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”
Tag Archives: technology
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?”
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”
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”
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)”
