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
Feb 13, 2023 • 52min
Network Break 417: Zoom Chief Raises Bar For CEO Pay Cuts; Fortinet Rolls Out New Firewall Chips
Take a Network Break! On this week's episode we discuss new chip hardware from Fortinet, Extreme integrating its SD-WAN into its network fabric, the US and UK governments sanctioning members of the Trickbot malware gang, more tech layoffs, why tech CEOs should feel more financial pain, and more.
Feb 6, 2023 • 44min
Network Break 416: Ericsson Flogs 5G Network Slicing For Laptops; Microsoft Loads Work Drudgery Onto ChatGPT
On this week's Network Break we examine Ericsson's push for 5G network slicing on laptops, Microsoft injecting ChatGPT into Teams to do the grunt work, financial results from Juniper and Amazon, and more tech news.
Jan 30, 2023 • 48min
Network Break 415: WAN Update Severs Microsoft Cloud Services; Intel To Wind Down Network ASIC Biz
Take a Network Break! This week we discuss new capabilities in Juniper's Astra data center automation software; a major Microsoft outage that affected Outlook, Teams, and more; reports that Intel will discontinue selling the Tofino programmable ASIC; a heap of financial results; and more.
Jan 23, 2023 • 25min
Network Break 414: 230 Juniper Vulnerabilities, Should Cisco Patch An EOL Router, T-Mobile Takes Weeks To Spot Breach
On today's Network Break podcast we cover a raft of Juniper vulnerabilities, whether Cisco should patch serious vulnerabilities in end-of-life products, a big T-Mobile breach, Avaya dealing with significant debt, sweeping rounds of layoffs, and more IT news.
Jan 16, 2023 • 41min
Network Break 413: 800G Switches, Intel’s Big Hopes For 4th-Gen CPUs, And Reading Cyber Insurance Fine Print
Take a Network Break! This week's episode covers a bunch of tech news including Arista rolling out a heap of new switches, Intel pinning its comeback hopes on newly released Xeon CPUs, a serious exploit of a Fortinet SSL VPN vulnerability, Dell pulling away from China-made chips, and more.
Jan 9, 2023 • 46min
Network Break 412: IT Spending, ChatGPT, Cloud Repatriation And Other 2023 IT Speculations
Take a Network Break! For our first show of 2023 we skip the news to spend some time speculating on technologies and trends that may influence IT and networking in the coming year, including the influence of AI, machine learning, and ChatGPT in tech; data center network automation; cloud repatriation; and more.
Dec 12, 2022 • 41min
Network Break 411: Cisco Revamps Certification Schedules; FTC Says Game Over For Microsoft’s Activision Bid
Take a Network Break! On today's episode we cover a new certification roadmap from Cisco, speculate on the future of corporate office space, and delve into an FTC lawsuit that aims to stop Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of game developer Activision. We also cover Broadcom financial results and space networking stories from Apple and SpaceX.
Dec 5, 2022 • 52min
Network Break 410: AWS Previews Secure Remote Access; Broadcom Promises Not To Raise VMware Prices
On today's Network Break we discuss new AWS previews for secure remote access and for connecting applications and services across VPCs. We also discuss a serious outage at Hive Social, Open RAN 5G coming to fighter jets, a promise from Broadcom not to raise prices if the VMware acquisition goes through, and more IT news.
Nov 28, 2022 • 45min
Network Break 409: Regulators Tap Brakes On Broadcom, VMware; Google Settles Location Tracking Charges For $392M
This week's Network Break podcast discusses UK and EU regulators wanting a closer look at Broadcom's VMware acquisition, Google settling with 40 US states over location tracking charges, and the FCC publishing responses from the 15 biggest US mobile providers regarding customer geolocation data tracking, plus even more IT news.
Nov 21, 2022 • 50min
Network Break 408: Arista Launches Network Automation Pipeline; Palo Alto Targets Software Supply Chain Security
Take a Network Break! This week we cover a new continuous integration pipeline from Arista Networks to support network automation, Cisco's intention to open a new silicon design center in Spain, and Apple spending $450 million to support emergency text messaging using satellites. We also discuss Palo Alto Networks spending $195 million for Cider Security, financial results, and more.
