Heavy Networking
by Packet Pushers
Latest episode
HN848: NetClaw: Your Open Source Network Assistant
HN848: NetClaw: Your Open Source Network Assistant
About this podcast
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
The newest 20 of 250 episodes
- HN848: NetClaw: Your Open Source Network Assistant · 1 h 8 min · Episode 848John Capobianco returns to Heavy Networking to discuss his latest open source project, NetClaw. NetClaw is an automation assistant for network engineers that leverages MCP and…
- HN847: Building Trust In The Agentic NOC (Sponsored) · 1 h 0 min · Episode 847Many network engineers don’t trust AI, in part because the tech is non-deterministic and can behave in unanticipated ways. Simultaneously, the networking industry is baking AI…
- HN846: How Meter Built a Topology Design Tool to Speed Deployments from Hours to Seconds (Sponsored) · 1 h 0 min · Episode 846In this sponsored episode, Alex La Fazia and Daniel Kaczmarczyk of Meter explain how they built an internal tool to automate network topology creation, drastically reducing…
- HN845: Real Life Use Cases for BGP Monitoring Protocol (BMP) · 59 min · Episode 845Bart Dorlandt discusses the practical applications and architecture of the BGP Monitoring Protocol (BMP) for service providers. Bart has developed a BMP application to help his…
- HN844: Multipath Reliable Connection (MRC) · 1 h 7 min · Episode 844Today’s show puts the “heavy” in Heavy Networking with a discussion about Multipath Reliable Connection (MRC). MRC is about getting an even distribution of RDMA traffic across…
- HN843: From Network Engineer to Network Architect with Kevin Nanns · 59 min · Episode 843Drew 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…
- HN842: How Network Engineers Can Prepare for a Post-Quantum World · 1 h 13 min · Episode 842Q-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…
- HN841: HPE Melds Apstra and Mist for Self-Driving Data Center Networks (Sponsored) · 59 min · Episode 841In 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…
- HN840: How to Make a Technology Buying Decision · 51 min · Episode 840When 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…
- HN839: Why Flows, Packets, and DDI are All Critical for Operational Effectiveness (Sponsored) · 56 min · Episode 839If 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…
- HN838: Meet Mr. Packets – Building Your Own Agentic AI Team Member · 1 h 4 min · Episode 838What 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…
- HN837: Agentic AI to Reduce MTTR · 1 h 5 min · Episode 837Ethan 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…
- HN836: Optimize AI Traffic on the WAN with Ciena’s Integrated IP Networking (Sponsored) · 55 min · Episode 836As 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…
- HN835: The Pros and Cons of Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) · 1 h 9 min · Episode 835Shortest 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…
- HN834: HPE Self-Driving Networks: The Next Evolution of Network Automation (Sponsored) · 53 min · Episode 834In 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…
- HN833: The State of Packet Pushers 2026 · 1 h 12 min · Episode 833Ethan 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…
- HN832: AI Agents Are Just Another Tool: How to Integrate With Your Network Automation Strategy (Sponsored) · 46 min · Episode 832AI 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…
- HN831: The Sum, Not Just the Parts: How and Why to Think Holistically About Your Network · 56 min · Episode 831Your 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…
- HN830: Tailscale CEO on WireGuard, Zero Trust, and Securing AI (Sponsored) · 57 min · Episode 830If 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…
- HN829: EVPN/VXLAN Vs. TradCore · 54 min · Episode 829Drew 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…
