NAN129: How Do We Make Network Engineering Cool Again?

Today we dive deep into the architecture of AI agents for network operations, specifically focusing on how to make them trustworthy, safe, and effective in production. Joining us to unpack all of this is Beni Bichsel, Co-Founder and CEO of NetFabric.ai. We discuss the actual network operations capabilities of agents today, the complexities of agent... Read more »

Network automation projects often stall or face disruption when management can’t see tangible business outcomes. In this sponsored episode, Alex Henthorn-Iwane and Kyle Scarmardo of Gluware join Eric Chou to explore Outcome-Oriented Automation to avoid the merry-go-round of justification. Together they dive into how to make the right abstraction choices and how to align technical... Read more »

Eric Chou is joined by Mauricio Rojas, Principal DevOps Consulting Engineer at Nokia, to unpack how the stack of Kubernetes, GitOps, and open-source tooling can fundamentally transform modern networks. Together they discuss Mauricio’s NetOpsKube project, Broadband Network Gateways (BNGs), the role of LLMs and MCP in network operations, and more.  AdSpot Sponsor: Gluware Gluware’s Titan... Read more »

Network engineers are constantly looking at how AI is reshaping operations, moving beyond simple scripts to the future of self-driving networks. Joining Eric to dive deep into agentic AI workflows and AI-Native automation in this sponsored episode are two true pioneers in this space from HPE: Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer, and Jose Tellado, VP... Read more »

Eric Chou speaks with Leo Fleskes on the pressing infrastructure challenges surrounding AI resource consumption, including data centers’ massive water and power demands. Together they discuss local community pushback, regulatory constraints, and the economic viability of AI providers. AdSpot Sponsor: Meter Most IT teams are managing networks stitched together from years of acquisitions and vendor... Read more »

Garrett Masters talks with Eric Chou about the concept of the AI-Augmented Engineer. Together they discuss how IT professionals can use Python and NetMiko to automate tasks and even connect AI directly to lab environments. Garrett also shares practical advice on prompt engineering, the importance of context management, and how engineers can safely adopt AI... Read more »

Eric is joined by Sid Mathur, founder of Fastah Inc., to unpack the real-world implications of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) internet. Sid has built a career obsessing over data networks, system performance, and the operational challenges facing ISPs and satellite operators. Together they dive into the complexities of in-motion geolocation and explore the traffic routing implications... Read more »

Eric Chou welcomes guest co-host William Collins as well as Network Automation Forum founders Scott Robohn and Chris Grundemann to discuss how their community emerged from a simple question: Why haven’t we seen full adoption of network automation? They discuss the growth of AutoCon and how its practitioner-focused, vendor-neutral approach has fostered a unique environment... Read more »

Known across the industry for making network engineering cool again with her highly relatable tech content, Alexis Bertholf is a powerhouse when it comes to combining technical expertise with personal branding. Eric Chou sat down with Alexis at AutoCon 5 to chat about Alexis’ career, the art of storytelling in 60 seconds or less, the... Read more »

Eric Chou welcomes Juulia Santala, a Solutions Engineer at Cisco, to discuss her transition from traditional network programmability to cutting-edge AI research. They explore how she moved beyond simple RAG to make AI truly agentic, while solving some hallucination problems in production configurations. They also cover the number one skill network engineers need by 2027,... Read more »