HN843: From Network Engineer to Network Architect with Kevin Nanns

“My goal in life is to say it’s not the network!” says Ben Shapiro, senior network engineer at Eugene (OR) School District 4J, the 6th largest school district in Oregon. He joins host Scott Robohn to discuss how to balance complexity, resiliency, legacy devices, security and more in an educational setting. He’s also a MistFit with... Read more »

Drew and Ethan talk with Kevin Nanns about his journey from network engineer to network architect. Kevin shares his experience grappling with the shift in responsibilities, increased pressure, and communication and management challenges associated with his new role. They also discuss his content creation work on TikTok and his strategies for translating complex technical concepts... Read more »

Renowned Cisco Press author Wendell Odom shares how he began writing the definitive guide for the CCNA exam. Alexis, Kevin, and Wendell discuss the balance between practical, on-the-job experience and certification study habits. Wendell also reflects on his career as well as the creation of his YouTube channel, Network Upskill. Episode Links: Watch this episode... Read more »

Ned and Kyler talk with Jim Jones about data protection, backups, and security in the age of hybrid cloud and AI. They explore the operational challenges of integrating automated AI agents into enterprise workflows, the need for proper permission scoping, immutable backups, and data security posture management (DSPM). AdSpot Sponsor: Gartner The Gartner IT Infrastructure... Read more »

Keith sits down with Kjetil Hansen to explore spectrum analysis and vibe coding for wireless networking tools. They also discuss building custom tools, using AI for 3D network modeling, and how Kjetil uses OpenIntent in his projects. Episode Links: Kjetil Hansen’s Website Kjetil Hansen on YouTube

Everyone is talking about autonomous AI for network operations. But in critical infrastructure, is removing the human really the right goal? In this sponsored episode, Johna and John welcome BackBox CEO Rekha Shenoy and VP of Products and Engineering Richard Phillips to discuss the risks of blind autonomy, where AI can go wrong, why human... Read more »

Today’s Packet Protector is a sponsored show that sits very nicely at the networking/security intersection. Our sponsor is NetCore, which makes the Unimus network configuration management software. Unimus supports network automation, configuration management and backup, change management, and auditing and compliance. We dive into how Unimus provides visibility into both the running config and the... Read more »

Today on the Tech Bytes podcast we talk VPNs. Our sponsor is Firezone, which offers a secure remote access solution built on Wireguard. But instead of just hearing from Firezone, we talk with a customer. Our guest is Daniel Caruso, IT Network and Systems Administrator at Beaver Excavating, a construction firm headquartered in Canton, OH.... Read more »

Take a Network Break! We start with listener follow-up on Arista’s vulnerability reporting, and Cisco ISE takes center stage for our Red Alert. Then we dive into EVA Networks, a startup touting ephemeral network connectivity to minimize risks of persistent network access, why AWS is recommending customers relocate workloads away from its data centers in... Read more »

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 »