Packet Pushers - Full Podcast Feed

Today on the Tech Bytes podcast, sponsored by Palo Alto Networks, we talk with Palo Alto Networks customer Autodesk about how it migrated from SD-WAN and traditional remote access VPNs to SASE, or Secure Access Service Edge. We’ll talk about the trends that drove Autodesk’s migration and the results of their SASE adoption. Our guests... Read more »

On today’s episode, we chat with wireless ISP engineer Elijah Zeida. Elijah had an interesting connectivity challenge to solve for a remote mountain town that relies on a wireless connection for Internet access, and not much budget to solve it with. But he got it done by building his own SD-WAN using Mikrotik boxes and... Read more »

Everyone has their own hot take or bit of wisdom to share regarding technical leadership.  Today, host Laura Santamaria weaves these insights on communication, collaboration, decision making and more from her guests on the first six episodes of Technically Leadership. Listen, reflect and then apply to your own leadership role. Episode Links: Laura Santamaria Packet... Read more »

In this episode of N Is For Networking, co-hosts Ethan Banks and Holly Metlitzky take a question from college student Douglas that turns into a ride on the networking highway as they navigate the lanes of bandwidth and latency. Ethan and Holly define the concepts of bandwidth and latency and discuss current data transfer protocols... Read more »

Ostinato is a network traffic generator aimed at network engineers who need test traffic, whether in a lab or production, to do things such as test circuit bandwidth, determine if SD-WAN or load balancing rules are working as intended, investigate packet drops, and more. Originally released as an open-source project, Ostinato is now offered as... Read more »

We are firmly entrenched in a hybrid cloud world, from on-prem data centers to multiple cloud platforms to branch and remote offices, not to mention wandering end users connecting via VPN. While the network is the common substrate among all these locations, every cloud provider has its own network implementation. Managing, monitoring and securing all... Read more »

Security professionals often have an impulse to want to move on to the next new thing. While that can be helpful in a field that thrives on change, it can also make it hard to focus on routine tasks and mundane (yet essential) security controls and practices. Whether this impulse is due to varying degrees... Read more »

Analysis paralysis is a huge problem in IT – we “study” and “evaluate” and “keep on our radar” but then all too often have a choice and a need to act thrust upon us, and need to switch modes fast. How do we try to get more mileage out of the studying to get leverage... Read more »

Take a Network Break! This week we discuss Google adding traffic shaping to its cross-cloud interconnect, Aviatrix bringing hybrid cloud transit to its cloud networking service, and Microsoft forcing MFA for Entra ID customers. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella forgoes $5 million in incentive pay for Microsoft security lapses, Extreme Networks adds new features to its... Read more »

Alkira provides a Multi-Cloud Networking Service (MCNS) that lets you connect public cloud and on-prem locations using a cloud-delivered, as-a-service approach. But Alkira offers more than just multi-cloud connectivity. On today’s sponsored episode of Heavy Networking, we dig into Alkira’s full set of offerings, which include networking, visibility, governance, and security controls such as firewalls... Read more »

In this episode of Total Network Operations the conversation focuses on the impact and implementation of AI on network operations. Host Scott Robohn is joined by guest Michael Wynston to discuss the foundational requirements for AI implementation, such as well-documented processes, version control, and lab testing. Michael also talks about the need for lifelong learning... Read more »

If you’re going to use DHCPv6, you have options, but there are some things you need to know in order to be able to build out your DHCPv6 configuration properly. Today’s IPv6 Buzz explores similarities and differences between DHCP and DHCPv6, particularly the operational model. And as always, you’ll want to verify and test before... Read more »

Frames and packets: how are they different and why is it important to know those differences? On this first episode of N Is For Networking, join co-hosts Holly Metlitzky and Ethan Banks to learn the fundamentals about frames and packets, plus some bonus material on layers and addresses. N Is For Networking is the newest... Read more »

AI is being integrated and adopted across much of the IT world, but can it work magic in transforming old legacy code into shiny modern code? When it comes to this magic trick, it’s important to look behind the curtain. On today’s Day Two DevOps podcast we discuss the reality of AI in refactoring code... Read more »

What is a private mobile network and how does it work? Guest Jeremy Rollinson, an expert in private cellular networks, joins host Keith Parsons to clarify misconceptions about private mobile networks, from terminology to spectrum allocations. They explore the differences between public and private networks, the evolution of private mobile networks, the importance of understanding... Read more »

Startup Alkira has built a Network as a Service (NaaS) offering that extends from on prem to public cloud and multi-cloud. Today’s sponsored episode of Heavy Strategy digs in to Alkira’s capabilities in multi-cloud networking, security, automation, and cost transparency. Guest Manan Shah, SVP of Product at Alkira,  explains how Alkira simplifies network management, enhances... Read more »

This episode was recorded live at Security Field Day (XFD) 12 in October, 2024. As delegates at the event, JJ and Drew heard presentations from DigiCert, Dell Technologies, SonicWall, and Citrix. These presentations covered topics including digital certificate management, post-quantum cryptography, supply chain security, recovering from ransomware, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), and Secure Service... Read more »

Take a Network Break! This week we discuss a new ZTNA offering from NaaS startup Alkira, a serious vulnerability in Fortinet’s management software under active exploit, and a less-serious vulnerability in Cisco security software that’s also being exploited. Gluware adds new AI copilots to its network automation software, a judge orders Broadcom to continue to... Read more »

Ethernet competes with InfiniBand as a network fabric for AI workloads such as model training. One issue is that AI jobs don’t tolerate latency, drops, and retransmits. In other words, AI workloads do best with a lossless network. And while Ethernet has kept up with increasing demands to support greater bandwidth and throughput, it was... Read more »

Leadership has a huge impact on an organization’s culture, including tech teams. On the positive side, leaders can foster healthy, productive environments. On the negative side, they can build hostile, blame-centric viper pits. Today’s episode of Technically Leadership examines how to strive for the positive by shielding teams from internal politics, developing empathetic leadership, distinguishing... Read more »