The Fat Pipe - Most Popular Packet Pushers Pods
1,117 episodes — Page 2 of 23
NB572: Quantum Switches and Flying Cars
TNO061: Networking Theory and Practice; Networking in the Classroom Today
HN824: That’s Not a Job for an LLM: The Right Way to Apply AI to Network Operations (Sponsored)
LIU013: The Engineer Who Built a Business to Fund a Mission
NAN120: How Network Engineers Can Thrive in an AI-Driven World
PP106: Architecting for Wi-Fi 7, Zero Trust, PQC, and More
NB571: Linux Loads 7.0 with Network Upgrades; NetGear Routes Around FCC Ban, But How?
HN823: Defining A Modern Network Service
N4N053: Well Actually 03 – Multicast, Routing Protocols, RFC 1918
D2DO300: Open Source Malware!
PP105: Cybercrime Has Gone Industrial: Insights from HPE Threat Labs (Sponsored)
NB570: Project Glasswing’s FUD and Thunder; Au Revoir Windows, Bonjour Linux
TNO060: Think Like an Architect
HN822: Now I Understand. You Mean an AI-Safe Zero-Trust Network Automation Approach (Sponsored)
LIU012: Behind the Curtain at Life In Uptime
NAN119: Adapting Core Automation Practices to Challenging Environments with Matt Campbell
PP104: How SocGholish Picks Locks to Let In Ransomware
NB569: Adding Drones to Your DR Plan; Collision Avoidance (Orbital, not Wi-Fi)
HN821: Boring Network Design Is Good
Ethan Banks sits down with Ryan Hamel at the 96th North American Network Operators’ Group (NANOG96). Ryan, a network automation developer for the Zayo Group, talks about why boring network design is actually a good thing. He and Ethan explore why simplicity and standardization are key to long-term success. They also emphasize the importance of... Read more »
N4N052: Multicast Part 2
Lenny Giuliano, Sr. Distinguished Systems Engineer at HPE Juniper Networks, joins Holly and Ethan for another round of multicast. Part two helps fill in details not covered in episode 50. They cover how multicast traffic also affects Ethernet frame addressing, and the key differences between IPv4 and IPv6 multicast. They also explain new hybrid multicast... Read more »
D2DO299: The State of Platform Engineering and DevEx
Ned and Kyler discuss the state of platform engineering, DevEx, and how AI is affecting choices in those domains with guest Annem Shah. They discuss how AI can help bridge the gap between initial setup and continuous operations by providing feedback and interpreting complex error messages. They also break down how AI can assist in... Read more »
NAN118: The Importance of the Data Behind AI in Networks (Sponsored)
When applying AI to network operations and automation, a strong data foundation is essential. In this sponsored episode, Eric Chou and Scott Robohn are joined by Surya Nimmagadda, Chief Data Scientist; and Joby Rudolph, Senior Distinguished Engineer, both from Selector. They discuss the importance of transparency in their data and how it can instill confidence... Read more »
PP103: FireMon Brings Clarity to Firewall Rule Chaos (Sponsored)
Firewall policies are the heart of network security, but over time they can become a tangled mess. Rules might be outdated, or conflicting, or fail to address new applications, services, and risks. Add in remote locations and public cloud deployments, and you’ve got a serious headache for security and network teams. On today’s sponsored show... Read more »
NB568: Arm Reaches for More AI Revenue with In-House CPU; Debating the FCC Router Ban
Take a Network Break! Mozilla is our Red Alert topic, with critical vulnerabilities in Firefox and Thunderbird. On the news front, we cover a string of security announcements from Palo Alto Networks, including a new certificate management service to help organizations keep up with shrinking cert lifetimes. Cisco announces new protections for AI agents and... Read more »
TNO059: Design for Operations: Getting Vendor Support in the Ops Ecosystem
Scott Robohn and networking expert Russ White dive into the concept of design for operations. That is, they look at how to connect the design of a protocol or solution to how people are actually going to use it. They examine how protocol designers often overlook the teams that must operate them, creating some “inoperable”... Read more »
HN820: Cyber Week 2026 Wrap Up with Palo Alto Networks: Agents, Prisma AIRS and NGTS (Sponsored)
Palo Alto Networks released a slew of product news at the 2026 RSA conference around AI security, SASE, and a new certificate lifecycle management offering. On today’s Heavy Networking, sponsored by Palo Alto Networks, Ethan and Drew dig into these announcements to get details about how they work. They also talk about the risks of... Read more »
LIU011: Inside the Digital Nomad Life: The Good, The Hard, and the Wi-Fi
Alexis Bertholf and Kevin Nanns sit down for a conversation with Andrei Istrate, Senior Mobile Developer at Toptal. Andrei has taken the “mobile” part of his job literally: he’s built a life around travel and experiences rather than settling in one location. Andrei talks about the travel opportunities that remote work has presented, how he... Read more »
NAN117: What You May Have Missed from AutoCon 4
Eric Chou is joined by returning guest, Danny Wade a.k.a. Devnet Dan, to unpack everything you missed from AutoCon 4. AutoCon 4 had a heavy focus on AI’s role in network automation and Danny was there in person, has already blogged about his insights, and is here to break down the trends, takeaways, and key... Read more »
D2DO298: Spacelift Intelligence: Infrastructure Keeping Pace with AI-Enhanced Development (Sponsored)
On today’s sponsored episode, Ned Bellavance and Kyler Middleton welcome guest Marcin Wyszynski, Head of R&D at Spacelift to guide them through the potential future of IaC and how AI is changing the landscape of developer productivity, especially around infrastructure. They discuss two of Spacelift’s products, Spacelift Intent and Spacelift Intelligence. Spacelift Intent is an... Read more »
PP102: What’s Driving SASE Adoption?
Spending on SASE, which combines SD-WAN and cloud-delivered security, is forecast to nearly triple over the next few years, according to Dell’Oro Group. Today on Packet Protector we talk with that forecast’s author about what’s driving that spending. We also explore how SASE vendors are differentiating, architectural considerations for SASE deployments, pros and cons of... Read more »
NB567: CISA Says Harden Endpoint Managers; NVIDIA Launches GPUs for Orbital Workloads
Take a Network Break! We sound a red alert about a swarm of critical D-Link vulnerabilities. In this week’s news, CISA warns organizations to harden endpoint management systems in the wake of a cyberattack that used the target’s own Microsoft Intune system to wipe thousands of devices, Cisco rolls an NVIDIA ASIC into an N9100... Read more »
HN819: Recipes for Automation – A Look Inside Eric Chou’s AI Networking Cookbook
Eric Chou, author of the AI Networking Cookbook and host of Network Automation Nerds, joins Ethan and Drew to discuss adding artificial intelligence to your network automation toolbox. The AI Networking Cookbook is aimed at network engineers and provides a systematic approach to learning AI for network automation. Together they break down pros and cons... Read more »
TNO058: Detect. Prove. Predict. Turning Network Monitoring Into Operational Intelligence (Sponsored)
In this sponsored episode, Dylan Hensler, Customer Solutions Specialist with Statseeker, joins Scott for a breakdown of what allows Statseeker to move beyond traditional network monitoring. Together they discuss Statseeker’s ability to help NetOps teams detect issues faster, prove root cause, and operate with confidence by turning raw data into operational intelligence. They also discuss... Read more »
N4N051: MPLS Fundamentals
Today’s topic is Multiprotocol Label Switching or MPLS, a foundational technology that powers service provider networks and enterprise WANs all over the world. To help us break it down, we’ve invited James Bensley, a Network Tech Lead who’s spent fifteen years with MPLS. James explains what spurred the creation of MPLS and how it works... Read more »
NAN116: From NSoT to Operational Automation: Fast Time-to-Value with Nautobot Cloud (Sponsored)
Building a Network Source of Truth (NSoT) is only step one in an automation effort — turning it into operational automation is where outcomes happen. In this sponsored episode by Network to Code, Eric Fetty, a self-taught network engineer who literally automated his way through his CCIE lab, shares how he’s doing exactly that at... Read more »
D2DO297: The Future of Open-Source Contributions in the AI Age
Kyler and Ned sit down with Liz Fong-Jones, Technical Fellow at Honeycomb, to discuss the impact of AI on open-source contributions. Liz proposes shifting the script from code patch contributions to detailed bug reports. They also break down the distinction between programming and software engineering, and the critical role of OpenTelemetry in ensuring the observability... Read more »
PP101: Hackers Tap Intune to Wipe Windows Devices; Tricksters Trump E2E Encryption
On today’s news roundup we assess the White House’s new US cyber strategy (bellicose, bombastic, and boiler-plate), discuss a cyberattack attributed to Iran that used Windows to wipe thousands of devices, and dig into a Microsoft update on Entra passkeys. JJ isn’t impressed with new research that bypasses Wi-Fi client isolation, corporate spyware gets a... Read more »
NB566: Google Spins Out Fiber Business; HPE Networking Revenue Soars in Q1
Take a Network Break! We begin with listener follow-up on Cisco SD-WAN vulnerabilities and a report that Nvidia is investing billions to develop open-source AI models. In our Red Alert section we warn of multiple vulnerabilities in Veeam’s backup software for Windows and a couple of Chrome zero-days. We cover new features in Fortinet’s FortiOS... Read more »
TNO057: The Self-Driving Network, Revisited
Scott sits down for an in-depth conversation with Kireeti Kompella. Together they explore his impactful career and the evolution of modern networking. Kireeti, a key figure in protocol development, shares his journey from the Kernel Group at Juniper to leading work on fundamental technologies including his contributions to the C-chip patent. AdSpot Sponsor: Meter Meter... Read more »
HN818: Introducing LIM: A Large Infrastructure Model for Multi-Cloud Terraform Migration (Sponsored)
One of the early promises of public cloud was that, in theory, you could move workloads from Cloud Provider A to Cloud Provider B for any number of reasons: lower costs, new capabilities, better uptime, and so on. In practice, once a workload goes into a public cloud and you build out all the other... Read more »
LIU010: Personal, Technical, and Slightly Unhinged: Listener Q&A
Kevin and Alexis take a break from their regular interviews to answer your questions! Join them for an unfiltered, wide-ranging discussion including the value of certifications, online learning pros and cons, how networking engineering jobs are changing, how to maintain a healthy work-life balance, and more. AdSpot Sponsor: Statseeker Statseeker gives engineers near real-time performance... Read more »
NAN115: Simplifying Network Automation with Wingpy
Wingpy is an open-source tool that aims to make it easier to automate network tasks that use Cisco APIs. Today Eric is joined by returning guest Andreas Baekdahl, the creator of Wingpy. They discuss why Andreas started Wingpy, how it can help streamline your workflows, and how you can start using it right away. They... Read more »
D2DO296: Make Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Cloud Portability a Reality With FluidCloud (Sponsored)
FluidCloud calls itself a cloud-cloning platform. In other words, the company can map and copy all the cloud infrastructure settings from one public cloud—including compute, storage, networking, and identity—and port those settings to a different public cloud. On today’s sponsored Day Two DevOps, Ned and Kyler talk with FluidCloud’s co-founders to understand how the platform... Read more »
PP100: Building and Securing AI Agents – A Case Study
Kyler Middleton, a software developer in the healthcare sector, builds and supports AI bots and AI agents that are now widely used inside the company where she works. Today on Packet Protector, Kyler stops by to talk about how and why she built these tools, how she (and her organization) address the risks these tools... Read more »
NB565: New Algorithm Claims Quicker Quantum Decryption; NVIDIA Revenue Rockets Higher
Take a Network Break! Guest commentator Tom Hollingsworth joins Drew for today’s episode. We start with a double Red Alert from Cisco for its Secure FMC software. On the news front, Cato Networks adds adaptive threat prevention to its SASE offering that looks for seemingly innocuous signals that could add up to an attack, Google... Read more »
HN817: Is There a Better Way to Do Software Defined Networking?
Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a centralized architecture in which a controller, or a hierarchy of controllers, runs software that computes network-engineered paths and pushes that forwarding scheme into the network. It’s also very complex, which can lead to network failures. What if there was a way to keep the benefits of SDN while also... Read more »
N4N050: Multicast Fundamentals
Today’s learning adventure is an overview of multicast. Ethan and Holly have invited a guest to share his multicast expertise: Lenny Giuliano, Sr. Distinguished Systems Engineer at HPE Juniper Networks. Lenny guides them through multicast principles and shares examples of where and how it’s used in live networks. He also explains how the OSPF routing... Read more »
D2DO295: Risks and Benefits of Putting AI in Production
Engineers and developers are using AI like never before, including in production. That has potential consequences, both good and bad, for uptime, operations, security and risk management, and more. Today’s guest, Rich Mogull, guides us through the decision-making process of adding AI to your production lifecycle and possible ramifications. Rich is Chief Analyst at the... Read more »
PP099: The Care and Feeding of Kerberos for Windows Environments
Today we’re going to learn about the care and feeding of a three-headed dog named Kerberos. Developed at MIT and released in 1989, Kerberos is a free, open source authentication protocol that uses cryptographic keys to protect identity data as it crosses a network. Today, Kerberos is the backbone of Windows authentication. We’ll dive into... Read more »
NB564: New Juniper Routers Pump Up AI and Cloud-Scale Traffic; Anthropic Vs. DoD
Take a Network Break! We start with follow-up on the proper pronunciation of the US state of Nevada, and then sound the alarm about new research that gets around WiFi client isolation and could enable man-in-the-middle attacks. On the news front, AMD and Meta strike a massive deal in which AMD will sell its stock... Read more »