Andy Lapteff 🛠️💬 and Kevin Myers were lucky enough to record an in-person AONE podcast episode recently while attending Tech Field Day NFD39. What started as a discussion about navigating relationships with networking vendors morphed into a masterclass on how to build the right network for the right reason, and why too many engineers still start with the wrong question.
“Don’t ask, ‘What gear should I buy?’ Ask, ‘What problem am I solving?’”
That was one of Kevin’s early mic-drop moments, and it sets the tone for the whole conversation.
Kevin breaks down the reality that far too many networks are built backwards: starting with vendor relationships, gear availability, or budget cycles instead of business goals, technical requirements, and operational reality. He urges engineers to flip the script:
“Start with a blank sheet of paper. Design the network first. Then ask which vendor can support that design.”
This mindset shift is especially important in today’s networking landscape, where SDN, cloud, whitebox, and overlay technologies have dramatically expanded the design palette.
The Multi-Vendor Balancing Act
Kevin doesn’t shy away from complexity. In fact, he argues that multi-vendor architectures are sometimes necessary. But they come with a cost.
“Every vendor you bring in adds a tax: on your time, your processes, your tooling, and your people.”
The tax might be worth it if you gain critical features, licensing flexibility, or supply chain agility. But if you don’t have automation in place, a multi-vendor environment can become an operational nightmare. Kevin and Andy discuss real-world ways to abstract that complexity using APIs, open standards, and tools like Ansible or Nornir.
They also get into the cultural challenge of moving an ops team from “pet switch” mentalities to cattle-style management, and how that transition is as much about psychology as it is about tooling.
Whitebox: Buzzword or Business Advantage?
This episode is also a crash course in whitebox networking, but from someone who’s built production whitebox deployments at scale.
Kevin talks about:
- Why whitebox isn’t just “cheap gear,” but a strategic architectural choice
- How decoupling hardware from the NOS creates flexibility and leverage
- What types of organizations (like ISPs, MSPs, and large enterprises) benefit most
- Why whitebox isn’t for everyone, and the signs your org might not be ready
He even walks through the real math behind whitebox ROI: from perpetual licensing savings to hardware lifecycle control. This isn’t theoretical, it’s field-tested experience.
Designing with Intent, Not Tradition
The most powerful takeaway? Good engineering doesn’t mean defaulting to what you know. It means pausing, asking the hard questions, and being willing to not buy gear that doesn’t serve the actual network design.
“The best engineers I know can explain not just what they did, but why they didn’t do something else.”
This episode is for any engineer who’s:
- Building or rearchitecting networks
- Facing vendor lock-in or support frustrations
- Exploring whitebox or SDN
- Trying to bridge business goals with technical decisions
🎧 Whether you’re on your commute, racking gear, or sipping coffee on a quiet Monday morning, this episode will challenge your assumptions and sharpen your design mindset.
Listen now on Buzzsprout, Linktree, or your favorite podcast app.
Watch the video episode on YouTube.
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