Packet Pushers

There are both benefits and challenges when adopting automation in the public sector, but Red Hat Ansible enhances efficiency, security and service delivery. With the right tooling, network operators can integrate automation into existing environments and improve network security.? Providing insights into adopting automation in the public sector are Tony Dubiel, Principal Specialist Solution Architect and Ajay Chenampara, National Leader for Public Sector Automation Strategy from Red Hat. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts - https://lnkd.in/gtuMFHsf

IT and infosec professionals are used to operating and protecting mission-critical infrastructure; servers, databases, load balancers, and so on. But what about valves that control the flow of gas or oil in a refinery? Temperature and vibration sensors that monitor industrial manufacturing processes? If you’re thinking “That’s not my problem” think again. There’s a whole universe of OT, or Operational Technology, that’s becoming digitized and connected to IT networks. And that means OT is becoming part of IT’s world. On today’s show, sponsored by Fortinet, we look at how OT is crossing over into IT, and why that means new risks, and new responsibilities, that IT needs to understand and manage. We’ll talk with Fortinet about how OT differs from IT, the risks OT networks and devices face, Fortinet products designed for OT environments, and the operational impacts for IT and security professionals. Our guest is Richard M. Springer, Senior Director of OT Solutions Marketing. Rich brings decades of experience to the conversation, including time as global head of SCADA for wind energy, running industrial cyber strategy for security vendors, and time aboard nuclear submarines. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts - https://lnkd.in/gKq8f-yP

How do you lead with influence rather than mandate? On today’s show, we talk with JJ Asghar from IBM. JJ shares his extensive experience in managing open-source namespaces like GitHub and npm for IBM. He discusses the challenges of influencing decisions without formal authority and tailoring communication styles for different audiences. JJ also advocates for documentation, self-service resources, mentorship and the value of building relationships and fostering a supportive environment to drive positive change within organizations. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts - https://lnkd.in/g__kMWaR

In today’s episode, we continue the discussion about routing and routing protocols by focusing on commonalities rather than differences among?protocols such as OSPF, RIP, EIGRP, or BGP. We explain how, in general, routing protocols discover each other, communicate, maintain relationships, and exchange routing information. Next, we explore the topics of selecting best paths in the network and scalability of routing protocols. Then, a bit of bonus material near the end--a few examples of the routing protocols you'll typically see implemented in networks, and why they are selected. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gDeCN9gg or watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/guWTJ5nq

On today's Network Automation Nerds, industry veteran Michael Bushong talks about lessons learned from failure. As the network industry grapples with automation and network engineers confront yet another cycle of upskilling and grinding out new certs, he warns against executives and practice leads aiming for the biggest, shiniest project. His advice? Find something that matters to somebody, make that thing a little better, and build from there. He also shares his perspective on automation: it isn't about trying to automate "the network." It's about understanding the hand-off between different tools and processes within a workflow, and automating those hand-offs. He argues that automation is as much about people as technology; by starting small and iterating, engineers can develop the confidence to learn more and get more ambitious. He also shares his perspective on how leaders can support and enable automation success. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts - https://lnkd.in/guv8fRUT

This week we dive into security headlines including a botnet bonanza that includes TP-Link routers, Chinese attackers targeting Juniper and Fortinet, and a case study of nation-state actors penetrating the operator of a small US electric utility. We also discuss ransomware attacks targeting critical infrastructure, a backdoor in an Android variant used in streaming devices, and an update on a PowerSchool breach that exposed sensitive records of millions of students and teachers. We also look at hacks against StubHub and Booking.com, a disturbing saga of scam call centers in southeast Asia, and Apple pushing back against the UK government's demand for a backdoor into iCloud. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts - https://lnkd.in/gpVtRDjV

What do you do when your colleagues or senior leaders ask you to do something illegal? It's hardly hypothetical; recent years have seen high-profile firings and convictions of CIOs and CISOs who've been ordered to break the law. John Burke and Johna Till Johnson discuss steps that tech leaders can take if they're put on the spot. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts - https://lnkd.in/gYdvKtss

Take a Network Break! This week we cover Google's $32 billion acquisition of CNAPP provider Wiz, Cloudflare offerings for AI security and support for post-quantum encryption, and NVIDIA's pledge to open a quantum research center in Boston. NVIDIA has also announced new switch platforms with co-packaged optics for greater efficiency, Cisco shares details on its AI Factory deployment options, data center captial spending exploded in 2024, and AT&T successfully demonstrates 1.6 terabit-per-second data signal over a single carrier wavelength on existing fiber. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts - https://lnkd.in/g_izM2x9

Today on the Tech Bytes podcast, sponsored by Fortinet, we get a customer view of Fortinet’s SASE offering from Liquid Networx. Liquid Networx isn’t just a Fortinet customer; it also provides professional services for other customers of FortiSASE. We’ll talk about why Liquid Networx decided to adopt SASE, its evolution from on-prem to cloud-based security, critical features including SOC-as-a-Service, and adoption lessons Liquid Networx has learned both first-hand and from the customers it supports. Our guests are Andrew Hammond, Director of Strategic Services at Liquid Networx; and Ramnath Shenai, Director, SASE Products and Solutions at Fortinet. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts - https://lnkd.in/g_arVajp

The Ultra Ethernet Consortium (UEC) is an industry body that aims to optimize Ethernet for AI and HPC use cases. On today's Heavy Networking we get an overview of the UEC and an update on its efforts. We're joined by J Metz and Ripduman Sohan, both heavily involved with the UEC. We discuss the consortium's formation and milestones, and then dive into current projects, including the integration of Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) into Ethernet, the challenges of lossless networking, and innovative approaches to congestion control and flow management. We also discuss the future of the UEC and how collaboration among standards organizations will benefit the industry. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts - https://lnkd.in/gqStn4wp