Episode notes
Ethan Banks sits down with Ryan Hamel at the 96th North American Network Operators’ Group (NANOG96). Ryan, a network automation developer for the Zayo Group, talks about why boring network design is actually a good thing. He and Ethan explore why simplicity and standardization are key to long-term success. They also emphasize the importance of ... Read more »
Heavy Networking
by Packet Pushers · English · Tech & Science
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.…
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E824 · 24 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
HN824: 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 »
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E823 · 17 Apr 2026 · 51 min
HN823: 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 »
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E822 · 10 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 12 min
HN822: Now I Understand. You Mean an AI-Safe Zero-Trust Network Automation Approach (Sponsored)
On today’s sponsored episode we talk with David Gee, CEO at Curvium, a systems integrator and VAR. David holds thoughtful opinions about network automation and orchestration, how such platforms are to be built, and the impact AI is having on network automation. We dig into how AI fundamentally changes how we interact with systems, and ... Read more »
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E820 · 27 Mar 2026 · 39 min
HN820: Cyber Week 2026 Wrap Up with Palo Alto Networks: Agents, Prisma AIRS and NGTS (Sponsored)
Palo Alto Networks released a slew of product news at the 2026 RSA conference around AI security, SASE, and a new certificate lifecycle management offering. On today’s Heavy Networking, sponsored by Palo Alto Networks, Ethan and Drew dig into these announcements to get details about how they work. They also talk about the risks of ... Read more »
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E819 · 20 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 2 min
HN819: Recipes for Automation – A Look Inside Eric Chou’s AI Networking Cookbook
Eric Chou, author of the AI Networking Cookbook and host of Network Automation Nerds, joins Ethan and Drew to discuss adding artificial intelligence to your network automation toolbox. The AI Networking Cookbook is aimed at network engineers and provides a systematic approach to learning AI for network automation. Together they break down pros and cons ... Read more »
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E817 · 6 Mar 2026 · 57 min
HN817: Is There a Better Way to Do Software Defined Networking?
Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a centralized architecture in which a controller, or a hierarchy of controllers, runs software that computes network-engineered paths and pushes that forwarding scheme into the network. It’s also very complex, which can lead to network failures. What if there was a way to keep the benefits of SDN while also ... Read more »
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E845 · 9 Oct 2026 · 59 minNew
HN845: Real Life Use Cases for BGP Monitoring Protocol (BMP)
Bart 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 customers monitor BGP. He talks about how he handles data collection, why it’s important to capture pre- and post-policy filtering, how he deals with excessive prefix volumes, future plans ... Read more »
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E844 · 2 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 7 min
HN844: Multipath Reliable Connection (MRC)
Today’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 equal cost multipath links in massive data centers, and doing so over plain old lossy Ethernet. Ethan, Drew, and guests discuss how packet spraying, resilience to link and ... Read more »
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E843 · 25 Sep 2026 · 59 min
HN843: From Network Engineer to Network Architect with Kevin Nanns
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 »
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E842 · 18 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 13 min
HN842: 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 »
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