Software Engineering Daily The Architecture of the Internet with Erik Seidel
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Nov 6, 2025 
Erik Seidel, a network engineer at Cloudflare, shares his unique tech journey from China to automating global networks. He dives into the complexities of how the internet works, explaining the Border Gateway Protocol and the significance of Autonomous System Numbers. Erik contrasts peering with transit, highlights Cloudflare's architecture, and discusses the challenges of subsea cable failures. He also tackles DDoS attacks and details how Anycast technology helps mitigate them. Additionally, Erik reflects on work-life balance, emphasizing the importance of avoiding burnout.
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Nonstandard Path Into Networking
- Erik Seidel left and later returned to tech after years in language learning and living in China.
- He joined Cloudflare in 2020 and moved from support into network and systems engineering focused on automation.
Building An ASN In China
- Erik developed his interest in networking while living in China and built an ASN with public IPs there.
- That hands-on work was the origin of his career focus on networks.
Internet As A Network Of Autonomous Systems
- The internet is a large collection of independent autonomous systems identified by ASNs.
- These autonomous systems connect and peer together to form the global internet fabric.
