MARWAN docs NOC knowledge baseMARWAN · Network Operations Centre
How we build and run the MARWAN network.
Runbooks, deployment guides and workshop material from the MARWAN NOC team, for engineers at Moroccan universities and research centres.
52 guides10 sectionsLast update 2026-11-12
Campus networks 12
- Campus Networks Design and OperationsAn eleven-part workshop on designing campus networks and running them day to day, for network administrators at universities, libraries and research centres.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: The Internet ecosystem & NRENsHow the Internet ecosystem is organised, what National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) are, the services they offer and the power of federation.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: Design conceptsCampus network design concepts: the OSI model, encapsulation, network topologies and the principles of designing a campus network.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: Layer 1 cablingLayer 1 of the campus network: twisted-pair and fiber optic cable types, fiber distances and cost, and cabling recommendations.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: Layer 2 switchingLayer 2 switching for campus networks: switches, VLANs, Spanning Tree, link aggregation (LACP), LLDP and layer 2 security.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: Layer 3 Internet ProtocolLayer 3 addressing for campus networks: IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, obtaining and planning address space, static addressing on Linux and inter-VLAN routing.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: Layer 3 RoutingAn introduction to layer 3 routing: routing and forwarding tables, routing protocols and routing security.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: Core Network services for the campusThe core network services a campus needs, such as DHCP, DNS and NTP, plus caches, mirrors and services offered by the backbone or IXP.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: Managing campus networksManaging a campus network day to day: inventory, cable and equipment labeling, network diagrams, a knowledge base, configuration management and monitoring.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: troubleshooting & support toolsRemote access and the troubleshooting tools that support campus network operations.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: Virtualization & CloudAn introduction to virtualization and cloud computing for campus networks: public, private and hybrid cloud.
- Campus Networks Design and Operations: Setting up a hyperconverged Proxmox clusterSetting up a hyperconverged Proxmox cluster: compute with PVE, storage with Ceph and networking with the Linux kernel.
eduroam 9
- eduroam DeployathonSlides and prerequisites for the eduroam Deployathon, a hands-on workshop to deploy an eduroam Service Provider and Identity Provider.
- eduroam SP setupSet up an eduroam Service Provider with FreeRADIUS on EL9 (Rocky, Alma, RHEL): clients, proxies, sites and certificates.
- eduroam IdP using OpenLDAPSet up an eduroam Identity Provider on EL9 that authenticates users against OpenLDAP with the FreeRADIUS ldap module.
- eduroam IdP using Active DirectorySet up an eduroam Identity Provider on EL9 that authenticates users against Active Directory using Samba, Kerberos and FreeRADIUS.
- Install "eapol_test" tool to test eduroam serversBuild the eapol_test tool on Rocky Linux 9 and use it to test authentication on an eduroam RADIUS server.
- Setup a CA compatible with eduroam requisitesCreate a private certificate authority with the extensions eduroam clients and eduroam CAT need, including CRL support.
- eduroam setupSet up an eduroam Service Provider, and optionally an Identity Provider, with FreeRADIUS on EL9 (Rocky, Alma, RHEL).
- eduroam setupSet up an eduroam Service Provider with FreeRADIUS on Rocky Linux 8: clock, clients, proxies, sites and certificates.
- Install eduroam Identity ProviderHow to install an eduroam Identity Provider (IdP) using FreeRADIUS and OpenLDAP on Rocky Linux.
Certificates 2
- Getting started with the new MARWAN-TCS with HaricaHow member institutions get started with MARWAN-TCS on the HARICA platform: account access, creating certificates and CA chains.
- Setup a CA and a self-signed certificateCreate a local certificate authority and use it to sign a server certificate with the extensions applications need.
OpenLDAP 4
- Install Openldap on Rocky Linux 9Install an OpenLDAP 2.6 directory server on Rocky Linux 9.
- Install OpenLDAP server on CentOS 7Install and configure an OpenLDAP 2.4 directory server on CentOS 7 step by step, using LDIF changes.
- Add eduPerson and eduOrg schemas to OpenLDAPAdd the eduPerson and eduOrg schemas to an OpenLDAP server with ldapadd, using MARWAN-hosted LDIF files.
- Convert .schema file to .ldifConvert an OpenLDAP .schema file to LDIF format and load it with ldapadd (OpenLDAP 2.4+).
DNS 4
- Install knot-resolver on Rocky Linux 9Install and configure the Knot Resolver caching DNS resolver on Rocky Linux 9.
- Clear DNS cache from knot-resolverFlush the Knot Resolver (kresd) cache on demand through its control socket with socat.
- Install Unbound on Rocky Linux 9Install and configure the Unbound validating, recursive and caching DNS resolver on Rocky Linux 9.
- Delegate a /26 reverse DNS zoneDelegate the reverse DNS zone of a /26 subnet between BIND9 parent and child servers (RFC 2317 classless delegation).
Routing and high availability 2
Virtualization 6
- Migrate from VMware to ProxmoxWhy and how MARWAN moved its virtual machines from VMware to Proxmox VE with Ceph, and how to prepare the migration.
- Notes on migrating VMs from VMware to ProxmoxSteps and pitfalls when importing VMware virtual machines into Proxmox, including virtio drivers and Rocky Linux 9 guests.
- Proxmox notesShort notes on importing VMware disks into Proxmox and running Rocky Linux 9 guests.
- Put a Proxmox VE node into maintenance modePut a Proxmox VE node into HA maintenance mode so its VMs and containers live-migrate away, then back when you disable it.
- Reinitiallise Ceph storageCompletely remove and reinstall Ceph and its configuration on a Proxmox VE cluster.
- Change VMware storage controller to paravirtualSwitch a CentOS 7 VMware VM to the paravirtual SCSI controller by rebuilding the initramfs and moving its disks.
Mail 4
- Fix error where zimbra services stop runningFix Zimbra services that stop running because of wrong ownership on the Zimbra cron file.
- Allow hosts or networks to relay through Zimbra mail serverShow and add the networks and hosts allowed to relay mail through a Zimbra server.
- Delete all outgoing queue for a user in Zimbra mail serverDelete all queued outgoing mail for one user on a Zimbra 8.8.8+ server.
- Install mailman 2.x on CentOS 7Install and configure the Mailman 2 mailing list manager on CentOS 7.
HPC 2
GNU/Linux 7
- GNU/Linux general tips & tricksGNU/Linux tips and commands for MARWAN servers: initial Rocky, Alma and Debian setup, LVM, SSH and networking.
- GNU/Linux quick hacksShort GNU/Linux recipes, such as creating an LVM partition with fdisk.
- Initial Debian configA first-boot script for Debian servers: unlimited bash history, QEMU guest agent and IPv6 SLAAC disabled.
- Enable ssh autocomplete on Debian 11Add tab completion of SSH host names and IP addresses on Debian 11, as on RHEL-like systems.
- Fix SSH key logins not working on RHEL like systemsFix SSH public key logins failing on Rocky or Alma Linux by restoring the SELinux context of authorized_keys.
- Fix error where BIND DNS won't connect to statistics portFix BIND failing to open its statistics channel port because SELinux denies it, using semanage.
- Remove additional IPv6 address from CentOS 7Remove an extra IPv6 address on CentOS 7 and stop NetworkManager from adding it back.