D2DO305: Scaling Human Connection in Tech Communities

In this sponsored episode, Paul Delory of Gartner joins Kyler and Ned to discuss the reconciler pattern for operations and the shift toward continuous operations. Together they discuss how immutable infrastructure, policy as code, and platform engineering help bridge the gap between traditional IT and modern automation. They also highlight Gartner’s upcoming Infrastructure, Operations &... Read more »

How can network architects successfully manage 95,000 hosts while navigating the complexities of large-scale cloud migrations? Devender Singh, a Principal Cloud Architect, joins Ned and Kyler to discuss the practical realities of managing network chaos, the migration from Transit Gateways to AWS Cloud WAN, and strategies for addressing the technical debt often encountered during enterprise... Read more »

Traditional peer review processes are breaking down in the new AI era. Dylan Ratcliffe, founder and CEO of Overmind Technology, joins Ned and Kyler to discuss the importance of treating AI as a machine to be audited rather than a peer. Together they share practical advice on how to adapt peer review processes and culture... Read more »

Tyler Lynch, Outbound CTO at IBM, joins the show to discuss shifting from “tokenmaxxing” to “valuemaxxing” by optimizing AI agent workflows for efficiency. They explore using Obsidian for persistent agent memory to combat context bloat, the critical importance of secure sandboxing practices, and the strategic use of parallel verification to ensure your agents are performing... Read more »

Today, several members of our Packet Pushers podcast team assemble to discuss whether the grass is greener on the NetOps or DevOps side of the telemetry fence. William of The Cloud Gambit, Scott of Total Network Operations, and Ned and Kyler of Day Two DevOps discuss the difficulties and differences of getting telemetry and state... Read more »

In this sponsored episode, Jonah Kowall from Spacelift joins the show to unpack the findings of the 2026 Infrastructure Automation Report. The discussion covers the “governance paradox”, where organizations have confidence in their AI oversight despite a lack of formal policies. Ned and Jonah provide actionable insights on bridging the gap between automation and the... Read more »

Ned and Kyler welcome Andrew Brown, co-founder of ExamPro, to discuss how AI is reshaping the IT education and training landscape. They discuss why foundational technical knowledge remains vital, how AI-generated answers can make mistakes at scale, and the importance of learning how to troubleshoot when automated tools hit their limits. Episode Links: Watch this... Read more »

Platform engineering forms the foundation for developers to build on, and you shouldn’t be surprised that folks from VMware have been thinking about platforms for a long time. In today’s episode, sponsored by Broadcom, Ned and Kyler discuss the current state and future of platform engineering with guests Jad El-Zein and Myles Gray. They cover... Read more »

Kyler and Ned are joined by former AWS Community Program Manager Jason Dunn to discuss what it takes to build and maintain a thriving tech community. Jason shares his “benevolent dictatorship” philosophy on community management, emphasizing the importance of authentic human connections. They also explore how AI can empower non-technical individuals to build custom solutions... Read more »

As AI matures, it becomes increasingly important to know how it’s performing and what it actually costs. Ned and Kyler are joined by Anuj Tyagi, Senior Site Reliability Engineer for RingCentral, to discuss the critical shift toward AI observability. AI observability is not just about costs; Anuj breaks down why observability has to include agent... Read more »