Take a Network Break! This week we start with a couple of follow-ups and a Red Alert, and then jump into tech news. Cisco and Nvidia team up to put Cisco ASICs and the Nexus NOS into Nvidia Ethernet switches, the market reads tea leaves as Microsoft walks away from data center capacity, and Juniper... Read more »

In our conversation today with CTO Cameron Daniel of Megaport, we discuss their global WAN architecture, PoPs, use cases, the Megaport Cloud Router, and more. Megaport is our sponsor today. It’s accurate to describe Megaport as providing Network-as-a-Service. Megaport’s automated connectivity solutions enable rapid provisioning of circuits, contrasting sharply with traditional telcos. The discussion also... Read more »

We’re back with the third and last (for now) installment of our spanning tree series. Today’s episode includes an explanation of spanning tree versions, 802.1D, 802.1w, 802.1s, and their practical implications for network design. The discussion then turns to BPDU guard for preventing loops and ensuring rapid connectivity. Bonus material on why you should or... Read more »

What does it mean for a network engineer to develop a product mindset? And what does a product mindset have to do with network automation? Guest Peter Sprygada connects these concepts in today’s episode of Total Network Operations, sponsored by Itential. Peter says that as an organization advances its network automation capabilities, the impetus shifts... Read more »

On today’s episode, we get a reality check on all the hype surrounding AI with guest Phil Gervasi. Phil provides background on Large Language Models (LLMs) and their applications, as well as the current state of AI technology. We also delve into practical use cases for AI in network operations, from AI as an assistant... Read more »

Certifications are a fact of life in a technical career. They can also provide a pathway to help you earn new roles, sharpen your skills, and boost your salary. On today’s Packet Protector we look at security certifications for beginners, experienced professionals, and advanced practitioners. This episode was inspired by a LinkedIn post by Ethan... Read more »

Lots of good stuff in this week’s Network Break. Microsoft announces an 8-qubit quantum chip and declares that practical quantum computing is years, not decades, away. D-Wave says its quantum computers are now commercially available for research facilities, academic institutions, and governments. Apple rolls its own 5G modem into its iPhone 16e. Meta announces its... Read more »

Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) is a framework that developers use to help them manage and integrate frequent code changes. As network automation evolves, should network engineers adopt CI/CD? Guest Tony Bourke joins us to talk about CI/CD pipelines: what they are, how they’re used, and how they can support network automation efforts. We... Read more »

Lead people. Manage machines and processes. That’s the the advice from Bill Hunter, today’s guest on Total Network Operations. Bill shares lessons of resilience and adaptability he learned early in his career, including the power of good habits. Bill and Scott discuss how to identify processes that can be automated and when and where to... Read more »

Welcome to part 2 of our spanning tree series. We start with a quick review and then discuss root bridges, root ports, designated ports, and forwarding and blocked ports.  We explain the impact of topology changes on spanning tree and network performance, and discuss how topology changes and convergence events are communicated. Last but not... Read more »