The Everything Feed - All Packet Pushers Pods

Joe Doherty, a Product Solutions Architect at Cisco ThousandEyes, dives into the fascinating world of AI agents and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. He explains how ThousandEyes provides crucial visibility into network performance for AI models and services. Topics include agentic AI use cases like automated refunds, key performance metrics to monitor, and the role of DNS and network dependencies. Joe emphasizes that familiar network skills still apply, making it accessible for engineers venturing into AI monitoring.

Steve Feldman, a member of the NANOG Board of Directors, shares his extensive experience in internet operations. He delves into the history of NANOG, tracing its evolution from NSFNET and discussing its relationship with IETF. Feldman highlights significant milestones like NANOG’s transition into a non-profit and the increasing relevance of the organization in bridging service providers and enterprises. He also addresses the importance of community governance, IPv6 education, and the blurring lines in networking, while previewing future topics like AI and SRE at upcoming events.

Matthew Oborne, an inspiring ISP operations leader, shares his remarkable journey from fast food to IT leadership without a traditional degree. He emphasizes that your starting point doesn't limit your potential, advocating for hard work and networking. Matthew discusses the importance of resilience, how he navigated early job fears, and the value of practical experience over certifications. He highlights the significance of trust within teams and staying committed long-term, offering valuable advice for those looking to break into tech.

In a thought-provoking discussion, Russ White, an engineer and educator with extensive networking expertise, tackles the concept of the tech expertise deficit. He emphasizes the value of deep technical knowledge over social media clout. The conversation explores the implications of AI on skilled trades, the difference between genuine expertise and performance-driven influence, and the importance of mentorship in early career development. Russ advocates for focusing on craftsmanship and foundational skills for lasting impact in the tech world.

Tomas Kirnak, CEO of Unimus with over 15 years in networking, discusses practical network automation for engineers. He explains the unique 'Behavioral Tree' feature for automatic device discovery and why adoption is slow due to complexity and skill barriers. The 70/30 principle reveals how to achieve 70% automation with 30% effort. Unimus supports a wide range of vendors and devices, even legacy ones. Tomas emphasizes making automation accessible, enabling quick wins without extensive coding skills.

Delve into the complexities of nth-party risks, exploring how these risks extend through supplier chains into the digital economy. Learn how agentic AI raises concerns about automated, opaque interactions, complicating risk management further. Discussion includes the potential of blockchain as a vital tool for maintaining auditable records of software updates and the obstacles to its widespread adoption. The hosts also debate whether government mandates or market incentives will effectively drive changes in risk management practices across industries.

In this engaging discussion, Ed Harmoush, a former AWS and Rackspace network engineer and creator of Practical Networking, dives into the world of Let's Encrypt and the ACME protocol. He shares insights on the importance of automating domain validation certificates and the positive impact of Let's Encrypt on HTTPS adoption. Ed explains the roles of ACME clients and servers and how they streamline the certificate issuance process. He also emphasizes why reducing certificate validity periods is crucial in today's security landscape, making automation an essential part of network management.

Explore a critical vulnerability in Cisco’s Unified Contact Center that requires urgent fixes. Discover how Cisco IQ integrates AI to enhance tech support and asset management. Dive into the company's new Unified Edge hardware designed for AI inferencing, alongside a fresh AI-focused CCNP certification. The episode covers Verizon and AWS's partnership for advanced AI connectivity and Cloudflare’s milestone in post-quantum TLS key exchanges. A discussion around OpenAI’s funding requests highlights the ongoing AI infrastructure debate.

Christian Raducanu, Senior Director of Product Management at Palo Alto Networks, dives deep into Prisma SASE's innovative architecture. He discusses building a multi-cloud service using AWS, GCP, and OCI for greater resilience. Raducanu explains how traffic shifts during outages, ensuring minimal downtime, and emphasizes the importance of dedicated capacity to avoid performance issues. He also touches on data governance and the use of machine learning to enhance operational insights, while addressing concerns about vendor lock-in with hyperscalers.

Dan Wade, the Network and Infrastructure Automation Practice Lead at BlueAlly, shares his expertise in network testing and validation. He dives into the importance of validation SOPs and automated checks, making testing accessible to non-coders with tools like PyATS and Ansible. The conversation touches on using AI for test ideation and overcoming barriers like tool exhaustion and cultural resistance. Dan emphasizes the need for ownership in problem-solving and highlights the flexibility of PyATS across different network OSes.