As long as packets flow from point A to point B, does it matter how they got to their destination? RIP, EIGRP, OSPF, BGP: they all “work.” In a recent episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Andy Lapteff 🛠️💬 sat down with Russ White, Ph.D. and Michael Bushong to talk about IS-IS, a routingContinue reading “Why Routing Protocol Choice Still Matters”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Building the Right Network
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 stillContinue reading “Building the Right Network”
Cloudy Keynotes, Clear Context
Resiliency myths, public speaking wins, and why MCP matters for NetOps Public cloud is amazing. It’s also not magic. When US-East-1 hiccups, the internet feels it. And if you’ve ever spent a night on a data center floor or shipped a change at 2 a.m., you know outages are brutal; on-prem or in the cloud.Continue reading “Cloudy Keynotes, Clear Context”
Learn The Business
If you’ve worked in networking long enough, you’ve probably had this thought during a company all-hands: “This isn’t for me. Bunch of Kool Aid. Just let me get back to doing my job.” But that attitude WILL hurt your career. Not because leadership needs your applause, but because those meetings tell you what the businessContinue reading “Learn The Business”
Learning Out Loud
This week on The Art of Network Engineering podcast, Andy Lapteff 🛠️💬 sat down with friend and frequent instigator of “weird lab stuff,” Lexie Cooper. We covered space stuff, learning in public, why messy home labs are a feature (not a bug), and the pressure engineers feel to look perfect when the value is oftenContinue reading “Learning Out Loud”
Python Party II : Struggling, Labbing, and Learning
Learning Python as a network engineer isn’t easy. It’s frustrating. It’s humbling. And sometimes… It’s downright boring. But it’s also necessary. In this episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Jeff Clark and Andy Lapteff 🛠️💬 continued our “Python Party” experiment; a live, unfiltered journey through the basics of Python, as seen through the eyesContinue reading “Python Party II : Struggling, Labbing, and Learning”
Python Party Launch
If you’ve skimmed network engineer job postings lately, you’ve noticed the pattern: automation experience required. Not “nice to have.” Required. Employers expect fluency with APIs, version control, repeatable workflows, and the ability to turn tribal CLI knowledge into code that anyone on the team can run safely. That’s why we’re launching a new Python StudyContinue reading “Python Party Launch”
What is BGP?
TL;DR BGP wins in modern networks because it scales policy, not topology. Use communities to encode intent once and enforce it at the right boundaries; use iBGP with route reflection to distribute reachability cleanly; and reserve local-pref as your go-to knob for deterministic traffic engineering. For overlapping IPs (hello, mergers), communities plus a staged renumber/NATContinue reading “What is BGP?”
From COBOL to Cloud: Ethan Banks on the Evolution of Network Engineering
The evolution of network engineering has been a fascinating journey to witness, and few people have had a better vantage point than Ethan Banks, co-founder of Packet Pushers. In a recent episode of The Art of Network Engineering podcast, Ethan shared stories from his career that reveal just how much our industry has transformed, andContinue reading “From COBOL to Cloud: Ethan Banks on the Evolution of Network Engineering”
Behind the Scenes: How The Art of Network Engineering Podcast is Made
Ever listen to a podcast and think, “They probably just hit record and start talking”? Not quite. Creating a successful tech podcast, especially one that’s run for over 170 episodes, requires way more planning, collaboration, and creative problem-solving than most people realize. In this behind-the-scenes look at The Art of Network Engineering, we’re sharing howContinue reading “Behind the Scenes: How The Art of Network Engineering Podcast is Made”
Productivity Tools for Network Engineers: What’s in Your Toolbox?
In the world of network engineering, staying organized isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. Between managing complex projects, documenting troubleshooting steps, and constantly learning new technologies, engineers juggle more digital clutter than ever. That’s why, in our latest episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Andy Lapteff 🛠️💬 and Jeff Clark crack open their personal toolkitsContinue reading “Productivity Tools for Network Engineers: What’s in Your Toolbox?”
Floating Networks: The Engineering Behind Cruise Ship Communications
When most people picture a cruise ship, they imagine endless buffets, sun-soaked decks, and bustling entertainment venues, not a high-tech nerve center humming below deck. But behind the scenes, modern cruise ships are marvels of both hospitality and IT engineering. The technology infrastructure running a cruise ship is every bit as sophisticated as many land-basedContinue reading “Floating Networks: The Engineering Behind Cruise Ship Communications”
Network Engineering Isn’t Dead—It’s Evolving
The convergence of traditional network engineering and software development is reshaping the networking industry. This transformation was front and center in our latest The Art of Network Engineering podcast episode, where we spoke with Munachimso (Munachi/Muna) Nwaiwu, a Network Automation Engineer at Google, whose journey from Nigeria to one of the world’s biggest tech companiesContinue reading “Network Engineering Isn’t Dead—It’s Evolving”
Inside the Consulting Engineer Role
In the latest episode of The Art of Network Engineering, we pulled back the curtain on a role that many in the industry admire—but few truly understand: the Consulting Engineer (CE). Joined by Nokia’s Principal Consulting Engineer Colin Doyle and CE Jared Cordova, we explored the nuances of this unique position that blends deep technicalContinue reading “Inside the Consulting Engineer Role”
Bridging the Divide Between Developers and Network Engineers
In a recent episode of The Art of Network Engineering podcast, hosts Andy Lapteff and Jeff Clark welcomed Erika Dietrick—known online as “Erika the Dev”—to tackle a long-standing cultural and technical divide in IT: the disconnect between network engineers and software developers. Erika, a former Developer Advocate at Cisco with roots in both software developmentContinue reading “Bridging the Divide Between Developers and Network Engineers”
Fork Yeah! Git in Network Engineering
Git has revolutionized software development over the past two decades, but many network engineers still view it as a tool exclusively for developers. This mindset creates an artificial barrier between networking professionals and powerful tools that could dramatically improve their workflows and productivity. As we explored in our recent episode of The Art of NetworkContinue reading “Fork Yeah! Git in Network Engineering”
Firewall Fluency: What Networking Pros Need to Know
For much of our careers, many of us in network engineering have lived comfortably in the lower layers of the OSI model. Layer 2? We speak it fluently. Layer 3? That’s our bread and butter. But what about Layer 7—or even just understanding what’s happening at Layer 4 and beyond in today’s security landscape? TheContinue reading “Firewall Fluency: What Networking Pros Need to Know”
The Resistance to Network Automation: Understanding the Psychological and Practical Barriers
Network automation has long been heralded as the game-changer that would revolutionize networking. It promises easier management, fewer errors, and more time for strategic, high-value work. Yet, despite these clear advantages, adoption rates remain surprisingly low, with estimates hovering around just 20-30%. Why is this shift, which seems so inevitable, still met with such resistance?Continue reading “The Resistance to Network Automation: Understanding the Psychological and Practical Barriers”
Ethernet vs. InfiniBand: The Battle for AI Networking Supremacy
As artificial intelligence (AI) advances at a frantic pace, so do the demands placed on network infrastructure. The age-old debate between Ethernet and InfiniBand is taking center stage once again, particularly as AI workloads push the boundaries of performance, scalability, and efficiency. In our latest podcast episode, industry experts dive into this very topic, exploringContinue reading “Ethernet vs. InfiniBand: The Battle for AI Networking Supremacy”
Network Engineering 2.0: Adapting to Automation, AI, and Cloud
In our latest podcast episode, we listen in on the (PA)NUG podcast panel of William Collins, Andy Lapteff, Ned Bellavance, and Drew Conry-Murray, as they dive deep into the evolving world of network engineering, a field that has undergone transformative changes in recent years. With rapid advancements in technology, especially in cloud computing and automation,Continue reading “Network Engineering 2.0: Adapting to Automation, AI, and Cloud”
Meter: fast, reliable, and secure networks (Sponsored)
When setting out to build Meter, one thing was abundantly clear: the industry didn’t need another point solution. Instead, we wanted to build an incredibly performant, reliable, and secure networking solution, with zero upfront costs or licensing fees. This structure ensures our incentives are tightly aligned with our customers’ — because we’re taking on theContinue reading “Meter: fast, reliable, and secure networks (Sponsored)”
EVPN VXLAN, with author Aninda Chatterjee
The latest episode of the Art of Network Engineering podcast dives deep into the intricacies of using VXLAN and EVPN in modern networking. We’re joined by Aninda Chatterjee, a seasoned expert in the data center space who brings invaluable insights from his extensive experience at companies like Nokia, Cisco, and Juniper. The episode begins withContinue reading “EVPN VXLAN, with author Aninda Chatterjee”
KTech CONNECT Recap
The AONE team recently had the opportunity to attend a KTech Connect event in Knoxville, Tennessee thanks to the Knoxville Technology Council. KTech is an organization in the Knoxville area with the goals of promoting the technology industry in the area and bringing people together. Read more about KTech in our previous blog post. ThisContinue reading “KTech CONNECT Recap”
The ‘Mist’ification of Juniper Networks (Sponsored)
The AONE team recently had the fantastic opportunity to attend the Juniper Networks 2023 Enterprise Analyst and Influencer Summit, held on the beautiful campus of UT Dallas. For this event, Juniper invited many different industry analysts and influencers (including us podcast folks) to showcase where they are now and where they are going in theContinue reading “The ‘Mist’ification of Juniper Networks (Sponsored)”
Cooking up Coding Fun, from ‘Scratch’
Have you ever wondered of a fairly low effort, fun way to get your kids, friends, or family members into the basics of programming? Or maybe even yourself for that matter? On the surface, this can seem like a daunting task. I mean, when I think coding, I immediately default to command line and startContinue reading “Cooking up Coding Fun, from ‘Scratch’”
You Are Good Enough
As I think it is natural for us to do near the end of a year, I have been doing some reflection. While ups and downs are often the norm, it seems to have been quite the year for many of us. All I have to do is check out the IAATJ Discord winning channelContinue reading “You Are Good Enough”
Hacking Passwords, a GIAC Network Forensics Exam and an Interview
It’s been a few months since I last checked in blog wise. It’s been a long stretch for me personally, maybe it’s been the first time I’ve been feeling Covid fatigue, work burnout or maybe interviewing for a job just introduces a lot of anxiety into my bloodstream. In any case, blogging here was theContinue reading “Hacking Passwords, a GIAC Network Forensics Exam and an Interview”
Making Meaningful Connections Online
You can’t spread yourself too thin on a whole bunch of different social apps if you want to have meaningful online relationships.
Cumulus in the Cloud Just Got Real
So I was just checking the Cumulus Docs as you do to see if they finished this feature I was really excited about and guess what, it looks to be up! The big thing I’d been waiting for was the ability to build your own topology on their ‘Cumulus in the Cloud‘ platform. This willContinue reading “Cumulus in the Cloud Just Got Real”
Faces of the Journey – Carl Zellers
“Faces of the Journey” is a series that highlights individuals in the network engineering community. The journey is the path we take through our careers, and it can be very different for each of us. While the destination is important, it’s all about the journey! Carl F. Zellers IV (NO_DTP) was featured on Episode 18Continue reading “Faces of the Journey – Carl Zellers”
The Art of Automation – Getting Started
I imagine if you’re here you just got done with a hellacious week of updating 100’s of switches, 1000’s of config directives, or your fingers are bleeding from hammering away all week. However, you may just very well be more proactive than I was. Automation for me was born out of necessity. Without automation, IContinue reading “The Art of Automation – Getting Started”
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Flags! ACI External EPG Subnet Flags…Just for Fun!
In ACI, the L3Out is a veritable Howl’s Moving Castle[i] of configuration whose ultimate goal is to deliver external connectivity to the endpoints in the ACI fabric. All told, I think there are something in excess of twenty steps to go from zero to full connectivity between an outside subnet and internal EPG members. That includes configuring all of the pre-requisites needed to support a L3Out, all of the steps that enable internal EPGs to be able to share their own subnets, and all the contract config between EPGs. Representing the whole thing is the external EPG, which might possibly be the single most complicated object in the whole curious and delicate complex.
Upgrading IOS-XE on Catalyst 9000 series Switch Stack
This article was originally written by A.J. Murray and first appeared on his blog noblinkyblinky.com I recently had to put together a Catalyst 9300 stack of switches and upgrade the switch stack, so I thought I’d document the process and share it. The process is very similar to stacking other switches, if you’re familiar withContinue reading “Upgrading IOS-XE on Catalyst 9000 series Switch Stack”
The Importance of TAC along with some SSO Info
This article is by Andy West and first appeared on his blog, blueboxredbox.com. For those that have worked with me this formatting approach is either going to make you smile or make you cringe with memories of overly complex email updates. OPENING Someone once asked me why I seem to enjoy dealing with TAC, TechContinue reading “The Importance of TAC along with some SSO Info”
Welcome to the Art of Network Engineering Podcast!
We’re excited to bring you new and exciting content! We’ll talk about what’s hot in the industry, focus on technologies, train you and help prepare you for your next cert exam, job interview, or just to level up in your career as a network engineer. Stay tuned here and make sure you follow us onContinue reading “Welcome to the Art of Network Engineering Podcast!”
