EP 477 | MAY 6, 2024

Arista Assembles Switch-Based Microperimeters; FCC Wants More Money for Telcos Dumping Huawei Gear

We cover a new microsegmentation offering from Arista, new GenAI assistants from Fortinet, and a GenAI firewall from Versa Networks to monitor and report on how organizations are using generative AI tools and applications. Plus, AWS will stop selling VMware Cloud on AWS (but you can still get it through Broadcom), the FCC asks Congress for more money to help small and rural telcos and service providers remove Huawei and ZTE gear, and Fortinet announces Q1 2024 revenues of $1.35 billion. | LISTEN NOW

MAY 6, 2024

Real-Time Network Performance Monitoring with NetBeez

Network monitoring is growing increasingly complicated. Companies are facing more distributed applications and more remote employees. NetBeez, our sponsor today, is here to talk about how they monitor network performance in real time for the campus, WAN, and more. From proactively testing networks after configuration changes to identifying how well a worker’s laptop is connecting to their home Wi-Fi, NetBeez provides critical network performance data. Stefano Gridelli, co-founder and CEO, explains how NetBeez is making it possible for helpdesks, engineers, and entire organizations keep up with this changing world. | LISTEN NOW

EP 071 | MAY 7, 2024

The Real Numbers Behind the Return To Office Myths

Why are some executives still insisting on Return to Office policies? Does it improve culture and productivity like they swear? Or is it more about the devaluing of a massive asset on their books: Commercial real estate. If the value of commercial real estate drops, companies have less to leverage for loans and– perhaps more importantly to some folks– executives will lose out on performance bonuses and stock dividends. Johna and Greg discuss the black-and-white data and talk about the intersection of RTO with management, diversity, and culture. | LISTEN NOW

EP 013 | MAY 7, 2024

Untangling Managed Security Services

What’s the difference between cybersecurity “as a service” vs. “managed” vs. “hosted”? And what’s the difference between an MSP and an MSSP? In this episode, JJ helps untangle the terms and concepts in cybersecurity offerings. She explains what questions you should ask vendors to make sure you’re picking the right one for your needs; negotiating an optimal contract; and ensuring you’re getting what you’re paying for. Plus, we cover headlines in cybersecurity news: TikTok’s ban, GM’s data tracking, and Palo Alto Networks’ CVE update. | LISTEN NOW

EP 242 | MAY 8, 2024

Data Engineering and its Streams, Rivers, and Lakes

Keith Gregory teaches us about data engineering in a way DevOps folks (and hydrologists) can understand. He explains that the role of a data engineer is to create pipelines to transport data from metaphorical rivers and make it usable for data analysts. Keith walks us through the testing process; the difference between streaming pipelines and polling pipelines; and the difference between data lakes and data warehouses. Plus, he explains terms that network engineers and developers might bump into when working on big projects, but might not know exactly what they are: ELT, OLTP, columnar storage, and more. | LISTEN NOW

EP 055 | MAY 9, 2024

KubeCon EU Review

Kristina attended KubeCon EU in March and she’s still trying to process it all. In today’s episode, Michael interviews her about what stood out most to her. They dive into the conference’s heavy emphasis on AI, particularly how Kubernetes can help with more efficient GPU utilization. Kristina also reports back on the United Nations hackathon results and the hope that Kubernetes and AI can be used to achieve sustainability goals around the world. | LISTEN NOW

EP 733 | MAY 10, 2024

Russ White Hour: IS-IS vs OSPF and a Deep Dive into Ethernet Adapters

We turn the nerd meter up to eleven on today’s episode with longtime friend of the show, Russ White. First we dive into how an Ethernet adapter knows when a link is lost, where Russ teaches us all about loss of carrier and OAM. He also gives us a tutorial on how the rest of the router is then made aware of the situation through a process including the PHY chip, forwarding engine, RIB, and FIB. Then in the second half of the episode we cover why Russ prefers IS-IS to OSPF, and get his opinions on BGP, Open/R, RIFT, and Babel. If this isn’t enough hardcore network engineering for you, don’t worry there is going to be a Part 2 episode. | LISTEN NOW