In the first regular IT SPARC Cast - CVE of the Week episode of 2026, John & Lou dive into a critical, actively exploitable vulnerability shaking the automation world. CVE-2026-21858—dubbed Ni8mare—targets the popular workflow automation platform n8n, earning a full CVSS 10.0 due to unauthenticated remote code execution.

They break down how a content-type confusion bug inside n8n’s webhook processing engine allows attackers to fully compromise systems, why automation platforms are uniquely dangerous when breached, and what this means for enterprises running self-hosted or lightly governed internal tooling. The episode also highlights listener feedback and calls out a community-built React security tool worth checking out.

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Show Notes

CVE of the Week: n8n “Ni8mare” (CVE-2026-21858)

•What is n8n?

An open-source, self-hosted workflow automation platform similar to Zapier or Make, widely used in enterprise and regulated environments for visual API-driven automation.

•Severity & Scope

CVE-2026-21858 carries a CVSS 10.0, joining multiple recent n8n vulnerabilities rated 9.9–10.0. n8n has over 200,000 deployments across cloud and on-prem environments.

•Technical Root Cause

A content-type confusion flaw in webhook form-data handling allows attackers to bypass file validation and execute arbitrary code.

•Why This Is Dangerous

Workflow engines often touch identity systems, APIs, credentials, and business logic—making them high-value targets with blast radii far beyond a single server.

•Enterprise Takeaway

Shadow IT, internally built automation, and lightly governed enablement tools must be continuously audited. Patch known systems—and actively hunt for unknown ones.

https://thehackernews.com/2026/01/critical-n8n-vulnerability-cvss-100.html

Listener Highlight

Dennis called out the Ingram Micro ransomware outage, noting that he hadn’t realized just how disruptive that incident was. And he’s absolutely right—Ingram Micro going offline for roughly 9–10 days created a nightmare scenario for VARs, system integrators, and build shops that rely on Ingram for ordering, RMAs, and emergency drop-ship replacements.

To put the scale in perspective, Ingram Micro processes an estimated $30–40 million per day in transactions. Even if some revenue was recovered later, the operational disruption, reputational damage, and downstream impact across the supply chain were massive. This is exactly why incidents like this belong in the conversation when we talk about real-world IT security failures.

Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Dennis—we genuinely appreciate the feedback and the conversation it sparked.

Wrap Up & Community Engagement

This episode reinforces a core theme: automation without security oversight becomes an enterprise liability. IT teams must partner with business units—not just say “no”—while enforcing continuous audits and rapid patching.

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In this special predictions episode of IT SPARC Cast – News Bytes, John Barger and Lou Schmidt kick off 2026 by trading bold, unfiltered forecasts for enterprise IT, AI, cloud, energy, and geopolitics. With five predictions each—and no prior coordination—they round-robin through what they believe will define the next year in technology.

From the deflation of the AI hype cycle and Apple’s inevitable AI acquisition, to quantum computing entering nation-state playbooks, nuclear power reshaping data centers, and lawsuits finally challenging cloud provider accountability, this episode puts both hosts on the record. At the end of the year, they’ll revisit every prediction and grade themselves—so these takes are meant to age in public.

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⏱️ Show Notes

00:00 – Intro

John and Lou explain the format: ten total predictions for 2026, five each, shared live without coordination—and revisited at the end of the year for accountability.

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🔮 2026 Predictions

01:09 – Lou: The AI Bubble Deflates

AI investment cools as rationalization sets in—money keeps flowing, but weaker players and inflated expectations begin to fall away instead of a full collapse.

01:29 – John: Apple Acquires an AI / LLM Company

Apple makes a major AI acquisition to avoid long-term dependence on competitors’ models and regain control over its AI strategy.

02:53 – Lou: AI Starts to Get Really Useful

AI shifts from hype to practical value, quietly improving everyday workflows and real-world systems rather than flashy demos.

04:11 – John: Nation States Use Quantum Computing

Evidence emerges that a nation-state is actively using quantum computing for espionage or cyber operations, even if never formally acknowledged.

04:45 – Lou: AI Sneaks Into Places We Never Expected

AI embeds itself into overlooked products and environments—especially AR, wearables, and location-aware systems—delivering small but meaningful gains.

05:50 – John: Negative Reaction to OpenAI Hardware

OpenAI’s hardware announcement is initially panned by the press and competitors, only to be vindicated later as its purpose becomes clear.

06:51 – Lou: Power Gets Real for Data Centers

Energy—not chips—becomes the primary constraint for cloud and enterprise infrastructure, forcing new generation strategies into production.

08:00 – John: Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Explode (In a Good Way)

SMRs rapidly gain funding, deployments, and valuations as they become the only scalable answer to data center power demand.

08:36 – Lou: The Privacy Environment Gets Weird

Geopolitics, AI agents, and shifting borders create inconsistent and unpredictable privacy regimes across regions.

10:11 – John: Lawsuits Over Cloud Outages

Major lawsuits—possibly class actions—emerge after cloud outages cause real-world harm, forcing legal accountability for uptime failures.

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🔁 Wrap Up

11:58 – Wrap Up

John and Lou invite listeners to submit their own 2026 predictions and commit to revisiting all forecasts at year’s end to see who was right.

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n this special CVE Year in Review episode of IT SPARC Cast, John Barger and Lou Schmidt break from the usual single-CVE format to count down the five worst IT security failures of 2025.

From long-lived remote code execution flaws in enterprise networking gear, to a ransomware attack that shut down a global distributor, to systemic cloud outages that shattered the concept of “five nines” availability, this episode looks at what really went wrong—and why it matters heading into 2026.

These weren’t theoretical risks. They were real-world failures that disrupted supply chains, exposed critical infrastructure, and forced the industry to rethink assumptions about resilience, cloud reliability, and operational security.

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📋 Show Notes

🔥 Top 5 IT Security Fails of 2025

01:39 - #5 – Ruckus Networks

Ruckus suffered from multiple long-lived remote code execution and authentication bypass vulnerabilities that persisted across 2024 and 2025. Impacted products included SmartZone, ZoneDirector, Cloudpath, and ICX switch management interfaces. Several flaws allowed unauthenticated access to management planes, enabling attackers to take over wireless controllers, push malicious firmware, and pivot deeper into enterprise networks. The lack of timely patches and limited communication made remediation especially painful for customers.

04:32 - #4 – Ingram Micro

A ransomware attack forced one of the world’s largest technology distributors to effectively shut down operations for days. Ordering systems went offline, patch access was disrupted, and thousands of downstream partners and customers were impacted. While it remains unclear whether ransom was paid, the incident highlighted how a single distributor outage can cascade across the IT supply chain, delaying hardware replacements, breaking SLAs, and costing millions in lost revenue.

07:21 - #3 – SAP NetWeaver

CVE-2025-31324 exposed a critical unauthenticated remote code execution flaw in SAP NetWeaver’s Visual Composer. Actively exploited in the wild before many organizations were aware of its existence, the vulnerability gave attackers potential access to finance, HR, procurement, and supply-chain data. For enterprises running SAP at the core of operations, successful exploitation meant full application takeover and deep visibility into business processes.

10:26 - #2 – React

A severe remote code execution issue in React sent shockwaves through the software ecosystem. With an estimated one-third of cloud applications depending on React, attackers were able to chain exploits involving dependency poisoning, build pipeline compromise, and even client-side execution. While patches were released quickly, the sheer scale of affected deployments meant many systems remained vulnerable well after disclosure—and some still are.

12:23 - #1 – Cloud Outages

2025 marked the year that “five nines” effectively died. Major outages across AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Microsoft 365, and IBM Cloud caused multi-hour disruptions affecting identity systems, collaboration tools, healthcare platforms, and public-safety infrastructure. Many incidents were caused not by attackers, but by control plane failures, DNS issues, NTP misconfigurations, and cascading dependencies. The result: billions in estimated financial impact and renewed concern over life-critical workloads running entirely in the cloud.

Watch Cloud SLA Theater: Why 99.999% Uptime Is a Joke in 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygcYoFBXdjQ

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17:19 - Wrap Up

If you think we missed a major security failure—or disagree with our rankings—we want to hear from you. Reach out, leave a comment, or send us feedback. Your insights often shape future episodes.

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This week on IT SPARC Cast, John Barger and Lou Schmidt break down three stories shaping the future of enterprise IT—from continued AI spending despite questionable ROI, to radically new approaches to long-term data storage, and a major consolidation in the online learning market.

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📰 News Bytes

00:46 – CEOs Keep Spending on AI Despite Spotty Returns

Despite mixed financial outcomes, a growing number of CEOs plan to increase AI investment through 2026, viewing AI as strategically unavoidable rather than immediately profitable.

Key discussion points:

•Fewer than half of current AI projects are delivering clear ROI

•Strong gains in sales, marketing, customer service, and developer productivity

•Weak performance in regulated, high-risk areas like legal, HR, compliance, and cybersecurity

•Layoffs blamed on AI may result in long-term operational backlash

The hosts argue that AI should augment human expertise, not prematurely replace it—and warn against betting the company on incomplete automation strategies.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/artificial-intelligence/ceos-to-keep-spending-on-ai-despite-spotty-returns/ar-AA1SkMcE

07:34 – 5D Glass Storage: Crystals for the Enterprise

A UK company, SPhotonix, is advancing 5D glass storage, capable of preserving data for billions of years by etching nanoscale structures into glass using femtosecond lasers.

Highlights include:

•360 TB per 5-inch glass disk

•Designed for permanent archival, not hot or warm storage

•Potential replacement for long-term tape archives

•Early write speeds are slow, but roadmap improvements are promising

This technology positions itself as a future-proof solution for enterprises, governments, universities, and cultural institutions facing long-term data retention challenges.

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/storage/sphotonix-pushes-5d-glass-storage-toward-data-center-pilots

15:00 – Coursera Acquires Udemy for $930 Million

Online education giant Coursera is acquiring Udemy in a deal valued at approximately $930 million, creating a dominant force in enterprise and consumer e-learning.

Discussion points:

•Udemy’s strong practitioner-led course model

•Coursera’s academic and credentialing reach

•Expanded use of AI for assessments, personalization, and skills validation

•Potential shift toward a “market-driven university” model

The hosts see this consolidation as a net positive for enterprise IT teams responsible for compliance training, upskilling, and leadership development.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/coursera-and-udemy-enter-a-merger-agreement-valued-at-around-2-5b/

🔁 Wrap Up

20:00 – Listener Feedback

⭐ Community Call-Out: Abdullah’s React Audit Tool

A special shout-out to Abdullah ( https://x.com/ozkayabd ) who responded on X after a previous React CVE episode and shared an open-source tool to help teams audit their environments:

👉 React Audit Scanner

http://rsc-auditor.vercel.app

This tool allows teams to quickly check whether they may be impacted by recent React vulnerabilities. As always, review and validate any third-party tool before using it in production.

A special shout-out to Megan, who reached out after the episode with thoughtful feedback—and who’s doing important work to tackle a problem far too many people experience: ghosting of job applicants by recruiters and HR teams.

Megan is actively pushing for better communication, transparency, and basic professionalism in the hiring process. It’s a reminder that while we talk a lot about AI, automation, and efficiency, the human side of tech and hiring still matters. Follow her on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-juliano

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In this episode of IT SPARC Cast – CVE of the Week, John Barger and Lou Schmidt break down a long-overdue security move from Microsoft: disabling the RC4 cipher by default across Windows authentication infrastructure. After more than two decades of known cryptographic weaknesses, RC4 is finally being deprecated in favor of modern encryption standards like AES.

The discussion covers why RC4 persisted for so long, how legacy Active Directory and Kerberos environments kept it alive, and why attackers have continued to exploit it through techniques like Kerberoasting. The hosts also highlight the new logging, auditing, and PowerShell tools Microsoft released to help enterprises identify and eliminate lingering RC4 dependencies—without breaking production systems.

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📋 Show Notes

🔐 Main Topic: Microsoft Disables RC4 by Default

•Microsoft is removing RC4 (Rivest Cipher 4) as a default cipher in Windows authentication after more than 25 years.

•RC4 has been known to be cryptographically broken for decades and has been actively exploited in real-world attacks.

•The change impacts Kerberos authentication across Windows Server 2008 and later.

•RC4 will still function only if explicitly re-enabled—which is strongly discouraged.

⚠️ Why RC4 Is Dangerous

•RC4 has been abused in Kerberoasting attacks against Active Directory environments.

•Weak encryption allows attackers to extract service account credentials offline.

•Keeping RC4 enabled significantly increases the blast radius of a compromised domain.

🛠️ What Microsoft Did Right This Time

•Added enhanced Kerberos logging (Event IDs 4768 and 4769) to identify RC4 usage.

•Released PowerShell scripts to audit domain controllers for RC4 dependencies.

•Published clear migration guidance to move environments to AES-SHA1 and stronger encryption.

•Provided visibility before enforcing the change, helping admins avoid outages.

🎧 Listener Feedback Highlight

•A YouTube listener praised the CVE of the Week format as being highly valuable from an ops and security standpoint.

•Strong validation that actionable vulnerability analysis resonates with enterprise IT teams.

⭐ Community Call-Out: Abdullah’s React Audit Tool

A special shout-out to Abdullah ( https://x.com/ozkayabd ) who responded on X after a previous React CVE episode and shared an open-source tool to help teams audit their environments:

👉 React Audit Scanner

http://rsc-auditor.vercel.app

This tool allows teams to quickly check whether they may be impacted by recent React vulnerabilities. As always, review and validate any third-party tool before using it in production.

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🔚 Wrap Up & Social Links

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In this episode of IT SPARC Cast – News Bytes, John and Lou tackle one of the most emotionally charged weeks in enterprise IT. Google CEO Sundar Pichai openly acknowledges that AI-driven layoffs will cause real pain before progress—a statement that sparks a candid Hot Take on disruption, job loss, and opportunity.

From there, the show dives deep into the mounting backlash against U.S. data centers, with over 200 environmental groups demanding a halt to new builds—ironically accelerating plans for orbital data centers. The conversation then turns optimistic as the inventor of the Super Soaker unveils a breakthrough technology that converts waste heat directly into electricity, potentially reshaping geothermal and data center power economics.

Finally, the guys explore Boom Supersonic’s unexpected pivot—using jet engines as grid-scale power generators for data centers—and Google’s launch of managed MCP servers that allow AI agents to plug directly into core Google services with minimal integration effort.

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⏱️ Show Notes

00:00 – Intro

This week: Google admits AI pain is coming, environmentalists push data centers toward orbit, waste heat becomes power, and AI agents get a universal plug.

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HOT TAKE

00:55 – Google CEO on AI Layoffs: “We’re All Going to Have to Suffer Through It”

•Sundar Pichai acknowledges widespread layoffs and economic strain tied to AI adoption.

•John and Lou discuss why AI-driven efficiency gains are being used as justification for premature workforce cuts.

•Key argument: AI doesn’t replace people—it amplifies small teams and enables entrepreneurship.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/google-ceo-says-we-re-all-going-to-have-to-suffer-through-it-as-ai-puts-society-through-the-woodchipper/ar-AA1S5Pzx 

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NEWS BYTES

06:11 – More Than 200 Environmental Groups Demand Halt to New U.S. Data Centers

•Greenpeace and others cite water usage, power demand, and CO₂ emissions.

•~$64 billion in data center projects already delayed or halted.

•Lou explains why this pressure is accelerating interest in orbital data centers—one FCC license vs. hundreds of local permits.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/us-data-centers 

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10:26 – Super Soaker Inventor Wants to Turn Waste Heat into Electricity

•Lonnie Johnson (inventor of the Super Soaker) unveils the Johnson Thermal Electrochemical Converter (JTEC).

•Works with small temperature differentials—no turbines, no moving parts.

•Could dramatically change how data centers source supplemental power.

https://www.ajc.com/business/2025/11/earth-needs-more-energy-atlantas-super-soaker-creator-may-have-a-solution/ 

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13:08 – Boom Supersonic Uses Jet Engines to Power Data Centers

•Boom Supersonic repurposes its jet engine designs into natural gas turbines for data centers.

•Each turbine outputs ~42 MW; initial orders exceed 1.2 GW and are rapidly increasing.

•First deliveries expected in 2027; turbine factory opening next year.

•John and Lou connect this to job creation across manufacturing, operations, and IT management.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/google-is-going-all-in-on-mcp-servers-agent-ready-by-design/ 

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16:44 – Google Launches Managed MCP Servers for AI Agents

•Google introduces managed Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers on GCP.

•MCP creates a universal “language” for AI agents to interact with tools and services.

•Reduces API complexity—ask questions, get results, take action.

•Free during public preview for enterprise customers.

•Lou calls this a major step toward AI-native enterprise workflows.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/google-is-going-all-in-on-mcp-servers-agent-ready-by-design/ 

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Wrap Up

20:38 – Mail Bag & Wrap Up

•Listener feedback highlights interest in portable and containerized data centers.

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This week on IT SPARC Cast – CVE of the Week, John Barger and Lou Schmidt break down a code-red security situation affecting a massive portion of the modern web. CVE-2025-55182 is a critical, actively exploited vulnerability in React Server Components (RSC) that enables unauthenticated remote code execution, even in applications that don’t explicitly use server functions.

With an estimated 33–35% of cloud-based services running React, attackers are already leveraging automated tooling to deploy cryptominers, Linux backdoors, and persistent malware across vulnerable systems. If you run React, Next.js, or containerized web workloads, this episode outlines exactly why this exploit is so dangerous, how attackers are weaponizing it, and what you must do right now to mitigate risk—from emergency patching to Zero Trust and micro-segmentation strategies.

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Show Notes

🔴 CVE of the Week: CVE-2025-55182 (React Server Components RCE)

In this episode, John and Lou sound the alarm on a critical vulnerability in React Server Components that has escalated from disclosure to active, automated exploitation in the wild.

Key points covered:

•CVE-2025-55182 allows unauthenticated remote code execution via unsafe serialization and deserialization in React Server Component endpoints

•Vulnerable components include:

•react-server-dom-webpack

•react-server-dom-parcel

•react-server-dom-turbopack

•A related issue impacts Next.js App Router deployments, tracked separately as CVE-2025-66478

•Even applications that do not explicitly use server functions may still be exploitable if RSC support exists

🚨 Active Exploitation Confirmed

Lou shares real-time intelligence showing attackers using automated tooling dubbed “React-to-Shell”, delivering:

•Cryptocurrency miners

•Linux backdoors (PeerBlight)

•Reverse proxy tooling (CowTunnel)

•Go-based post-exploitation implants (ZinFoq)

This is no longer theoretical—production systems are being compromised right now.

🛡️ Immediate Mitigation Guidance

If you run React or Next.js workloads:

•Patch immediately to fixed versions

•Disable or strictly isolate RSC server function endpoints if not required

•Place RSC behind WAFs and strict network controls

•Harden container and OS permissions

•Implement payload anomaly detection

•Move toward micro-segmentation and Zero Trust architectures to limit blast radius

John and Lou emphasize that patching alone is no longer enough in an era of AI-accelerated exploitation.

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Wrap Up & Community Feedback

The episode closes with listener feedback from LinkedIn discussing CXL memory pooling and how it is changing enterprise infrastructure economics—plus a recommendation to check out deep-dive demos from Serve The Home.

As always, the team invites listener input on whether future episodes should focus on individual CVEs or broader security themes.

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In this episode of IT SPARC Cast – News Bytes, John and Lou cover a packed week in tech policy, AI disruption, and cloud infrastructure. Apple loses its AI chief as the company struggles to keep pace with rivals. India orders smartphone makers to preload a government surveillance app—then backpedals after Apple pushes back. Sam Altman declares a “Code Red” inside OpenAI as pressure mounts from Google, Anthropic, and the entire LLM ecosystem. And finally, Amazon and Google partner on a new high-speed multi-cloud interconnect—an unexpected alliance triggered in part by AWS’ recent outages.

This episode blends politics, enterprise IT strategy, security concerns, and cloud architecture trends—delivered with classic SPARC Cast sarcasm.

⏱️ Show Notes

00:00 – Intro

This week: Apple says goodbye to its AI chief, India tests mandatory surveillance apps, OpenAI hits the panic button, and Amazon+Google become “friends with benefits.”

NEWS BYTES

00:46 – Apple AI Chief Exits

Apple confirms that John Giannandrea, SVP of Machine Learning & AI Strategy, will step down in Spring 2026.

•He was Apple’s “big hire from Google” and led AI initiatives for eight years.

•His replacement: Amar Subramanya, reporting to Craig Federighi.

•John & Lou discuss Apple’s AI struggles:

– Apple Intelligence is “not what was promised”—delayed, underwhelming, and widely criticized.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/12/john-giannandrea-to-retire-from-apple/ 

06:43 – India Orders Smartphone Makers to Preload State-Owned Cyber Safety App

India announces a mandate requiring all new smartphones to include a government-built, undeletable cybersecurity app.

•Goal: combat rising cybercrime, IMEI cloning, stolen-device fraud.

•Users cannot remove or disable the app.

•Lou and John highlight the risk.

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/india-orders-mobile-phones-preloaded-with-government-app-ensure-cyber-safety-2025-12-01/ 

11:51 – Sam Altman Declares ‘Code Red’ for ChatGPT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declares an internal “Code Red” tied to ChatGPT 5.2.

•All nonessential projects—including the Pulse personalized assistant—paused.

•Focus is entirely on improving 5.2 performance, reliability, and user experience.

•Why now?

– Gemini just jumped ahead in accuracy.

– Claude leads in coding tasks.

– Competition is moving at blistering speed.

https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/02/openai-delays-ad-plans/ 

16:55 – Amazon and Google Launch Multicloud Service for Faster Connectivity

Amazon Web Services & Google Cloud jointly launch a multi-cloud private interconnect for rapid cross-cloud connectivity.

•High-speed AWS ↔ Google Cloud links provisioned in minutes, not weeks.

•Early adopter: Salesforce.

•Why this matters:

– After the major AWS East-1 outage, enterprises need cloud failover options fast.

– This partnership essentially creates a safety net: if one cloud fails, the other can pick up load.

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-google-launch-multicloud-service-faster-connectivity-2025-12-01/ 

20:32 – Mail Bag & Wrap Up

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In this episode of IT SPARC Cast – News Bytes, John and Lou break down Ubiquiti’s brand-new UniFi wireless bridging lineup, test drive the surprisingly powerful ChatGPT Group Chat feature, and review the newly released IT Specialist Simulator game—yes, it’s a real thing.

Lou also shares his SuperComputing 25 highlights, covering quantum computing, CXL memory extension, and why this year’s show was one of the most energetic he’s ever seen. A packed week for enterprise IT, networking, AI tooling, and HPC.

⏱️ Show Notes

00:00 – Intro

A preview of the week’s topics: ChatGPT enters the chat, Pixel Team Red makes IT into a game, and UniFi pushes wireless bridging further.

NEWS BYTES

01:21 – All-New UniFi Bridging

Ubiquiti announces an expanded lineup of UniFi bridging hardware, offering new flexibility for building-to-building links and hard-to-cable environments. Key highlights:

•Building Bridge Single Unit – no more buying pairs; units can now be paired or re-paired on demand.

•Device Bridge IoT – tiny 2.4 GHz client bridge for connecting wired devices where Ethernet isn’t available.

•Device Bridge Switch – 2.5GbE PoE switch + Wi-Fi 7 / 6 GHz bridging for high-throughput deployment without new cabling.

•Ideal for renters, campuses, remote buildings, and temporary connectivity.

https://blog.ui.com/article/all-new-unifi-bridging 

05:00 – ChatGPT Group Chats

ChatGPT now offers multi-user group chats, allowing collaborative research, shared notes, and real-time AI-assisted discussions.

•Works like “ChatGPT inside Slack or Teams.”

•No cross-bleed from personal ChatGPT memory—group chats stay isolated.

•Great for brainstorming, problem-solving, and real-time content creation.

•John tests memory segmentation and explains why this feature actually matters for privacy.

https://openai.com/index/group-chats-in-chatgpt/ 

07:38 – IT Specialist Simulator (Game)

A new Steam game, IT Specialist Simulator, lets players start as junior IT techs and work their way up the ladder.

•Tasks include configuring IP addresses, handling tickets, and climbing into management roles.

•John plans to test it using Crossover on his Mac during Thanksgiving vacation.

•Lou questions whether this is secretly a recruitment or training tool.

•Possible educational value for beginners learning networking basics.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3266090/IT_Specialist_Simulator/

10:16 – Lou’s SuperComputing 25 Overview

Lou shares additional SC25 observations not covered in the shorts:

•Deep dive conversations with quantum computing firms including Alice & Bob.

•IBM’s quantum roadmap and why commercial systems are likely 2030+.

•How quantum computing targets molecular simulation, advanced materials, next-gen drugs, and computational fluid dynamics.

•The rise of CXL, PCIe expansion, and technologies enabling enterprises to extend hardware rather than replace it.

•SC25 was one of the most active HPC events Lou has seen in decades.

Wrap Up

14:42 – Listener Feedback & Wrap Up

Listeners react to recent shorts, including extreme cooling solutions (0.01 Kelvin) and moon-mined Helium-3 for future fusion and quantum workloads.

Full contact and feedback channels below:

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IT SPARC Cast

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https://www.linkedin.com/company/sparc-sales/ on LinkedIn

John Barger

@john_Video on X

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarger/ on LinkedIn

Lou Schmidt

@loudoggeek on X

https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-schmidt-b102446/ on LinkedIn

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In this episode of IT SPARC Cast, Lou brings you a packed 8-minute walkthrough of the biggest themes and technologies from SuperComputing 25—the largest and busiest HPC show he’s ever attended.

In this video, Lou covers:

🔥 Cooling Wars: immersion cooling, PG25 liquid loops, cavitation risks, phase-change fluids, and long-term hardware reliability.

🧠 CXL & Memory Expansion: shared GPU pools, multi-host memory fabrics, and how CXL can extend server life.

☁️ Hybrid Cloud AI Platforms: two research-born vendors (including one FedRAMP-compliant) redefining HPC + cloud orchestration.

⚡ Infrastructure Giants: the mind-blowing cooling and power equipment that will shape future enterprise data centers.

And John reads out Listener Feedback regarding AlmaLinux as the successor to CentOS.

If you want a concise, expert-level briefing from the SC25 show floor—this is the one to watch.

What it on Youtube Here - https://youtu.be/Ve57fs7efFY

00:00 – Intro

01:08 – Greeting from Super Computing 25

Lou sets the stage after returning from SuperComputing 25, describing the massive scale of the show, packed floors, and how SC25 has effectively replaced events like Interop and SuperComm.

NEWS & TECH BREAKDOWN

02:22 – The Major Theme: Cooling, Cooling, Cooling

Lou explains that cooling dominated the show, with two primary approaches emerging:

1. Immersion Cooling

•Full-system submersion in mineral oil or engineered fluids

2. Active Liquid Cooling (PG25 Mix)

•Issues explored: erosion, cavitation, biological growth, thermal cycling, solder fatigue

3. Phase-Change Approaches

•Solutions that vaporize at fixed temperatures (e.g., 55°C boiling point phase-change fluids)

Why It Matters: Enterprise hardware longevity, reduced thermal stress, and predictable cooling efficiency.

05:41 – CXL & Memory Expansion: The Future of Server Life Extension

Lou discusses a major standout category: CXL (Compute Express Link) technologies allowing:

•Shared memory pools & GPUs across multiple hosts

•Extending server life by adding external memory instead of replacing hardware

•Switching architectures enabling dynamic assignment of terabytes of memory to GPUs

Enterprise takeaway: “Do more with less” becomes practical—critical during recessionary or budget-tight periods.

⸻

07:55 – Hybrid Cloud AI Platforms

Lou meets with two research-born companies offering advanced hybrid cloud and orchestration stacks:

•One FedRAMP-compliant, built for U.S. federal and defense workloads

•One European research derivative, designed for container-heavy hybrid environments without VMware reliance

These solutions focus on orchestration, HPC-to-cloud overflow, container scheduling, and distributed compute for AI.

09:19 – Wrap Up

John closes by encouraging viewers to watch the upcoming shorts and emphasizing how SC25 showcased the next generation of enterprise-class tech. He also covers Listener Feedback on our first short from SC25 regarding AlmaLinux

Social Links

IT SPARC Cast

@ITSPARCCast on X

https://www.linkedin.com/company/sparc-sales/ on LinkedIn

John Barger

@john_Video on X

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarger/ on LinkedIn

Lou Schmidt

@loudoggeek on X

https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-schmidt-b102446/ on LinkedIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.