Today’s episode with guest Joan Garcia provides valuable insights into the complexities of modern network operations at a telco, the importance of collaboration across technical domains, and the strategic decisions that drive innovation in the telecom industry. Joan’s experiences and perspectives offer ideas for navigating the challenges of integrating different layers of network architecture while ... Read more »...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr
Why do we need network models such as OSI? Network architect and author Russ White joins Holly and Ethan to talk about how network models can help engineers ask intelligent questions and understand networking problems. And OSI isn’t your only option–Russ digs into the RINA model and how it compares to OSI (which we covered ... Read more »...
Feb 06, 2025•49 min
Serverless is mature enough now to be a mainstream choice for application development. But that doesn’t mean interesting things aren’t happening. Benjamen Pyle joins Kyler and Ned on Day Two DevOps to talk about the potential for small vendors and startups to develop high-quality services purpose-built to solve specific problems. They also discuss the benefits ... Read more »...
Feb 05, 2025•39 min
JJ and Drew catch you up on cybersecurity news including new research that uncovers a host of 5G/LTE vulnerabilities, the chain of breaches in a BeyondTrust attack that led to infiltration of the US Treasury Dept., and a lawsuit against LinkedIn alleging that data from paying customers was used to train AI models. Researchers unpack ... Read more »...
Feb 04, 2025•39 min
Take a Network Break! The US Justice Department blocks the HPE-Juniper merger with a surprise lawsuit, DeepSeek shakes up the AI world, and Broadcom rolls out quantum-safe Fibre Channel controllers. Sweden seizes a vessel suspected of tampering with a subsea cable, a code update could make Linux significantly more power-efficient, and the WLAN market gets ... Read more »...
Feb 03, 2025•30 min
On today’s show, we’re discussing the complexities of network design for AI computing at the edge. We’re not talking about AIOps, although that might come up in this conversation. Instead, we’re focusing on how to effectively cope with the network traffic patterns happening on your network as a result of AI computing workloads. Our subject ... Read more »...
Jan 31, 2025•55 min
Today we get an education on what a high speed cable assembly really is from guest Ryan Harris from today’s sponsor, The Siemon Company. Ryan shares the evolution of high-speed pluggable cable assemblies from 64kbps ISDN B channels to 800 gigabit connections, and describes how they work. We discuss the Siemon Company’s history and its ... Read more »...
Jan 31, 2025•44 min
In today’s episode, we address listener Kieren’s question about the differences between LAG, MLAG, MC-LAG, and stacking. We tackle the nuances of Link Aggregation (LAG) and the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), and explain their roles in redundancy and bandwidth efficiency. We also discuss the complexities and differences among vendors and overall benefits of Multi-Chassis ... Read more »...
Jan 30, 2025•56 min
Are you ready to go from zero to hero in GitNops? On today’s podcast, we talk with Tom McGonagle, who shares and explains git, CI/CD and DevOps and how that all fits into network engineering. The conversation also covers the evolution of containerization and Kubernetes, highlighting their roles in modern network automation. Tom also encourages ... Read more »...
Jan 29, 2025•45 min
Don’t underestimate the value of packet analysis in your security strategy. And if you’re analyzing packets, the open-source Wireshark software is a go-to tool. On today’s episode, we talk with Chris Greer, a Wireshark trainer and consultant specializing in packet analysis. Chris explains the critical role of packet analysis in cybersecurity, particularly in threat hunting ... Read more »...
Jan 28, 2025•43 min
Take a Network Break! We start with critical vulnerabilities affecting the Android OS, Cisco Meeting Management, and SonicWall, and then discuss a report that tens of thousands of Fortinet security appliances still haven’t been patched despite active exploits. Palo Alto Networks releases an open API to make it easier for developers to access Quantum Random ... Read more »...
Jan 28, 2025•38 min
Many of us have had network design discussions relating to natural disasters. What if a fire comes through? Or a flood? For most of us, those discussions don’t feel overly worthy of our attention. Yes, we should think about it. Yes, we should plan for it. If we’re really serious, we’ll even dust off the ... Read more »...
Jan 24, 2025•53 min
Can we map DevOps principles and practices to network operations? Should we? On today’s show, we talk with Williams Collins and Eyvonne Sharp to understand DevOps both culturally and practically. We also discuss the challenges of applying DevOps to network operations. We look at lightweight options such as starting small, having a centralized source of ... Read more »...
Jan 24, 2025•39 min
It’s history day on N Is For Networking! We learn about the development of IPv6 directly from Bob Hinden, one of the pioneers who made it happen. Bob discusses his journey from early work on ARPANET to his significant contributions to IPv6. We also cover the transition from IPv4, the challenges faced during IPv6’s creation, ... Read more »...
Jan 23, 2025•50 min
Today’s Network Automation Nerds episode discusses Cox Communications’ journey to getting network automation right. We also talk about how they used network automation to support operating the network at the DEF CON hacker convention. Our guests are David Ezell, Joshua Watkins and Eric Hansen from Cox Communications. We dive into initial steps and challenges in ... Read more »...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 1 min
It’s tempting to run IT organizations the same way we run infrastructure: as resource units to be applied to various jobs. But people aren’t infrastructure. They have opinions. They form teams. They operate on different incentives, which sometimes clash within an organization (i.e. sales vs. product managers, or infosec vs. everybody). Today’s guest, Lianne Potter, ... Read more »...
Jan 22, 2025•45 min
You asked for more IPv6 and we listened. In today’s episode, we talk with Ed Horley, co-host of the IPv6 Buzz podcast about IPv6 security, migration, and adoption. We talk about how your general security strategy doesn’t change with v4 or v6, but the trouble starts with a lack of v6 knowledge. We talk about ... Read more »...
Jan 21, 2025•40 min
Take a Network Break! Guest co-host John Burke joins Drew Conry-Murray for this week’s analysis of tech news. They discuss a string of serious vulnerabilities in Wavlink Wi-Fi routers, Fortinet taking a one-two security punch, and CISA director Jen Easterly calling out US hardware and software companies for being “inherently insecure.” Microsoft and Google put ... Read more »...
Jan 20, 2025•48 min
Do you think you have what it takes to be a manager? Should you go for it? Laura Santamaria, host of the Technically Leadership podcast, joins Ethan Banks to discuss those questions. They talk about the motivations for moving into a management role, the challenges of managing people, and the need to understand the business ... Read more »...
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr 5 min
On today’s episode, we’re explaining high-speed Ethernet lanes at the request of listener Matthew. We cover lanes, channels, and their physical representation in networking – think actual cables. We explain both 40Gb and 100Gb technologies and compare them to Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP). We also have a discussion on standards and practical implications for ... Read more »...
Jan 16, 2025•38 min
How do you master Python? One bite at a time. On today’s show we talk with Bob Belderbos, co-founder of PyBites, a community and learning platform for Python. Bob shares his philosophy for learning Python in small bites with practical exercises, hands-on learning, and daily coding for improvement. We discuss the importance of small wins, ... Read more »...
Jan 15, 2025•40 min
Transport Layer Security (TLS) relies on certificates to authenticate Web sites and enable encryption. On today’s Packet Protector we look at mechanisms that domain owners can take to ensure the validity of their digital certificates. More specifically, we cover Certification Authority Authorization (CAA) and Certificate Transparency (CT). Our guest is Ed Harmoush. Ed is a ... Read more »...
Jan 14, 2025•31 min
Take a Network Break! We start with serious CVEs for Perl and Ivanti. On the news front, the FCC wants to license spectrum to raise money to help US telcos rip out Chinese network equipment–even though there’s no evidence Chinese equipment led to telco intrusions by Chinese attackers. Verizon boasts of 5.5Gbps download speeds on ... Read more »...
Jan 13, 2025•30 min
Packet capture and packet analysis is incredibly useful for problem-solving and troubleshooting. Analyzing packets is also a difficult skill to master. With the incredible array of network troubleshooting tools at our disposal, including emerging networking models for artificial intelligence, do we still need to fuss around with Wireshark in 2025? Our guest Chris Greer says ... Read more »...
Jan 10, 2025•56 min
Cloud networking is still networking, but there are differences. In this special collaboration episode between the Total Network Operations and Cloud Gambit podcasts, Scott Robohn, Eyvonne Sharp, and William Collins dive into the contrasts between traditional and cloud networking, and how network engineers raised on hardware and the CLI can flourish in cloudy environments. In ... Read more »...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr
Today’s topic is the default gateway, essential for routing traffic between networks. We explain its purpose, configuration, and the consequences of incorrect settings. Using home networks as an example, Ethan and Holly illustrate how default gateways enable devices to communicate with external networks. The discussion also covers routing tables, subnet masks, and the differences between ... Read more »...
Jan 09, 2025•34 min
Measuring network speed seems straightforward: send some traffic between two endpoints and see how long it took. But what path did the traffic take? Were wired or wireless networks involved? What intermediary devices stood between your two endpoints? Was there interference? Congestion? Are device limitations affecting your results? The fact is, there’s more to measurement ... Read more »...
Jan 08, 2025•39 min
Once you get past a handful of Python scripts, network automation can be…daunting. If you want to make network automation process-driven, repeatable, reliable, and something that doesn’t just rely on your scripts and the knowledge inside your head, there’s an entire landscape that opens up before you. Have you thought about network discovery? How about ... Read more »...
Dec 20, 2024•58 min
On today’s episode, we’re going to talk Python. Host Eric Chou is joined by Michael Kennedy, the founder of Talk Python Training and host of the Talk Python To Me podcast. The discussion covers the evolution of Michael’s podcast and training business, the impact of platforms like TikTok on learning, and the importance of community ... Read more »...
Dec 19, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Join us today for a look back at this year’s developments in cloud security and DevOps. We ask if serverless computing has peaked, why Kubernetes continues to be so hard, whether cloud repatriation is a real trend, and whether the DevOps role has become too darn big. We also explore the future of cloud computing, ... Read more »...
Dec 18, 2024•42 min
