Total Networks Operations sits down with Justin Ryburn for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the networking industry. Topics including how to attract new talent to network engineering and network operations; getting literate in DevOps/infrastructure tools such as GitHub, Terraform, and Python; pairing Dev and NetOps to maximize domain expertise; integrating tools and trying ... Read more »...
May 30, 2025•45 min
We wanted to do an episode on SD-WAN, but realized we needed to set the stage for how wide-area networking developed. That’s why today’s episode is a history lesson of the Wide Area Network (WAN). We talk about how WANs emerged, public and private WANs, how WANs connect to LANs and data centers, the care ... Read more »
May 29, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Cloud networks aren’t like traditional data center networks, so applying a traditional network design to the cloud probably isn’t the best idea. On today’s Day Two Cloud, guest Aidan Finn guides us through significant differences between Microsoft Azure networking and on-prem data center networks. For instance, subnets don’t segment hosts, network security groups do; every ... Read more »
May 28, 2025•40 min
Aviatrix is a cloud network security company that helps you secure connectivity to and among public and private clouds. On today’s Packet Protector, sponsored by Aviatrix, we get details on how Aviatrix works, and dive into a new feature called the Secure Network Supervisor Agent. This tool uses AI to help you monitor and troubleshoot ... Read more »
May 27, 2025•43 min
Take a Network Break! We begin with a Red Alert for critical vulnerabilities Kubernetes Gardener. Up next, a threat actor has been squatting on unused CNAME records to distribute malware and spam, and IP Fabric rolls out a new firewall rule simulation capability to let administrators test the effect of firewall rules on traffic patterns. ... Read more »...
May 27, 2025•28 min
Netris is tackling the issue of automating multi-tenancy in an AI data center. Netris has your answer to this challenge, and it’s a solution certified to work with NVIDIA. We’re going to get into the nuts and bolts of Netris network automation with Alex Saroyan, CEO and co-founder of Netris. Along the way, we will ... Read more »
May 23, 2025•59 min
Data Center construction has reached an incredible pace over the last few years with implications on NetOps and operations of all kinds. Today we with talk with sponsor Siemon regarding the state of data centers, past, present and future. We explore legacy data centers and how they are evolving to work in today’s environments. We ... Read more »...
May 23, 2025•53 min
On today’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Brad Topol, Distinguished Engineer and Director of Open Source Technologies at IBM, to talk about how to scale your leadership. We explore the process of how he went from individual contributor to distinguished engineer to director and executive. We chat about how you build a career ... Read more »
May 22, 2025•41 min
On today’s show, we’re going to dig deeper into tunnels and explore some of the quirks and features of tunnels. This week we’ll discuss maximum transmission units (MTUs), maximum segment size, IP fragmentation and more. Today’s bonus material is more RFCs – RFC 4821 and RFC 8899. Episode Links: What Is a Tunnel? – N ... Read more »
May 22, 2025•49 min
Damien Garros, CEO and co-founder of OpsMill is with us once again for today’s podcast. Since we last spoke with Damien, OpsMill has emerged from stealth mode and is making progress as one of the leaders in network source of truth in the field. Today, we’ll talk through the progress Infrahub has made and get ... Read more »
May 21, 2025•43 min
Wireless security takes center stage in this episode of Packet Protector. Jennifer Minella and guests discuss “secure by default” efforts by WLAN vendors; the current state of PSK, SAE, and WPA3; NAC and zero trust; more WLAN vendors adding AI to their products (or at least their messaging); and more. Jennifer is joined by Jonathan ... Read more »
May 20, 2025•53 min
Take a Network Break! Guest co-host Tom Hollingsworth steps in for Johna Johnson. We start with Google patching a significant Chrome vulnerability and de-elevating Chrome running with admin rights when it launches on Windows. On the news front, we discuss a report, unconfirmed as of recording time, that Arista is acquiring VeloCloud, then discuss Broadcom ... Read more »...
May 19, 2025•43 min
While studying for the CCIE Service Provider certification, Andrew Ohanian assembled a workbook to help him prepare. It’s packed with lab exercises, and Andrew has turned it into a free Web resource that anyone can access. On today’s Heavy Networking, we talk with Andrew about what’s in the guide, the state of the CCIE SP, ... Read more »
May 16, 2025•59 min
Michael Costello shares his career journey on today’s Total Network Operations. Currently on the Board of Directors at NANOG and a Distinguished Engineer at Saviynt, Michael talks about his early days learning the ropes as a junior network engineer, trying to start an ISP, his stint in graduate school, and a very interesting role at ... Read more »
May 16, 2025•46 min
Let’s dig into tunnels. While some network engineers may want to quibble, a tunnel is when you put one packet inside of another packet to carry it across a network (frames also come into the picture, so hold off on your follow-ups for now). On today’s N Is For Networking, Ethan and Holly explore this ... Read more »
May 15, 2025•54 min
How do you measure developer performance and productivity? On today’s Day Two DevOps, we look at different methods with guest Laura Tacho, the CTO at DX. We explore industry benchmarks such as the DORA report, SPACE, and DevEx. Laura also introduces us to Core 4, a project she’s been working on that provides a new ... Read more »
May 14, 2025•40 min
Stratoshark is a new tool from the Wireshark Foundation that analyzes system calls on a host. Network, security, and application teams can use Stratoshark to diagnose performance issues and investigate behavior that may indicate malware or other compromises of the host. On today’s Packet Protector we talk with Gerald Combs of the Wireshark Foundation about ... Read more »...
May 13, 2025•34 min
Take a Network Break! We start with follow-up from a listener on the best way to listen to our podcast that helps the most. The answer? Any listen on any platform helps. Even better is to tell a friend! We discuss two critical security issues. First, CISA adds active exploits against known SonicWall vulnerabilities to ... Read more »
May 12, 2025•39 min
On today’s Heavy Networking we talk with Dan Wade about testing the network, inspired by Dan’s talk at AutoCon 2: “Step 0: Test the Network.” We discuss why testing is a good idea, and then explore four types of network testing, including unit tests and integration tests. We dig into Yang, RESTCONF, NETCONF and gNMI ... Read more »
May 09, 2025•1 hr 4 min
Network monitoring, Internet monitoring, and observability are all key components of NetOps. We speak with sponsor Catchpoint to understand how Catchpoint can help network operators proactively identify and resolve issues before they impact customers. We discuss past and current network monitoring strategies and the challenges that operators face with both on-prem and cloud monitoring, along ... Read more »...
May 09, 2025•53 min
On this episode of Technically Leadership, we’re joined by Aleksandra Lemańska to learn about the Process Communication Model (PCM), a framework for enhancing communication. Alex calls PCM an algorithm for people, and it can be useful for improving interactions with engineers and technical folks operating in high-stress environments. We talk about how PCM works, understanding ... Read more »...
May 08, 2025•38 min
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) assigns an IP address to a host that joins a network, along with other information necessary for the host to communicate. DHCP also has more to it, so this week’s episode is meant to be a solid introduction to this essential network protocol. We first discuss what it is ... Read more »
May 08, 2025•57 min
Today’s guest is Jeff Doyle, an expert in the networking industry with over 30 years of experience as a consultant, instructor, architect, author, and speaker. Eric chats with Jeff about his background and how he got into networking (spoiler: it was not a computer science degree!). The conversation explores Jeff’s current work and delves into ... Read more »
May 07, 2025•47 min
New breach reports show threat actor dwell times are dropping significantly. It’s a positive development, but there is a caveat. We discuss this caveat and other findings from the 2025 editions of the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report and the Google M-Trends Report. We also get highlights from the 2025 RSA Conference, and JJ gets ... Read more »...
May 06, 2025•36 min
Take a Network Break! This week we catch up on the Airborne vulnerabilities affecting Apple’s AirPlay protocol and SDK, and get an update on active exploits against an SAP NetWeaver vulnerability–a patch is available, so get fixing if you haven’t already. Palo Alto Networks launches the AIRS platform to address AI threats in the enterprise, ... Read more »
May 05, 2025•32 min
On today’s Heavy Networking, a roundtable panel considers whether a modern network needs to be built around underlays and overlays. This isn’t just Ethan yelling at clouds. This is a legitimate question pondering the real-world value of an overlay/underlay approach. Is overlay everywhere overkill, or is that the architecture we need to deliver a safe, ... Read more »
May 02, 2025•55 min
Doug Madory has been called “The Man Who Can See the Internet.” Doug has developed a reputation for identifying significant developments in the global layout of the internet. He joins us today to discuss his role in analyzing internet data to identify trends and insights. He shares his journey from a data QA position to ... Read more »
May 02, 2025•53 min
This week we continue with DNS. In our last episode we covered the basics; today we expand our scope to cover topics such as security for DNS, reverse DNS, and DNS record types. For dessert this week, a serving of Raspberry Pi and Happy Eyeballs. Episode Links: DNS: Turning Names into Numbers – N Is ... Read more »
May 01, 2025•49 min
The shine has been coming off public cloud for awhile. Cloud costs remain high, complexity is growing, and public cloud interoperability is difficult. And while there’s talk about moving back to private cloud, that migration presents its own costs and complexities. To help us navigate the challenge that is cloud in 2025, we welcome Mark ... Read more »
Apr 30, 2025•39 min
Submarine cables are a hidden wonder. These fiber optic bundles carry data and voice traffic around the world and serve as critical global links for communication and commerce. Today on Packet Protector, guest Andy Champagne dives into the history of submarine cables, the technological and operational advancements that allow voice and data to travel hundreds ... Read more »...
Apr 29, 2025•45 min
