Packet Pushers
Author Archives: Packet Pushers
- Home → Author's archive:
Packet Pushers
TCG059: From Source of Truth to Knowledge Graph – Rethinking Network Data
Network automation has a data problem. Traditional tools may hit limitations when managing complex infrastructure relationships. We explore how OpsMill’s InfraHub uses graph databases and temporal versioning to create what our guest calls “the knowledge graph of infrastructure” – enabling true version control at the database level while maintaining the flexibility to model anything from... Read more »NAN102: Practical Applications for AI in Network Automation
As AI becomes more integrated into the IT landscape, developers, engineers, and operators are looking for practical ways to use these new tools. Joining us today is Ryan Booth; he’s built a career around network automation, giving him a unique perspective on how network engineering, operations, software development, and AI intersect. We explore the practical... Read more »PP080: The State of OT Risks in 2025 (and What to Do About Them)
What does the risk environment for Operational Technology (OT) look like in 2025? JJ and Drew review four recent reports on the state of OT security from Dragos, Fortinet, and others. We discuss ransomware impacts, ongoing risks of RDP traffic, directly exposed OT devices, and overall attack trends and the tools and processes that organizations... Read more »HS113: Bad Tech Romance: Five Signs You’re In an Abusive IT Relationship
Sure, some days you hate your job. But how do you know when an IT position has gone from being run-of-the-mill annoying to truly toxic? And what do you do about it? Johna Johnson and John Burke are joined by Sandy Miller, a pseudonym for a CIO at a major global company who talks about... Read more »
TNO043: Under the Manhole Cover: The Architecture of an Internet Exchange
In an IT world full of abstraction, overlays, and virtualization, it’s important to remember the physical infrastructure that supports all those things. So let’s get inside Mass IX, the Massachusetts Internet Exchange, to get a holistic view of the logical architecture and protocol mechanics of peering and Internet exchanges, as well as the iron, steel,... Read more »N4N039: Configuring an IPsec Tunnel
We dive back into the world of IPsec with an episode dedicated to configuring IPsec tunnels. After discussing a listener comment regarding transport mode in IPsec tunnels, Ethan Banks and Holly Metlitzky work through topics such as multi-vendor IPsec configuration, licensing, and the details of configuration and routing. Bonus material: MTU size and NAT-T. Episode... Read more »NAN101: Scaling Intel’s Data Centers with Network Automation (Sponsored)
Transforming over 5,000 network devices across 56 data centers is no small feat. Doing that with a very small team is even more impressive. On today’s episode, sponsored by Network To Code, we talk to Greg Botts from Intel, who with his team accomplished just that. They started with YAML files and DNS records and... Read more »HW061: Cisco’s Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul
As automation of machinery in industrial environments grows, there is a need for reliable wireless technologies to connect and control mobile assets. Mobile assets cannot tolerate dropped connections or network latency, which could jeopardize safety among other problems. Cisco’s Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul is one such product that promises to deliver reliable wireless in industrial environments. ... Read more »PP079: Rethinking the Architecture of Microsegmentation
Microsegmentation is a complex topic. We did an overview episode earlier this year, and we invited listeners to reach out to keep the microsegmentation conversation going. Today’s guest did just that. Philip Griffiths is Head of Strategic Sales at Netfoundry. However, this isn’t a sponsored show about NetFoundry. Philip is also involved in a working... Read more »TNO042: Building a Network Digital Twin for Automation and AI (Sponsored)
The digital twin is an evolving technology in the networking space. On today’s sponsored episode of Total Network Operations, we dig into details and definitions of the digital twin, how it ties into network automation and autonomy, and the power of abstraction layers. We’ll also talk about how the concepts in today’s show might influence... Read more »TCG058: Creating the Internet Layer That Should Have Been With Avery Pennarun
In this deep dive episode, we explore the evolution of networking with Avery Pennarun, Co-Founder and CEO of Tailscale. Avery shares his extensive journey through VPN technologies, from writing his first mesh VPN protocol in 1997 called “Tunnel Vision” to building Tailscale, a zero-trust networking solution. We discuss how Tailscale reimagines the OSI stack by... Read more »NAN100: A Retrospective On 100 Episodes of Network Automation Nerds
Network Automation Nerds has reached a special milestone: episode 100! Eric Chou looks back on 5 years of conversations with network automation pioneers, practitioners, and visionaries. Drew Conry-Murray from the Packet Pushers joins Eric, along with online guest Ioannis Theodoridis, to find out why Eric started the podcast, his goals for all these conversations, a... Read more »PP078: Using Free Tools for Detection Engineering
You can build effective, scalable detection pipelines using free and open-source tools like Zeek, Suricata, YARA, and Security Onion. Today on Packet Protector we welcome Matt Gracie, Senior Engineer at Security Onion Solutions — the team behind the open-source platform used for detection engineering, network security monitoring, and log management. Matt has over 15 years... Read more »HS112: Standardizing NaaS Service Definitions
Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) promises enterprises the ability to set up and configure connectivity and network security with a couple of clicks. But for NaaS to truly transform enterprise networking, one thing has been missing: standards. Enter Mplify (formerly the Metro Ethernet Forum), a non-profit focused on standardizing NaaS service definitions. Mplify’s CTO, Pascal Menezes, joins Johna... Read more »