The Packet Pushers Podcast Network offers continuous professional development for IT professionals. Keep up with networking, security, cloud, career, and more. We bring the IT community together--engineers, architects, vendors, developers, educators, etc. In this feed, listen to every conversation w…
Greg Ferro, Ethan Banks, Drew Conry-Murray, Chris Wahl, Scott Lowe
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The Packet Pushers - Full Podcast Feed is an incredible podcast that has been keeping listeners informed and engaged for years. With a focus on IT and the networking industry, this podcast provides a wealth of information and helps create a sense of community among its listeners. The hosts are knowledgeable and interactive, making the show engaging and enjoyable.
One of the best aspects of this podcast is the depth of information it provides. Whether you're a networking professional or simply interested in technology, this podcast covers a wide range of topics that will keep you up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in the field. The guests on the show are experts in their respective areas, providing valuable insights and analysis.
Another great aspect of this podcast is its interactive nature. The hosts are appreciative of their fan base and frequently invite them to participate in discussions and ask questions. This creates a sense of community among listeners, allowing them to feel involved and part of something greater.
While there aren't many negative aspects to this podcast, one minor downside could be that some episodes may be too technical for casual listeners. However, for those who are interested in networking or work in the IT industry, this level of detail is highly beneficial.
In conclusion, The Packet Pushers - Full Podcast Feed is an outstanding podcast that delivers valuable information about IT, networking, and the industry as a whole. With knowledgeable hosts and engaging content, it's no wonder that this podcast has garnered such a devoted fan base over the years.
Scott Robohn sits down with guests Lenny Giuliano and Russ White to examine whether generative AI will affect internet traffic patterns. Together they explore the role of CDNs, the importance of latency, and the potential for a shift toward edge-based inference. They also discuss the impact of data sovereignty on infrastructure and the potential return... Read more »
As more applications and services rely on AI inferencing, that means more traffic on the WAN. Yes, bandwidth can solve a lot of problems, it's not unlimited and AI inference traffic still has to share pipes with other flows. That means things like WAN latency, determinism, security, and traffic engineering are just as important as... Read more »
Jason Gooley is a longtime member of the Cisco community and author of the latest edition of the CCNA book. Jason joins the show to share his unconventional path from a challenging childhood to technical evangelist and author at Cisco. Together they discuss the importance of community, mental health, and resilience in navigating technical career... Read more »
Today, several members of our Packet Pushers podcast team assemble to discuss whether the grass is greener on the NetOps or DevOps side of the telemetry fence. William of The Cloud Gambit, Scott of Total Network Operations, and Ned and Kyler of Day Two DevOps discuss the difficulties and differences of getting telemetry and state... Read more »
There's always been a gap between the discovery of a security issue and the time it takes to remediate. Now AI models can autonomously find weak points and chain together actions to exploit them. How does AI change the notion of “fast enough” for network defense? On today’s sponsored episode we dig into how FireMon... Read more »
Jake Snyder joins Keith Parsons to explain the mechanics of spatial reuse in Wi-Fi. They discuss practical implementation, the trade-offs involved in increasing signal detection thresholds, and why effective RF design remains the primary method for optimizing network performance. Episode Links: Jake Snyder's Website
Take a Network Break! Scott Robohn steps in for Johna this week. We start with some followup on 3M and then tackle the news. Arista catches up to the rest of the market on a “branch in a box” approach with new security capabilities in its VeloCloud SD-WAN, Cisco announces the Antares family of Small... Read more »
Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) remains an intriguing and reliable fabric technology, offering a unique approach to Ethernet that differs from more widely deployed fabrics such as EVPN/VXLAN. Jeff Wilson joins Ethan and Drew to share his experience designing and managing SPB-based fabrics. Together they discuss how SPB simplifies multicast, essential hardware design considerations for scaling,... Read more »
Andrew Palardy joins the hosts to discuss how Tayga, the open-source NAT64 daemon for Linux, is being updated to ensure it is up to date with all the current RFCs. Andrew explains how recent RFC compliance and UDP checksum fixes help resolve connectivity issues and how the new eBPF CLAT support arriving in NetworkManager promises... Read more »
Have you ever wondered how data actually travels through a Wi-Fi network? Holly and Ethan break down the fundamentals of wireless networking, including radio frequencies and channel planning. They also address the complexities of roaming, how the Wi-Fi space has changed over the years, and share advice on how to design and maintain a home... Read more »
What if your MCP server shipped with its own manual? Angie Jones, VP of Developer Experience at the Agentic AI Foundation, joins William and Eyvonne to break down the Skills Over MCP working group effort, which delivers Agent Skills through MCP’s existing resources primitive (think voice over IP, not skills versus MCP). Angie shares her... Read more »
Eric Chou welcomes Florian Lohden, a NetDevOps engineer and co-founder of the NetAuto Group, to discuss his community-building efforts and his latest adventures in network automation. Together they explore how adopting software development practices can help with network automation, and the importance of sharing knowledge within networking communities. Florian also talks about how he balances... Read more »
In this sponsored episode, Jonah Kowall from Spacelift joins the show to unpack the findings of the 2026 Infrastructure Automation Report. The discussion covers the “governance paradox”, where organizations have confidence in their AI oversight despite a lack of formal policies. Ned and Jonah provide actionable insights on bridging the gap between automation and the... Read more »
Some enterprises are finding reasons to pull back from a cloud-first IT strategy and run workloads in on-premises data centers. John and Johna dig into why companies are making the change, including cost and AI security. They also discuss and the strategic implications for IT, and what organizations stand to gain—and lose—from repatriation. Episode Links:... Read more »
Unless you’ve intentionally migrated to all-IPv6, you’re operating in a dual-stack environment. And if you haven’t accounted for v6 in your monitoring and security, you leave yourself open to risks. Today we dig into some of those risks, including VPN breakouts and how attackers can use unmanaged v6 to bypass security tools. Our guest is... Read more »
Take a Network Break! In this week’s episode our red alert highlights two critical vulnerabilities in RabbitMQ, and we dig into listener follow-up about data centers in space. This week’s news coverage considers Apple’s $30 billion spending pledge to Broadcom, TSCM promising another $100 billion to build even more chip fabs in the US, and... Read more »
In this sponsored episode, HPE's Sunalini Sankhavaram and Jose Tellado discuss the architectural evolution toward self-driving networks. Together with Ethan and Drew, they break down how integrating agentic AI enables an autonomous architecture capable of being proactive and not just reactive. They also discuss the importance of maintaining human trust in autonomous systems and how... Read more »
Tom Hollingsworth joins Scott Robohn to share his professional journey from a hands-on network engineer and CCIE to his current role leading events at Tech Field Day. He talks about the cyclical nature of networking hype, and advocates for specialized, subject-specific tech models over broad AI solutions. They also discuss the delicate art of facilitating... Read more »
Alexis and Kevin talk about their experiences attending Cisco Live alongside return guest Melina Bertholf. They offer different perspectives about the event while highlighting the importance of building professional relationships and community through in-person gatherings. They also share personal anecdotes and advice for those looking to maximize their social and professional networking efforts at tech... Read more »
Ned and Kyler welcome Andrew Brown, co-founder of ExamPro, to discuss how AI is reshaping the IT education and training landscape. They discuss why foundational technical knowledge remains vital, how AI-generated answers can make mistakes at scale, and the importance of learning how to troubleshoot when automated tools hit their limits. Episode Links: Watch this... Read more »
Host Keith Parsons recently launched the WLAN Pros Toolbox, a multi-function app with all the calculators, live tools, reference materials, and Wi-Fi readings you need. Today, Keith opens the toolbox to talk about what’s in it, how it was built, and why it’s being given away for free. AdSpot Sponsor: Meter Most IT teams are... Read more »
Drew talks with Joao Soares, Lead IT Security Consultant, about a project Joao undertook to automate firewall rule changes. Firewall changes can be fraught in any environment, but Joao also had to contend with working in the highly-regulated energy sector. They walk through how the project went from proof-of-concept to being widely used in production,... Read more »
Take a Network Break! We start with a critical vulnerability in Adobe Coldfusion. On the news front, Infoblox acquires Kentik to add network observability to its portfolio, data center electricity consumption jumps worldwide, and Exabeam rolls out AI-agent focused detection in its Agent Behavior Analytics platform. DriveNets and WhiteFiber connect two AI data centers over... Read more »
Malcolm Matalka joins William and Eyvonne to challenge the narrative that Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is dead. Malcolm argues that the real value of IaC was never the syntax, but state and governance. Together they examine whether the state was a file problem at all, or a distributed systems problem in a JSON costume. Episode... Read more »
Eric welcomes Eduard Dulharu, a veteran network architect and the Founder and CTO of vExpertAI, to talk about how agentic AI, open-source LLMs, and digital twins are changing network operations. Eduard discusses the rapid evolution of generative AI, draws parallels between AI’s current limitations and early network protocols such as Spanning Tree, talks about why... Read more »
Platform engineering forms the foundation for developers to build on, and you shouldn't be surprised that folks from VMware have been thinking about platforms for a long time. In today's episode, sponsored by Broadcom, Ned and Kyler discuss the current state and future of platform engineering with guests Jad El-Zein and Myles Gray. They cover... Read more »
Looks like it’s going to be a long, hot cybersec summer. The latest news roundup covers how Microsoft 365 Copilot got turned into a data exfiltration tool, why the FortiBleed attack is about much more than compromised firewalls, and how North Korea exploited a single npm maintainer account to poison more than a hundred software... Read more »
“Everybody codes” was an enterprise buzzword. In this era of AI vibe-coding and single-use coding, should everyone code? Should anyone code? John and Johna talk about enterprise strategies with respect to coding in the AI era, including what expertise to look for in employees. AdSpot Sponsor: Meter Meter delivers full-stack networking—wired, wireless, and cellular—to leading... Read more »
On this week’s Network Break, Johna Johnson and Scott Robohn start with a serious vulnerability in IBM’s Langflow open source software. On the news front, a massive breach of tens of thousands of Fortinet firewalls exposes some of the world’s biggest companies, the US government gets sued over an order to shut down powerful AI... Read more »
Ethan and Drew gather the rest of the Packet Pushers team to discuss the State of the Packet Pushers Network. Together they provide a behind the scenes look into current initiatives like adding video and raising the standards of our audio. They also share the details of the workflows behind all your favorite shows and... Read more »
Copper twisted pair cabling serves as a fundamental component of Ethernet infrastructure and Ethan and Holly are here to break down how it works. They discuss the technical differences between cabling categories, how wire twisting cancels out electromagnetic interference, and share practical guidance on installation standards and testing methodologies. Episode Links: Watch this episode on... Read more »
Network Address Translation (NAT), a foundational element of IPv4, faces critical reassessment as IPv6 deployment shifts the landscape. Ed and Tom evaluate the evolving role of NAT, questioning whether traditional translation models remain necessary when stateful packet inspection offers more robust, transparent security solutions. Episode Links: “Fanboy” series – IPv6 and NATs – YouTube
Kyler and Ned are joined by former AWS Community Program Manager Jason Dunn to discuss what it takes to build and maintain a thriving tech community. Jason shares his “benevolent dictatorship” philosophy on community management, emphasizing the importance of authentic human connections. They also explore how AI can empower non-technical individuals to build custom solutions... Read more »
AI can generate working code quickly. Building reliable software to run infrastructure platforms is still a multi-year engineering challenge. In this sponsored episode, BlueCat chief strategy officer Andrew Wertkin joins John Burke and Scott Robohn to talk through the difference between code generation and enterprise software development, and the challenges and opportunities of engineering reliability... Read more »
Is it better to be an employee or an independent contractor in the Wi-Fi industry? Keith walks us through the good, the bad, and the ugly of both sides of the equation, offering a candid look at the financial and professional realities of each. Keith helps provide a framework for listeners to assess their own... Read more »
Machine identities now outnumber human identities in the enterprise 109 to 1 — and most of them are running without the governance controls you’d never skip for a human employee. Service accounts, API keys, tokens, workload credentials, and a fast-growing population of autonomous AI agents: all of them need access, all of them can be... Read more »
Take a Network Break! Our Red Alert covers critical vulnerabilities found in OpenClaw, the open-source AI assistant. On the news front, we discuss the status of Anthropic’s Project Glasswing and examine the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute‘s (ETRI) development of an intelligent, service-programmable mobile core network, a key enabling technology for the 6G era.... Read more »
Scott sits down with Wi-Fi engineer Eva Santos to explore the realities of modern wireless operations. Eva shares insights on navigating site surveys, the differences between Wi-Fi bands, and the challenges of troubleshooting inconsistent client performance. The conversation also explores the evolving standards of Wi-Fi 6, 7, and 8, the role of security protocols like... Read more »
AI has complicated network automation. It has created questions: If AI generates code for me, do I need to learn Python? Should I be writing a script to gather network information if I can dispatch an AI agent to gather that information for me instead? What new skills can I skip obtaining if AI stands... Read more »
Chris Lapp is an Emmy award-winning network engineer, focused on AI, media, and entertainment. Chris is also known as “The Guy”, the one you call when the problem is sitting between broadcast networking and media and the stakes are high. Join us as Kevin and Alexis sit down with Chris to find out how he... Read more »
In this sponsored episode by Cisco we explore how agentic AI is transforming network operations and what it means for your career. Robert Barton, an AI Distinguished Engineer at Cisco Systems, joins Ethan and Holly to help us snap the artificial intelligence puzzle piece into your networking picture. Together they break down the AI trifecta:... Read more »
The Pope issued a recent encyclical on AI, urging developers to safeguard human agency in the age of artificial intelligence. Eyvonne and William explore this encyclical, moving beyond the headlines to the core message regarding human dignity. They examine how the document provides a values-based framework for evaluating technology and the need for a balanced... Read more »
Early in 2026, Drew Conry-Murray authored the first Packet Pushers Salary Survey, offering a transparent look into compensation in the network engineering industry. Drew joins Eric to discuss the results of the survey, the challenges of interpreting global data, how to use this data to advocate for your market value, and more! AdSpot Sponsor: Meter... Read more »
VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) and Desktop as a Service (DaaS) have been arriving “real soon now” for the past couple of decades. Will the advent of vendors' AI spyware (as Google is introducing through Chrome) be the accelerant that finally makes it happen? John and Johna discuss why the challenges in this brave new AI-enabled... Read more »
MACsec (IEEE 802.1AE) encrypts Ethernet frames hop-by-hop at Layer 2 — before traffic even hits IP — making it one of the strongest protections you can put on wire. It’s been in the standards for years, hardware support is widespread, and yet most organizations aren’t running it. JJ and Drew dig into why: the hardware... Read more »
Take a Network Break! Our Red Alert covers critical vulnerabilities in Ivanti Sentry, including OS command injection and authentication bypass, for which patches are now available. On the news front, we dig into Arista's new 1.6Tbps rack-scale portfolio for AI infrastructure and Nokia's Deepfield Genome Shield, designed to proactively stop DDoS from residential proxy botnets. We... Read more »
Your network is an interconnected system. A change you make on one device has consequences beyond that device. Therefore, to do your job well, you must think about the network as a whole. That’s the big idea behind a blog post written by guest Jason Gintert. He joins Ethan and Drew to talk about how... Read more »
You can learn a lot about IPv6 from books, videos, and podcasts (such as this one), but it’s hard to beat hands-on experience. John Osmon joins our hosts to discuss how to set up your own IPv6 environment. They cover what John has done, including low-cost home lab options, how it’s impacted his thinking, and... Read more »
As a network engineer, you'll end up with a lot of weird problems to solve. Many times, the problems will not be with the network at all, and it’ll be up to you to figure it all out. But how? Ethan and Holly discuss techniques for effective troubleshooting. Those techniques include how to gather accurate... Read more »
As AI matures, it becomes increasingly important to know how it's performing and what it actually costs. Ned and Kyler are joined by Anuj Tyagi, Senior Site Reliability Engineer for RingCentral, to discuss the critical shift toward AI observability. AI observability is not just about costs; Anuj breaks down why observability has to include agent... Read more »
The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) is a postmortem of a year’s worth of cyber incidents and breaches, and a snapshot of how well organizations are responding to actual threats. Drew and JJ share highlights from the 2026 installment, including: For the first time, vulnerability exploits top the list for initial access What a... Read more »
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