Network Break
Packet Pushers
Network Break keeps you informed with fast, focused analysis of IT news, products, tech trends, and business outcomes. Blending sharp commentary with a touch of humor, hosts Drew Conry-Murray & Johna Till Johnson sift through the weekly landslide of press announcements, product launches, financial reports, and marketing decks to find the stories worth talking about. You come away with the information and context to make smart decisions in your organization and career … all in the span of a (longish) coffee break.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 12, 2026 • 29min
NB557: Meta Goes Nuclear; Arista Taps EVPN VXLAN for Massive Mobility Domains
Take a Network Break! The virtual donut factory is back from hiatus, and we’ve got a fresh batch to pass around as we discuss the week’s tech news. We start with an emergency patch for Cisco ISE, then dig into a set of new product announcements from Arista including a new ability to deploy wireless... Read more »
Dec 15, 2025 • 49min
NB556: 2025 Wrap: Insatiable AI, the Worst Top 5, Space Networking Surges, and More
Take a Network Break! We close out 2025 with a look back at some of the stories and trends that captured our attention this year. We start with the top five vendors with the worst track records in 2025 for zero-days in critical enterprise infrastructure. On the news front, we discuss the insanity of the... Read more »
Dec 8, 2025 • 47min
NB555: AI and APIs Drive HPE’s Dual-Platform WLAN Strategy; Dell, HPE Dangle VMware Alternatives
Take a Network Break! Our Red Alert calls out a dangerous vulnerability in the popular open-source React library. On the news front, HPE decides on a “both and” strategy for its two wireless portfolios and rolls out an option to let customers pick and choose among cross-platform features in Mist and Aruba Networking Central through... Read more »
Dec 2, 2025 • 37min
NB554: AWS, Google Link Public Clouds; Trading Data Center Has Zero Chill
Take a Network Break! We start with listener follow-up on Fortinet’s vulnerability numbering, and sound a red alert about an authentication bypass vulnerability in ASUS’s AiCloud service. AWS and Google announce a joint cross-cloud interconnect offering (other cloud providers are invited to play), Microsoft and Ciena pitch a new design to boost optical network resiliency,... Read more »
Nov 24, 2025 • 47min
NB553: Palo Alto Networks Acquires Chronosphere; New Agentic AI Products for Orchestration and Networking
Take a Network Break! We start with a relative path traversal vulnerability in Fortinet’s FortiWeb. We’ll move on to an acquisition by Palo Alto Networks, another hiccup from our friends at Cloudflare, some AI announcements by Itential and Gluware, and finish with first quarter 2026 fiscal results from Palo Alto Networks. AdSpot Sponsor: Itential ... Read more »
Nov 17, 2025 • 45min
NB552: Nokia Switches On AI Ops; IBM Seeks a Quantum of Advantage
Take a Network Break! Red Hat Samba server has a remote command execution vulnerability, and we cover some follow-up on fusion as a viable energy source (still a work in progress). On the news front, we search for signs in SoftBank’s sale of its Nividia stake, Mplify debuts a new certificate on carrier Ethernet for... Read more »
Nov 10, 2025 • 29min
NB551: Cisco Adds AI to Tech Support; Cryptography Hits a Post-Quantum Milestone
Take a Network Break! We start with a critical vulnerability in Cisco’s Unified Contact Center Express. On the news front it’s a Cisco triple play: the company brings AI to professional services and tech support with Cisco IQ, debuts converged infrastructure for the AI edge, and launches a new cert geared for running AI data... Read more »
Nov 3, 2025 • 30min
NB550: A Cornucopia of AI Switches; DNS Strikes Again
Take a Network Break! We start with some educational content on Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, and sound the alarm about a sandbox escape affecting the Firefox browser. On the news front, a DNS issue triggers a major Azure outage that affected numerous services and caused problems around the globe, Palo Alto Networks announces enhancements to... Read more »
Oct 27, 2025 • 50min
NB549: Startups Take on Switch, ASIC Incumbents; Google Claims Quantum Advantage
Take a Network Break! Companies spying on…I mean, monitoring…their employees via software called WorkExaminer should be aware of a login bypass that needs to be locked down. On the news front, we opine on whether it’s worth trying to design your way around AWS outages, and speculate on the prospects of a new Ethernet switch... Read more »
Oct 20, 2025 • 29min
NB548: Broadcom Brings Chips to Wi-Fi 8 Party; Attorneys General Scrutinize HPE/Juniper Settlement
Take a Network Break! On today’s coverage, F5 releases an emergency security update after state-backed threat actors breach internal systems, and North Korean attackers use the blockchain to host and hide malware. Broadcom is shipping an 800G NIC aimed at AI workloads, and Broadcom joins the Wi-Fi 8 party early with a sampling of pre-standard... Read more »
