Packet Pushers - Weekly Show

Internet exchange points are networks you can use to connect to some other exchange participant. Sounds like maybe that’s a service provider thing, and it can be. But IXPs are useful for businesses, too. In this episode of Heavy Networking, we’re going to learn about IXPs, and non-profit IXPs in particular.

On today's sponsored Heavy Networking we talk with DriveNets about why it’s time to take the disaggregated model--where you buy whitebox hardware and put a network operating system of your choice on it--seriously. Along the way, we’re going to hit DriveNets network architectures and operating models, and get you thinking about why disaggregated networking might make sense for you.

Today's Heavy Networking gets entangled in a discussion about quantum communications or quantum networking. We discuss qubits, the challenges of moving them across a network, use cases such as key distribution, and more. Our guest is Dr. Joshua Slater.

Today's Heavy Networking podcast discusses the pros and cons of building a private 5G network in the enterprise. We examine use cases, contrast 5G with Wi-Fi, unpack the hardware and software required, and more. Intel is our sponsor for this episode.

Today's Heavy Networking podcast dives into academic research on DDoS attack techniques. Our guests have published a paper about how the TCP protocol and middleboxes such as firewalls can be weaponized by bad actors and used in reflective amplification attacks. We discuss technical details, how they performed this research, potential countermeasures, and more.

In today's sponsored Heavy Networking show, we talk to Opmantek about NMIS, an intelligent network management platform that spans monitoring, visibility, automation, and configuration management. Our guest is Opmantek CTO Keith Sinclair.

Like anything in the world of IT, TLS has gone through various versions. TLS 1.1 and 1.2 are still commonly used, but TLS 1.3 is really where it’s at. Our guest is Ed Harmoush. Ed’s a professional instructor who’s researched TLS 1.3 and more as he’s prepped for his latest course offering, Practical TLS, which you can find at http://pracnet.net/tls. Use coupon PacketPushers100 to get $100 off this deep dive course from Ed.

On today’s Heavy Networking, we drill into VMware’s vRealize Network Insight (vRNI) to learn how it provides end-to-end monitoring, how it uses flow records and other data sources, and its architecture. We’ll also discuss modeling/digital twin capabilities, and applying vRNI to security, troubleshooting, and other use cases. VMware is our sponsor.

Today on Heavy Networking, we talk with Remington Loose, Solutions Architect at a mid-sized VAR, to get a sense of what technology is in demand; what problems customers are trying to solve; and how cloud, DIY, and other forces affect the competitive landscape. It's a #VARlife episode.

On today's Heavy Networking podcast we discuss network compliance. The big idea is to rethink how you do compliance so that the process is automation friendly and accommodates all the network device types you have to manage. We're sponsored by Itential and our guest is Chris Wade, CTO.

There's a huge amount that goes into building an ISP, from getting access to poles to run fiber, operating a cable plant, setting up customer support and billing, getting network gear in place---not to mention developing a viable business model and funding the whole thing. On today's Heavy Networking podcast we talk with Jim Troutman of Tilson Technology Management about building a local ISP in New England.

Today's Heavy Networking examines how some of the unpleasant bits of cloud networking can be improved, particularly in the areas of troubleshooting, visibility, security, and automation. Our sponsor is Aviatrix, and they’ve sent us three architects to nerd out about cloud network design and how Aviatrix might fit into the picture. Our guests are Brad Hedlund and James Devine from Aviatrix, and customer Chris Oliver with NI.

Subsea communications cables are an essential part of the global Internet. On today's Heavy Networking, sponsored by Telstra, we dive into the realms of undersea cables to learn how they are laid, signalling methods, POPs and landing stations, how they can be damaged (and repaired), and more. Our Telstra guests are Andy Lumsden, Head of Network Engineering and Operations; and Jeff McHardy, General Manager, Network Development and Commercial Management.

Today on Heavy Networking, the icanhazip story. On the surface, icanhazip.com is simple enough: You hit the URL, and get back your external, public IP address. There are no ads, no blinky lights, just an IP. This free, simple utility has become widely popular, with billions of requests per day. We talk with creator Major Hayden about why and how he built icanhazip, the time and money he's invested, and the insane amount of personal effort it's taken to keep it going.

Today's Heavy Networking, sponsored by Intel, dives into 5G, virtualization, and AI. Intel's 3rd Gen Xeon processors can support a variety of use cases, including running virtualized network functions in the data center, at the edge, and in the cloud. They also have built-in acceleration for AI and cryptography, giving organizations a flexible platform for a variety of workloads, including service providers building out 5G networks. Our guest is Cristina Rodriguez, Vice President Data Center Group General Manager Wireless Access Network Division at Intel.

Curt Norris started his career as an IT support specialist. Five years later he's an automation engineer. On today's Heavy Networking we discuss his career journey including milestones, ongoing learning, the pros and cons of mentorship, whether a degree makes a difference, and more.

Today's Heavy Networking explores Crosswork Cloud Traffic Analysis from episode sponsor Cisco. This tool is designed to make you deeply knowledgeable about your BGP peering relationships and traffic flows throughout your infrastructure. It will also recommend the routing tweaks in your IGPs, BGP, RSVP-TE, and segment routing to eliminate those pesky congestion points. We also discuss the pros and cons of putting network management capabilities in the cloud.

On today's Heavy Networking, sponsored by Palo Alto Networks, we hear from Salesforce about the evolution of its branch network to SD-WAN. Salesforce was able to trade MPLS for Internet broadband, get more bandwidth for less money, employ application-based steering and policy enforcement, and more. Our guests are Georgi Stoev, Sr. Network Architect at Salesforce; and Kumar Ramachandran, Senior Vice President at Palo Alto Networks.

Nick McKeown, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University, stops by the Heavy Networking podcast to speculate on the future of networking. Professor McKeown has been a force behind the Software Defined Networking (SDN) movement and has co-founded successful startups including Nicira and Barefoot Networks.

On today's Heavy Networking, we get practical with infrastructure-as-code, talking with sponsor Gluware about how their users have integrated network automation into their IT practices, bringing DevOps to NetOps. We also explore Gluware Lab, an IDE for network engineers can develop network features and workflows. Our guests are Olivier Huynh Van, Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder; and Michael Haugh, VP of Product Marketing.