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.

Kevin and Alexis take a break from their regular interviews to answer your questions! Join them for an unfiltered, wide-ranging discussion including the value of certifications, online learning pros and cons, how networking engineering jobs are changing, how to maintain a healthy work-life balance, and more. AdSpot Sponsor: Statseeker Statseeker gives engineers near real-time performance... Read more »

Wingpy is an open-source tool that aims to make it easier to automate network tasks that use Cisco APIs. Today Eric is joined by returning guest Andreas Baekdahl, the creator of Wingpy. They discuss why Andreas started Wingpy, how it can help streamline your workflows, and how you can start using it right away. They... Read more »

The tech industry is split between two fantasies – that AI writes production software while you get coffee, and that everything AI touches is slop. The reality is messier and more interesting: AI tools are force multipliers for people who already know what good looks like, and an expertise amplifier disguised as an easy button. ... Read more »

FluidCloud calls itself a cloud-cloning platform. In other words, the company can map and copy all the cloud infrastructure settings from one public cloud—including compute, storage, networking, and identity—and port those settings to a different public cloud. On today’s sponsored Day Two DevOps, Ned and Kyler talk with FluidCloud’s co-founders to understand how the platform... Read more »

At CES in January, NVIDIA, AMD, Siemens and others spun elaborate tales of a world suffused with AI: AI in the cloud, AI at the desktop, AI in the factory, AI underneath enterprise software and as the UI for enterprise software and agentically accomplishing anything and everything in a world of embodied, physical AI. Johna... Read more »

Kyler Middleton, a software developer in the healthcare sector, builds and supports AI bots and AI agents that are now widely used inside the company where she works. Today on Packet Protector, Kyler stops by to talk about how and why she built these tools, how she (and her organization) address the risks these tools... Read more »

Take a Network Break! Guest commentator Tom Hollingsworth joins Drew for today’s episode. We start with a double Red Alert from Cisco for its Secure FMC software. On the news front, Cato Networks adds adaptive threat prevention to its SASE offering that looks for seemingly innocuous signals that could add up to an attack, Google... Read more »

Today on the Tech Bytes podcast we hear from Statseeker, a network monitoring company that collects high-fidelity network data to help engineers and administrators get visibility into physical, virtual, and logical interfaces to find problems faster, understand root causes, and spot behaviors and anomalies so you can prevent problems instead of just reacting to them.... Read more »

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a centralized architecture in which a controller, or a hierarchy of controllers, runs software that computes network-engineered paths and pushes that forwarding scheme into the network. It’s also very complex, which can lead to network failures. What if there was a way to keep the benefits of SDN while also... Read more »

Today's learning adventure is an overview of multicast. Ethan and Holly have invited a guest to share his multicast expertise: Lenny Giuliano, Sr. Distinguished Systems Engineer at HPE Juniper Networks. Lenny guides them through multicast principles and shares examples of where and how it’s used in live networks. He also explains how the OSPF routing... Read more »

If you’re looking for a network automation project but you’re worried about breaking stuff, why not build your automation adventure around IPv6? If your production traffic runs on IPv4, you can experiment with automated configurations and changes using IPv6 without negatively impacting that v4 traffic. You can get a two-for one experience learning both IPv6... Read more »

Engineers and developers are using AI like never before, including in production. That has potential consequences, both good and bad, for uptime, operations, security and risk management, and more. Today’s guest, Rich Mogull, guides us through the decision-making process of adding AI to your production lifecycle and possible ramifications. Rich is Chief Analyst at the... Read more »

Digi International has a whole lot of things that aren’t exactly in the Wi-Fi space, but are close enough to be of interest to WLAN engineers. Joining us today to talk about Digi International’s wireless tech, and what it means for wireless LAN pros, is Bob Blumenscheid. Bob discusses Digi’s offerings, including their XBee modules,... Read more »

Today we're going to learn about the care and feeding of a three-headed dog named Kerberos. Developed at MIT and released in 1989, Kerberos is a free, open source authentication protocol that uses cryptographic keys to protect identity data as it crosses a network. Today, Kerberos is the backbone of Windows authentication. We'll dive into... Read more »

Take a Network Break! We start with follow-up on the proper pronunciation of the US state of Nevada, and then sound the alarm about new research that gets around WiFi client isolation and could enable man-in-the-middle attacks. On the news front, AMD and Meta strike a massive deal in which AMD will sell its stock... Read more »

OT networks used to be air-gapped. These days, more and more OT networks are being bridged by IT networks, which exposes critical industrial controls and other systems to serious risk. On today's Tech Bytes, sponsored by Palo Alto Networks, we dig into how organizations can detect “precursor signals” that may indicate a broader attack chain,... Read more »

With the continued growth of data centers for clouds, neoclouds (especially AI model training), for carriers, and for the enterprise, it's important to discuss data center network operations and issues. Scott is joined by Dr. Peter Welcher, a consultant, blogger, and Tech Field contributor. Together, they dive into how latency and the rise of AI... Read more »

Our topic today is the designing and building of high-performance networking hardware. If you assume the hardware details don't matter, you're missing the intentional engineering required to build truly reliable and quiet infrastructure. In this sponsored episode, we discuss Meter's hardware philosophy with our guest, Joshua Markell, Head of Hardware at Meter. Joshua walks us... Read more »

Alexis and Kevin sit down with Mike Miller to discuss what brought him from the back of a garbage truck to his current position as a Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (VCISO). He breaks down how a VCISO differs from a CISO, and discusses the two types of clients looking for VCISO services: those looking... Read more »

William and Eyvonne tackle the biggest AI stories of early 2026. They dissect Matt Schumer’s viral “Something Big is Happening” essay – agreeing professionals need to skill up now while pushing back on the doomsday framing with real-world examples from engineering disciplines. The conversation takes a fascinating turn as Eyvonne draws a parallel between AI-assisted... Read more »

Eric sits down with David Henderson, Principal Architect for NetDevOps at Presidio, to discuss the practical journey for network engineers transitioning from manual CLI operations to scalable NetDevOps and automation. They discuss how traditional networking knowledge and certifications are foundational, and suggest essential tools and habits for beginning your automation journey. David also shares a... Read more »

On today's show, we pop the lid off of a firewall (figuratively speaking) to understand what’s inside. We talk about how a packet moves through various packet-processing elements inside a firewall, how header analysis and de-encapsulation work, which hardware component has the biggest impact on performance, why stateful inspection still matters in an age of... Read more »

Every employer knows to conduct background checks. However, conducting background checks on IT professionals requires an extra layer of verification, given the privileged access they typically have to IT systems and tools. Moreover, in this AI era, background checks need to be deeper and more effective than before–in the past we didn't need to verify... Read more »

Take a Network Break! We start with follow-ups on secure browsers and data centers in space, and then sound the red alert about an RCE vulnerability in NLTK. On the news front, Palo Alto Networks acquires a startup that monitors endpoints for malicious packages, browser extensions, scripts, and other threats, Lumen debuts a multi-cloud gateway... Read more »

Traditional routing protocols like OSPF simply choose the “shortest” path. If the shortest path is full of traffic and there are alternate paths carrying nothing, OSPF can't help you. Path Computation Element (PCE) along with Path Computation Element Protocol (PCEP) is a way to construct forwarding paths through the network based on factors that distributed... Read more »

Today, Ethan and Holly provide an overview of firewalls. While cybersecurity is a separate discipline from network engineering, much of what happens in cybersecurity is interesting at the packet level, so there’s a good deal of overlap. It's likely that as a network engineer, you'll be managing, or at least dealing with, firewalls in your... Read more »

Ed, Nick, and Tom discuss the need for Network Address Translation v6 to v6 (NAT66). While Network Prefix Translation (NPTv6) exists, its limitations make it insufficient for real-world business needs. They also highlight that without a standardized NAT66, the market is forcing vendors to implement their own, hindering widespread IPv6 adoption. Episode Links: IPv6-to-IPv6 Network... Read more »

Kat Traxler, Principal Security Researcher at Vectra AI, returns to the podcast to discuss her AI-powered vulnerability research workflow. She explains how she uses two different AI models to act as the “blackboard” while she applies her expertise to triage AI-generated ideas to increase her productivity. She also asks a concerning question: As AI automates... Read more »

Adrian Granados joins Keith Parsons to discuss new iOS tools available for the WLAN Pi. These new tools extend a professional’s ability to run Wi-Fi scanning and analysis apps such a Wi-Fi Explorer Pi and Airtool Pi on iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads. Along with the small, portable WLAN Pi itself, these apps... Read more »

With the rise of cloud services and SaaS, the browser has become a primary productivity tool. It's also a primary vector for malware, phishing, identity theft, data leaks, and other risks. On today's sponsored episode with Palo Alto Networks, we dive into browser security. We discuss risks to the browser and how they differ from... Read more »

Where are all the network engineers? OK, obviously, there are network engineers out there, like the thousands of you listening to this podcast. But there's an impression that the current generation is aging out of the profession while fewer young people are taking on network engineering as a career. At the same time, networks are... Read more »

Take a Network Break! We start with listener follow-up on data centers in space, and sound the Red Alert about a sandbox failure in Claude Code and a rash of Microsoft zero-days. On the news front, Cisco announces a 102.4Tbps switch ASIC in its Silicon One line of homegrown chips, and adds AI agent monitoring... Read more »

Scott talks with Mark Gebert from Verizon about something that sits at the heart of every reliable enterprise network: testing. Automation is moving fast in the telco world, but automation without testing is just an accident waiting to happen. They unpack what makes enterprise service provisioning so complex—multi-vendor networks, optical and IP gear, security functions,... Read more »

Our topic today is building and running network workflows. If your network workflows live in a spreadsheet, a SharePoint document, or in your head, you really need a workflow manager. A workflow manager brings scalability, repeatability, and consistency to your network operations team. In this sponsored episode, we discuss Cisco Crosswork Workflow Manager. Our guests... Read more »

Kevin and Alexis sit down with Melissa Brooks, a Senior Cloud Engineer at Aritzia, to discuss how she went from being a “terrible waitress” to going back to school for a diploma in network security. They explore how she used a strategic, “reverse engineered” approach to goal setting to land on a career in tech.... Read more »

We’ve spent a decade figuring out how to (more or less) securely authenticate humans. Now AI agents are crashing the party, and identity just got a whole lot more complicated. Today we sit down with Dan Moore, Senior Director of CIAM Strategy and Identity Standards at FusionAuth, to explore the collision course between artificial intelligence... Read more »

Today we are joined by Matt Remke, who has spent years in the trenches of network automation projects as a consultant. Matt offers a unique, non-engineer perspective on scaling network automation in real-world, complex environments for some of the world’s largest companies. Matt shares what worked, what backfired, and the hard-earned lessons he has gained... Read more »

Everything old is new again in today’s Packet Protector news roundup, as a decade-old Telnet exploit resurfaces, and Microsoft unfolds its roadmap to phase out the ancient NTLM protocol. In other news, Google takes down a sprawling residential proxy network, the popular Notepad++ app takes steps to recover from a serious compromise, and a Polish... Read more »

The recent U.S. Executive Order 14365, Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, is the administration's latest attempt to prevent the enforcement of most of the AI laws passed in individual US states. Because it is only an executive order (EO), it cannot directly nullify, supersede, forestall, or put a pause on state-level laws.... Read more »

Take a Network Break! We start with a trio of follow-ups, including a correction regarding Mplify certifications, Cisco proposing new OSI layers, and free-space optics. Our Red Alert sounds off about a remote code execution vulnerability in the Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile agent. On the news front, Broadcom announces new silicon for wireless APs for... Read more »

What should network engineers know about software development? What should software developers know about networking? Ethan and Drew sit down with Chris Rapier and Nick Buraglio to discuss why crossing these silos can improve outcomes for everyone. They break down why being a little curious about the infrastructure can help software developers write better code,... Read more »

Quality of Service (QoS) is a huge topic with a punishingly large group of acronyms. Join Ethan and Holly as they help you build a mental framework of what QoS is and what it solves. Not only do they break down essential acronyms, they also discuss QoS fundamentals, define the major groups of QoS tools,... Read more »

Are you struggling to get IPv6 working, whether in a lab or even a pilot deployment? Ed, Nick, and Tom walk through the essentials of IPv6 troubleshooting, revealing the non-negotiable differences between IPv4 and IPv6 that can trip up even experienced network engineers. They break down why blocking all ICMP, like in v4, will instantly... Read more »

Ned and Kyler sit down with Tikhon Jelvis to discuss Haskell and other niche programming languages. They explore how this decades-old language isn't just surviving, but thriving. They also break down how Haskell can provide distinct advantages over traditional programming, especially for complex domain modeling and concurrent applications. Episode Links: Copilot Language Haskell Project Haskell... Read more »

Operation Technology (OT) and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are where the digital world meets the physical world. These systems, which are critical to the operation of nuclear power plants, manufacturing sites, municipal power and water plants, and more, are under increasing attack. On today’s Packet Protector we return to the OT/ICS realm to talk about... Read more »

Every Wi-fi or network professional occasionally struggles with understanding what their endpoints are experiencing. Keith sits down with Bill Bushong, creator of NetViews, a macOS application originally called PingStalker. In this conversation they discuss why he built NetViews, the technical details on how it works, its network monitoring capabilities, and how Wi-Fi professionals can use... Read more »

Take a Network Break! We’ve got Red Alerts for HPE Juniper Session Smart Routers and SolarWinds. In this week’s news, Microsoft debuts its second-generation AI inferencing chip, Mplify rolls out a new Carrier Ethernet certification for supporting AI workloads, and AWS upgrades its network firewall to spot GenAI application traffic and filter Web categories. Google... Read more »

Let’s talk about AI for NetOps: It’s not just coming, it’s here. There are tools to use, skills to acquire, and we want to talk about what’s needed for highly certified network engineers to skill up in AI. What certification opportunities or paths exist? What developments do we think we’re going to see here? And... Read more »

AI is everywhere in networking right now, but most of it feels like hype. In this sponsored episode, we go deeper than buzzwords with Steven Butler from Nokia to explore what it takes to make AI Ops real, reliable, and trustworthy in production environments. If you want AI to deliver value, you need the fundamentals... Read more »

Ifeanyi Otuonye was a decorated track and field athlete at Kansas State and even competed professionally. Then he made the leap to a Technical Account Manager role at Amazon Web Services. Alexis and Kevin sit down with Ifeanyi to discuss the difficulties of that career change. Ifeanyi explains why he chose cloud engineering, what he... Read more »

Eric sits down with two graduates from the CU Boulder Networking Engineering Master's Program to discuss what they learned during their time in the program and how that translated into real world opportunities and experiences. They also offer some invaluable career advice from the “seven plus one” formula and the value of asking “dumb questions.”... Read more »