Heavy Networking
byPacket Pushers
Technology
Heavy Networking is an unabashedly nerdy dive into all things networking. Described by one listener as "verbal white papers," the weekly episodes feature network engineers, industry experts, and vendors sharing useful information to keep your professional knowledge sharp and your career growing. Hosts Greg Ferro, Ethan Banks and Drew Conry-Murray cut through the marketing spin to explore what works—and what doesn't—in networking today, while keeping an eye on what's ahead for the industry. On air since 2010, Heavy Networking is the flagship show of the Packet Pushers podcast network.
Episodes(40 episodes)
Episode 842
How Network Engineers Can Prepare for a Post-Quantum World
Q-Day signals the public emergence of a cryptographically relevant quantum computer that can break public key encryption. The date of Q-Day is unknown but the tech industry is making preparations now. Bill Dockery joins Drew and guest host Scott Robohn to dig into Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC), what network engineers need to know to test... Read more »
Published: Sep 18, 2026Duration: 1h 13m 8s
Episode 841
HPE Melds Apstra and Mist for Self-Driving Data Center Networks (Sponsored)
In this sponsored episode, Kyle Baxter and Sridhar Katere from HPE join Drew to talk about automating enterprise data center networks. They discuss how HPE integrates its Apstra and Mist products to bring AI ops and self-driving capabilities into data center operations. They also break down how HPE leverages the different strengths of each platform,... Read more »
Published: Sep 11, 2026Duration: 59m 24s
Episode 840
How to Make a Technology Buying Decision
When engineers look to buy new technology they tend to focus on features and functionality, but there’s more to it than that. Sian Morgan joins Drew and Ethan to discuss the best practices involved in making a good technology buying decision. Sian shares how engineers can align their technical focus with broader business objectives, calculate... Read more »
Published: Sep 4, 2026Duration: 51m 21s
Episode 839
Why Flows, Packets, and DDI are All Critical for Operational Effectiveness (Sponsored)
If you think of BlueCat as just an IPAM or DDI company, think again. BlueCat acquired LiveAction in 2024, and since then, they’ve been working to integrate LiveAction’s network observability capabilities with the DDI portfolio. In this sponsored episode, Ryan Grande, Field CTO at BlueCat, is here to dig into how network observability and DDI... Read more »
Published: Aug 28, 2026Duration: 55m 34s
Episode 838
Meet Mr. Packets - Building Your Own Agentic AI Team Member
What does it take to build your own AI agent that could help with day-to-day network tasks? Hank Preston, a Distinguished Architect at Cisco, asked himself that question. He developed a presentation that walks through all the elements one might need to build such an agent, as well as the risks to consider. On today’s... Read more »
Published: Aug 21, 2026Duration: 1h 4m 38s
Episode 837
Agentic AI to Reduce MTTR
Ethan Banks sits down with Eduard Dulharu live at AutoCon 5 to explore how agentic AI can be used to reduce Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR) for complex network environments. Eduard breaks down how these AI agents leverage deterministic workflows and custom fine-tuned models to analyze telemetry and propose solutions. Through the use of agentic... Read more »
Published: Aug 7, 2026Duration: 1h 5m 4s
Episode 836
Optimize AI Traffic on the WAN with Ciena’s Integrated IP Networking (Sponsored)
As more applications and services rely on AI inferencing, that means more traffic on the WAN. Yes, bandwidth can solve a lot of problems, it’s not unlimited and AI inference traffic still has to share pipes with other flows. That means things like WAN latency, determinism, security, and traffic engineering are just as important as... Read more »
Published: Jul 31, 2026Duration: 54m 52s
Episode 835
The Pros and Cons of Shortest Path Bridging (SPB)
Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) remains an intriguing and reliable fabric technology, offering a unique approach to Ethernet that differs from more widely deployed fabrics such as EVPN/VXLAN. Jeff Wilson joins Ethan and Drew to share his experience designing and managing SPB-based fabrics. Together they discuss how SPB simplifies multicast, essential hardware design considerations for scaling,... Read more »
Published: Jul 24, 2026Duration: 1h 9m 33s
Episode 834
HPE Self-Driving Networks: The Next Evolution of Network Automation (Sponsored)
In this sponsored episode, HPE’s Sunalini Sankhavaram and Jose Tellado discuss the architectural evolution toward self-driving networks. Together with Ethan and Drew, they break down how integrating agentic AI enables an autonomous architecture capable of being proactive and not just reactive. They also discuss the importance of maintaining human trust in autonomous systems and how... Read more »
Published: Jul 17, 2026Duration: 52m 40s
Episode 833
The State of Packet Pushers 2026
Ethan and Drew gather the rest of the Packet Pushers team to discuss the State of the Packet Pushers Network. Together they provide a behind the scenes look into current initiatives like adding video and raising the standards of our audio. They also share the details of the workflows behind all your favorite shows and... Read more »
Published: Jun 26, 2026Duration: 1h 12m 47s
Episode 832
AI Agents Are Just Another Tool: How to Integrate With Your Network Automation Strategy (Sponsored)
AI has complicated network automation. It has created questions: If AI generates code for me, do I need to learn Python? Should I be writing a script to gather network information if I can dispatch an AI agent to gather that information for me instead? What new skills can I skip obtaining if AI stands... Read more »
Published: Jun 19, 2026Duration: 45m 46s
Episode 831
The Sum, Not Just the Parts: How and Why to Think Holistically About Your Network
Your network is an interconnected system. A change you make on one device has consequences beyond that device. Therefore, to do your job well, you must think about the network as a whole. That’s the big idea behind a blog post written by guest Jason Gintert. He joins Ethan and Drew to talk about how... Read more »
Published: Jun 12, 2026Duration: 55m 59s
Episode 830
Tailscale CEO on WireGuard, Zero Trust, and Securing AI (Sponsored)
If you think Tailscale is just a VPN for the home lab, think again. On today’s sponsored episode Ethan and Drew are joined by Tailscale CEO Avery Pennarun. Avery explains how the company has evolved into an enterprise-grade connectivity and security platform. He also dives into Tailscale Aperture, their new AI gateway designed to bring... Read more »
Published: Jun 5, 2026Duration: 56m 39s
Episode 829
EVPN/VXLAN Vs. TradCore
Drew and Ethan sit down with Tony Bourke to determine whether TradCore or EVPN VXLAN is right for your network. Tony is a seasoned instructor in automation, network design, and more. They explore the key factors for choosing a design, including scale and redundancy, operational complexity, and workload mobility. AdSpot Sponsor: Auvik Sponsor Auvik Network... Read more »
Published: May 29, 2026Duration: 54m 15s
Episode 828
How Selector Unifies Cloud and On-Prem Network Observability (Sponsored)
Selector is extending its AI-driven network observability capabilities into public clouds. On today’s sponsored episode, we dig into how Selector gathers and analyzes public cloud network telemetry, how it integrates cloud and on-prem network data to provide end-to-end visibility, how it integrates with third-party Application Performance Monitoring (APM) systems to correlate network and application performance,... Read more »
Published: May 22, 2026Duration: 46m 24s
Episode 827
When Buffers Attack: Understanding Buffers to Better Diagnose Network Weirdness
Today’s episode covers buffers, the space between ingress and egress where a packet might have to live for a fraction of a second if the egress port is tied up transmitting other packets. This topic came courtesy of John Howard who joins Drew and Ethan as a co-host to discuss buffers with guest Rob Sherwood. How... Read more »
Published: May 15, 2026Duration: 1h 12m 55s
Episode 826
An Inside Look at Palo Alto Networks Prisma Browser for Business (Sponsored)
A Mastercard survey reveals that 46% of small and medium businesses have experienced a cyberattack, and nearly 20% of those that suffered an attack were then forced to file for bankruptcy or close their business. Ethan and Drew along with guest Shivam Srivastava discuss a new offering from today’s sponsor, Palo Alto Networks: Prisma Browser... Read more »
Published: May 8, 2026Duration: 34m 46s
Episode 825
Faster Than Dijkstra? Exploring a New Shortest-Path Algorithm with Bruce Davie
Dijkstra’s algorithm is the foundation of shortest path calculations for link state routing protocols. But researchers have developed a new algorithm that improves on this decades-old approach. Today’s Heavy Networking welcomes Dr. Bruce Davie to discuss the potential of this new algorithm to unseat Dijkstra. After thoughtful consideration, and consultation with others, his opinion is... Read more »
Published: May 1, 2026Duration: 54m 43s
Episode 824
That’s Not a Job for an LLM: The Right Way to Apply AI to Network Operations (Sponsored)
On today’s sponsored Heavy Networking, we get off the AI hype train to talk about how different artificial intelligence techniques usefully impact network operations—and where they aren’t a fit. The various forms of AI represent a set of tools that, like any tool, have use cases, capabilities, and limitations. Our guest is Avi Freedman, CEO... Read more »
Published: Apr 24, 2026Duration: 1h 1m 11s
Episode 823
Defining A Modern Network Service
On today’s episode Ethan is joined by Mark Prosser, a self-described Network Operator Advocate and Network Automation Dreamer, to embark on a thought exercise about network services. Together they grapple with questions such as: What is a network service, exactly? How is it defined? Is it even possible to define it when considered in the... Read more »
Published: Apr 17, 2026Duration: 51m 10s