092 Internet Infrastructure Network Engineering Routing Policy IXP Peering

BGP Communities: The Feature Everyone Ignores

BGP communities ship on every router. Most operators use three of them. Large communities, RFC 8092, selective announcement, RTBH signaling — the full feature set sits untouched in most networks.

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-05-27 / ~2 min read min read
Transceiver Compatibility Vendor Lock MSA Optical Networking TCO Network Engineering Cisco Juniper Open Source

Third-Party Optics: The Real Risk vs the Vendor Story

Cisco says third-party optics void your support contract. The MSA says otherwise. Here's what the standards actually guarantee, what vendor lock costs at scale, and how to run the risk-adjusted calculation.

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-05-09 / ~2 min read min read
Fiber Testing OTDR Optical Networking Data Center Network Operations Connector Contamination IEC 61300 FlexBox Flexoptix Network Engineering

Your OTDR Is Lying to You

An OTDR finds breaks, splices, and macrobends. It tells you nothing about the cause of 80% of optical link failures: contaminated connectors. Here's what actual fiber testing looks like — and how an SFP-based microOTDR changes the economics.

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-05-06 / ~3 min read min read
400G TCO Optical Transceiver Cost Analysis MTTR Spare Management Compatible Optics Network Operations Procurement Secondary Market Optical Networking Data Center Supply Chain Vendor Validation Programmable Optics Network Engineering

The Real Cost of Optical Components

Optical components are often compared based on unit price. This does not reflect the total cost. The most cost-effective component is the one that integrates without requiring ongoing effort to keep it stable.

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-04-17 / ~2 min read min read
400G Firmware CMIS QSFP-DD EEPROM DSP Optical Transceiver Troubleshooting Network Engineering State Machine Optics Compatibility DataPathActivated Coherent Optics Flexbox Programmer Optical Networking

Firmware Hell — Why Your Optics Break After Upgrade

A system runs stable for months, then starts showing intermittent link resets after a routine update. Nothing is technically broken. The system behavior has changed.

Rene Fichtmueller / 2026-04-14 / ~3 min read min read