HN720: What Yale Learned about RADIUS Load Balancing
Yale’s efforts to load-balance RADIUS servers is a case study in system design for resiliency. First, there was a lone, redundant PSN. Next, F5s load balancers entered the picture. Then the network team realized a feature in IOS-XE was the answer… and brought Cisco along the learning journey with them. Hear it all from the... Read more »IPB144: AWS Adds New Charge for IPv4, Governments Push toward IPv6
A round-up of IP address news to start the new year: Eric Vyncke of the IETF has created an RFC 6724 website that is an excellent time-saving tool for figuring out source destination address selection processes. AWS announces more IPv6 features and support, and adds a new charge for public IPv4 use. State actors, including... Read more »D2C232: Chaos Engineering: Breaking Things on Purpose
Chaos engineering is all about resilience and reliability… it just takes the harder path to get there. By injecting random and unpredictable behavior to the point of failure, chaos engineers observe systems’ weak points, apply preventative maintenance, and develop a failover plan. Matt Schillerstrom from Harness introduces Ned and Ethan to this wild corner of... Read more »HS064: Mastering the Art of Strategy and Architecture with Pocket Change
Welcome, trailblazers and visionaries! Today, I’m thrilled to unpack a treasure trove of wisdom that zooms into the exhilarating realm of strategy architecture and the craft of sculpting strategy roadmaps on a shoestring budget. The Thrill of Resourcefulness In this episode, my esteemed co-host Johna and I dove headfirst into a challenge that plagues countless... Read more »
HW020: How We Got to Wi-Fi 7 and Where We Go From Here
To understand the newest standard, Wi-Fi 7, it helps to look back at Wi-Fi 5 and 6, and even forward to Wi-Fi 8. What’s the reasoning behind the updates? How have they been experienced at the ground level? Who should make the change and when? Host Keith Parsons and Wi-Fi expert Srikanth Subramanian touch on... Read more »Tech Bytes: Breaking Through The Noise With Wi-Fi 7 (Sponsored)
Wi-Fi 7 is the latest iteration of the wireless standard from the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi 6 brought significant increases in throughput and performance. Wi-Fi 6e made the 6Ghz spectrum available (at least in the US). What does Wi-FI 7 bring to the table, and is it worth going through an upgrade? Our guest is Chris... Read more »NB465: Dell Terminates VMware Resale Deal; Return-To-Office Orders Backfire Says Study
This week on Network Break we discuss Dell terminating its resale agreement of VMware as Broadcom looks to streamline OEM agreements, a new Wi-Fi AP and cloud-managed switches from Extreme, and the fits and starts in US chip manufacturing. A new study finds Return-To-Office (RTO) mandates don’t improve productivity or company performance, but do drive... Read more »HN719: Meet SuzieQ, The Network Observability Application
Guest Dinesh Dutt introduces his newest creation, SuzieQ. It’s a network observability platform application that has both a free, open source version and an enterprise version. Lightweight, fast, and platform-agnostic, SuzieQ’s use cases include network documentation, troubleshooting, fabric-wide visibility, network refresh and redesign, low/no code validation, audits and compliance, and proactive health checks. Hosts Ethan... Read more »Join Us For Packet Protector, A New Cybersecurity Podcast
Hi, I’m Jennifer Minella and I’m excited to finally share with you all that I’ll be co-hosting a new podcast on the Packet Pushers network. It’s called Pocket Protector, a podcast exploring the intersection of networking and security. Each week, we’re drilling into topics, from wired and wireless network security to access control and zero... Read more »KU047: Back to the Basics: Network Engineering for Platform Engineers
Network engineering is foundational to platform engineering. Michael and Kristina chat with Marino Wijay about tinkering with their home labs to brush up on networking skills and get hands-on practice. The three talk about how in a cloud-based world, it can be easy to forget about the networking nuts and bolts that connect workloads and... Read more »D2C231: Cloud Repatriation: Can Workloads Ever Come Home Again?
Cloud repatriation: Is it a good idea? Guest Marino Wijay, an OSI and networking open source advocate, joins hosts Ethan Banks and Ned Bellavance to discuss the recent interest in cloud repatriation. They cover the intricacies of moving workloads from the cloud back to on-premises or edge environments, and question if it is possible to... Read more »Tech Bytes: Building An Automation-Ready Service Catalog With NetOrca (Sponsored)
Let’s say you’ve built a set of automations for your network infrastructure, and now you want teams or departments within your organization to use those automations. Our Tech Bytes sponsor NetOrca offers a service catalog that provides a simple front-end to make it easy for internal customers to come and consume those capabilities you’ve worked... Read more »NB464: Juniper Begins AI Push Into The Data Center; VMware Customers Confront Higher Prices
This week we discuss new products from Juniper including synthetic testing software for its Mist wireless networks and its first step toward integrating its Apstra data center software with AI. VMware clarifies its product strategy as customers face rising prices, and undersea cables in the Red Sea face potential threats. Nokia and Chinese mobile device... Read more »HN718: Prisma SASE Gets Clever With TCP For Better App And User Experiences (Sponsored)
Remote and hybrid work means network engineers have to grapple with lossy residential networks such as home wireless that your work-from-home folks are using to access company resources. Their Wi-Fi sucks, and so their use of corporate resources sucks. Sure, you’ve got them plumbed into a SASE fabric, but that doesn’t fix their user experience... Read more »IPB143: Are We Stuck With Dual-Stack Forever?
These days, most network devices can speak both IPv4 and IPv6. A dual-stack approach can smooth the transition from one protocol to the other because organizations can get comfortable with IPv6 without having to make a hard cutover. However, they may get so comfortable that they never fully commit. In this episode Ed, Scott, and... Read more »D2C230: Adding Python To Your Operations Toolkit
Today we’re talking about Python. If you’re new to Python and want to add it to your toolkit, this is the show for you. This episode offers a broad perspective on all the approaches and plug-ins that Python includes. Our guest Michael Kennedy is a Python enthusiast and Python instructor. We discuss: Why you should... Read more »HW019: The Crucial Collaboration Between Wireless Engineers And Architects
Host Keith Parsons and guest Kelly Burroughs from iBwave discuss the crucial need for collaboration between Wi-Fi engineers and architects to ensure optimal wireless connectivity in building designs. They explore the use of BIM file formats for better integration and the importance of considering wireless as a utility in the architectural process. The conversation addresses... Read more »HS063: What’s On Our Minds
Hosts Greg Ferro and Johna Till Johnson reflect on the technological advancements of 2023 and discuss the trends for 2024. In this wide-ranging conversation, they chat about the rise of AI, tech consolidation, and the impact of automation on infrastructure. They also explore the geopolitical impact on supply chains, the move away from Chinese manufacturing,... Read more »