The Fat Pipe - Most Popular Packet Pushers Pods

Episodet

• TCG079: Why Your State File is Actually a Distributed Systems Problem 01.07.2026 47min

  Malcolm Matalka joins William and Eyvonne to challenge the narrative that Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is dead. Malcolm argues that the real value of IaC was never the syntax, but state and governance. Together they examine whether the state was a file problem at all, or a distributed systems problem in a JSON costume. Episode... Read more »
• NAN126: Fine-Tuning Open Source LLMs for Network Engineering 01.07.2026 43min

  Eric welcomes Eduard Dulharu, a veteran network architect and the Founder and CTO of vExpertAI, to talk about how agentic AI, open-source LLMs, and digital twins are changing network operations. Eduard discusses the rapid evolution of generative AI, draws parallels between AI’s current limitations and early network protocols such as Spanning Tree, talks about why... Read more »
• D2DO306: Platform Engineering in the Agentic Era (Sponsored) 01.07.2026 50min

  Platform engineering forms the foundation for developers to build on, and you shouldn’t be surprised that folks from VMware have been thinking about platforms for a long time. In today’s episode, sponsored by Broadcom, Ned and Kyler discuss the current state and future of platform engineering with guests Jad El-Zein and Myles Gray. They cover... Read more »
• PP116: News Roundup—FortiBleed Reveals Password Cracking Is Alive and Kicking, Accenture Goes All-In on OT, and More 30.06.2026 50min

  Looks like it’s going to be a long, hot cybersec summer. The latest news roundup covers how Microsoft 365 Copilot got turned into a data exfiltration tool, why the FortiBleed attack is about much more than compromised firewalls, and how North Korea exploited a single npm maintainer account to poison more than a hundred software... Read more »
• HS137: Did AI Turn “Everybody Codes” into “Nobody Codes”? 30.06.2026 38min

  “Everybody codes” was an enterprise buzzword. In this era of AI vibe-coding and single-use coding, should everyone code? Should anyone code? John and Johna talk about enterprise strategies with respect to coding in the AI era, including what expertise to look for in employees. AdSpot Sponsor: Meter Meter delivers full-stack networking—wired, wireless, and cellular—to leading... Read more »
• NB581: Brute Force Password Attack Bleeds Fortinet; US Sued Over AI Model Order 29.06.2026 22min

  On this week’s Network Break, Johna Johnson and Scott Robohn start with a serious vulnerability in IBM’s Langflow open source software. On the news front, a massive breach of tens of thousands of Fortinet firewalls exposes some of the world’s biggest companies, the US government gets sued over an order to shut down powerful AI... Read more »
• HN833: The State of Packet Pushers 2026 26.06.2026 1h 12min

  Ethan and Drew gather the rest of the Packet Pushers team to discuss the State of the Packet Pushers Network. Together they provide a behind the scenes look into current initiatives like adding video and raising the standards of our audio. They also share the details of the workflows behind all your favorite shows and... Read more »
• N4N059: Twisted Pair Cabling 25.06.2026 57min

  Copper twisted pair cabling serves as a fundamental component of Ethernet infrastructure and Ethan and Holly are here to break down how it works. They discuss the technical differences between cabling categories, how wire twisting cancels out electromagnetic interference, and share practical guidance on installation standards and testing methodologies. Episode Links: Watch this episode on... Read more »
• IPB203: The Death of NAT 25.06.2026 26min

  Network Address Translation (NAT), a foundational element of IPv4, faces critical reassessment as IPv6 deployment shifts the landscape. Ed and Tom evaluate the evolving role of NAT, questioning whether traditional translation models remain necessary when stateful packet inspection offers more robust, transparent security solutions. Episode Links: “Fanboy” series – IPv6 and NATs – YouTube
• D2DO305: Scaling Human Connection in Tech Communities 24.06.2026 41min

  Kyler and Ned are joined by former AWS Community Program Manager Jason Dunn to discuss what it takes to build and maintain a thriving tech community. Jason shares his “benevolent dictatorship” philosophy on community management, emphasizing the importance of authentic human connections. They also explore how AI can empower non-technical individuals to build custom solutions... Read more »
• HS136: How AI Is Changing Enterprise Software Development (Sponsored) 23.06.2026 50min

  AI can generate working code quickly. Building reliable software to run infrastructure platforms is still a multi-year engineering challenge. In this sponsored episode, BlueCat chief strategy officer Andrew Wertkin joins John Burke and Scott Robohn to talk through the difference between code generation and enterprise software development, and the challenges and opportunities of engineering reliability... Read more »
• HW082: Employee or Independent Contractor in the Wi-Fi Industry? 23.06.2026 23min

  Is it better to be an employee or an independent contractor in the Wi-Fi industry? Keith walks us through the good, the bad, and the ugly of both sides of the equation, offering a candid look at the financial and professional realities of each. Keith helps provide a framework for listeners to assess their own... Read more »
• PP115: Palo Alto Networks: Reality of 109 to 1: Securing Machine Identities and AI Agents (Sponsored) 23.06.2026 39min

  Machine identities now outnumber human identities in the enterprise 109 to 1 — and most of them are running without the governance controls you’d never skip for a human employee. Service accounts, API keys, tokens, workload credentials, and a fast-growing population of autonomous AI agents: all of them need access, all of them can be... Read more »
• NB580: Project Glasswing on Hold – or Not; Why You Should Hold In-Person Background Checks 22.06.2026 36min

  Take a Network Break! Our Red Alert covers critical vulnerabilities found in OpenClaw, the open-source AI assistant. On the news front, we discuss the status of Anthropic’s Project Glasswing and examine the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute‘s (ETRI) development of an intelligent, service-programmable mobile core network, a key enabling technology for the 6G era.... Read more »
• TNO065: The Operational Reality of Modern Wireless Networks 19.06.2026 55min

  Scott sits down with Wi-Fi engineer Eva Santos to explore the realities of modern wireless operations. Eva shares insights on navigating site surveys, the differences between Wi-Fi bands, and the challenges of troubleshooting inconsistent client performance. The conversation also explores the evolving standards of Wi-Fi 6, 7, and 8, the role of security protocols like... Read more »
• HN832: AI Agents Are Just Another Tool: How to Integrate With Your Network Automation Strategy (Sponsored) 19.06.2026 45min

  AI has complicated network automation. It has created questions: If AI generates code for me, do I need to learn Python? Should I be writing a script to gather network information if I can dispatch an AI agent to gather that information for me instead? What new skills can I skip obtaining if AI stands... Read more »
• LIU017: Chris Lapp: Becoming “THE GUY” (or GIRL) 18.06.2026 1h 2min

  Chris Lapp is an Emmy award-winning network engineer, focused on AI, media, and entertainment. Chris is also known as “The Guy”, the one you call when the problem is sitting between broadcast networking and media and the stakes are high. Join us as Kevin and Alexis sit down with Chris to find out how he... Read more »
• N4N058: Future-Proofing Your Career for the AI Era (Sponsored) 18.06.2026 50min

  In this sponsored episode by Cisco we explore how agentic AI is transforming network operations and what it means for your career. Robert Barton, an AI Distinguished Engineer at Cisco Systems, joins Ethan and Holly to help us snap the artificial intelligence puzzle piece into your networking picture. Together they break down the AI trifecta:... Read more »
• TCG078: The Pope’s AI Encyclical: Navigating AI with Values 17.06.2026 50min

  The Pope issued a recent encyclical on AI, urging developers to safeguard human agency in the age of artificial intelligence. Eyvonne and William explore this encyclical, moving beyond the headlines to the core message regarding human dignity. They examine how the document provides a values-based framework for evaluating technology and the need for a balanced... Read more »
• NAN125: Inside the Packet Pushers 2026 Salary Survey 17.06.2026 58min

  Early in 2026, Drew Conry-Murray authored the first Packet Pushers Salary Survey, offering a transparent look into compensation in the network engineering industry. Drew joins Eric to discuss the results of the survey, the challenges of interpreting global data, how to use this data to advocate for your market value, and more! AdSpot Sponsor: Meter... Read more »