The Art of Network Engineering Building the Right Network
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Dec 3, 2025 Kevin Myers, an experienced network engineer and architect, shares his extensive knowledge on vendor selection and building effective networks. He emphasizes the importance of starting with business requirements before diving into vendor choices. The discussion covers the complexities of multi-vendor environments and the hidden costs associated with them. Kevin also highlights how understanding business outcomes can drive better technical design, offering insights on whitebox networking and its implications for modern network architecture.
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Pick Vendors From Requirements
- Start vendor selection after gathering business and technical requirements, not before.
- Match protocols, OS, and features to needs, then shortlist vendors based on those requirements.
Protocol Choice Affects Scale
- Protocol choice matters for scale: IS-IS can be less chatty and use less control-plane CPU than OSPF.
- Large, scalable networks often favor IS-IS paired with BGP for performance.
Sell Trade-Offs To The Business
- Translate technical trade-offs into business impact before recommending options.
- Present pros, cons, and cost implications so decision-makers can choose by value, not preference.