EP 549 | OCTOBER 27, 2025

Startups Take on Switch, ASIC Incumbents; Google Claims Quantum Advantage

From Google claiming quantum advantage to new switch and ASIC startups taking on incumbents to debating whether it's worth trying to design around AWS failures, this week's Network Break covers a cornucopia of tech news. We also discuss financial results for Nokia and Intel, a new AI agent from Extreme Networks, Amazon laying the PR groundwork for building mini nuclear reactors in Washington State, and more. | LISTEN NOW

SPONSORED | OCTOBER 27, 2025

Why Equinix Should Be Part of Your AI Network Strategy (Sponsored)

AI infrastructure conversations tend to be dominated by GPUs, data center buildouts, and power and water consumption. But networks also play a crucial role, whether to support huge file transfers to a compute cluster, stream telemetry from edge locations to feed AI pipelines, or provide high-speed, low latency connectivity for AI agents. On today’s Tech Bytes we talk with sponsor Equinix about why the network might be the most underestimated piece of your AI strategy, and how thinking beyond traditional cloud or on-prem deployments could unlock new possibilities. | LISTEN NOW

EP 115 | OCTOBER 28, 2025

Cyber-Risk Assessment and Cybersecurity Budgeting: You’re (Probably) Doing It Wrong

To understand how much to spend on cybersecurity, you have to accurately assess or quantify your risks. Too many people still peg their cybersecurity spend to their IT budget. That may have made some sense when most cyber risk was associated with on-premises computing equipment used by on-premises users, but these days it's not a useful formula. Johna and John discuss approaches that account for more than just protecting an organization's IT infrastructure, talk about why your employees represent a significant and growing risk, and dig into useful metrics to help better match your cyber-risk assessment to your cybersecurity spending. | LISTEN NOW

EP 104 | OCTOBER 29, 2025

The Art and Science of Writing a Network Automation Book

Host Eric Chou talks with Jeff Kala, co-author of the newly released "Network Automation Cookbook 2nd Edition," to discuss his book and the experiences that led him from networking to network automation author. They discuss Jeff's learning style and why it was helpful when working on his book. Lastly, they dig into Jeff's predictions on where network automation is headed, and share automation advice for those early or deep in their networking careers. | LISTEN NOW

EP 061 | OCTOBER 29, 2025

How Are You Using AI?

Join William Collins and Evyonne Sharp as they catch up on all things AI. They discuss the AI bubble and how it relates to venture capital, stock, and company evaluations. They talk about the AI experience for the average person, the adoption rate of AI tools, and how the AI infrastructure buildout might affect the broader tech industry. The huge amount of spending makes William wonder how many Ferraris that would buy. (12,000 or so Ferraris depending on what options you order.) They finish with some practical ways they use AI for their own work. | LISTEN NOW

EP 084 | OCTOBER 30, 2025

Inside the CVE Process With Cisco (Sponsored)

On today’s Packet Protector, sponsored by Cisco, we talk about the organizations and processes that drive the CVE system, how CVSS scores are assessed, and differences between first-party and third-party CVEs. We also get a behind-the-scenes look at Cisco’s PSIRT to find out how Cisco identifies and validates vulnerabilities and then works with the broader ecosystem on disclosure. We also discuss whether the number of CVEs associated with a vendor makes for a valid measure of software quality. | LISTEN NOW

EP 003 | OCTOBER 30, 2025

A Chat With 'The Cloud Therapist'

Your background and experiences outside of tech can become a significant factor in your tech career. Guest Chris Williams is a good example; he talks about how his undergraduate and graduate studies in psychology influenced his work as a Developer Relations Manger at Hashicorp. Hosts Alexis Bertholf and Kevin Nanns chat with him about how he pivoted from psychology to tech, and how the work he was doing in the evening earned him the nickname of "The Cloud Therapist" and led to the job he has today. | LISTEN NOW

EP 048 | OCTOBER 31, 2025

Ops to Orchestrated: An Architect’s Automation Journey

On today's show, sponsored by Itential, we talk about automation in the real world. Guest Jesse Ford is an automation architect at Itential. We talk about his career journey, how he got into network automation, how he decides which is the best tool for a job, and why tool diversity isn't the same as chaos. Jesse also offers suggestions for how to build a business case for automation, and shares real-world examples of automation use cases. Today's show is co-hosted by the Packet Pushers' Ethan Banks. | LISTEN NOW

EP 803 | OCTOBER 31, 2025

How to Start a Networking Meetup

On today’s episode, we take a break from one’s and zero’s for a discussion about starting a networking meetup. Our guest is Steinn "Steinzi" Örvar, who recently founded the ISNOG, a network operators’ group in Iceland. We quiz Steinzi about what worked and what didn’t. We also pick his brain for the nitty-gritty details about venues, funding, and promotion required to get a NOG off the ground (having a really cool badge helps). Ethan and Drew weigh in with observations of their own, having worked with network user groups in their local geographies. | LISTEN NOW