Episodes

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 »

Eric Chou welcomes Florian Lohden, a NetDevOps engineer and co-founder of the NetAuto Group, to discuss his community-building efforts and his latest adventures in network automation. Together they explore how adopting software development practices can help with network automation, and the importance of sharing knowledge within networking communities. Florian also talks about how he balances... Read more »

Eric welcomes Eduard Dulharu, a veteran network architect and the Founder and CTO of vExpertAI, to talk about how agentic AI, open-source LLMs, and digital twins are changing network operations. Eduard discusses the rapid evolution of generative AI, draws parallels between AI’s current limitations and early network protocols such as Spanning Tree, talks about why... Read more »

Early in 2026, Drew Conry-Murray authored the first Packet Pushers Salary Survey, offering a transparent look into compensation in the network engineering industry. Drew joins Eric to discuss the results of the survey, the challenges of interpreting global data, how to use this data to advocate for your market value, and more! AdSpot Sponsor: Meter... Read more »

Sif Baksh joins Eric Chou to share his professional experience and resources to help engineers get their arms around using AI in network automation. They discuss practical advantages of AI over standard Python scripts and the risks and benefits of vibe coding for prototyping. Sif also breaks down the P.E.N.E. framework, a structure for writing... Read more »

Eric Chou and guest host Drew Conry-Murray sit down with deep space networking specialist Scott Spicer. Following the Artemis 2 mission, they discuss the challenges of long-delay space communications and the essential technologies making it possible such as the Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION), Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN), and Contact Graph Routing (CGR). AdSpot Sponsor: Meter Meter... Read more »

Network teams are being asked to move faster than ever as automation and AI-driven workflows increase the volume and frequency of network changes. In this episode, sponsored by Cisco, we explore how modern network operating systems make zero-downtime, zero-stress updates possible, even at machine speed. We’ll break down three key capabilities: Atomic Config Replace (ACR),... Read more »

Eric Chou talks with Adrian Iliesiu aka NetGru, a seasoned CCIE veteran and community leader known for his work to simplify network automation and make it accessible to network engineers. He focuses on helping network teams navigate the transition into AI and vibe coding while maintaining their core technical skills. Adrian shares insights and practical... Read more »

Eric Chou is joined by Ashwin Joshi, a Senior Solutions Engineer at Keysight Technologies, to discuss the rapidly increasing demands that AI places on modern networks. They break down the differences between networking for AI and AI for networking. They also talk about how network engineers can adopt AI to help them do their jobs,... Read more »

Eric Chou is joined by Matt Campbell, a seasoned network engineer whose career has taken him into some of the most demanding and high-stakes environments around. Together they’ll explore how Matt’s automation philosophy, lessons learned, and best practices adapt when the margin of error is razor thin. Whether you’re automating basic configs or tackling brownfield... Read more »

When applying AI to network operations and automation, a strong data foundation is essential. In this sponsored episode, Eric Chou and Scott Robohn are joined by Surya Nimmagadda, Chief Data Scientist; and Joby Rudolph, Senior Distinguished Engineer, both from Selector. They discuss the importance of transparency in their data and how it can instill confidence... Read more »

Eric Chou is joined by returning guest, Danny Wade a.k.a. Devnet Dan, to unpack everything you missed from AutoCon 4. AutoCon 4 had a heavy focus on AI’s role in network automation and Danny was there in person, has already blogged about his insights, and is here to break down the trends, takeaways, and key... Read more »

Building a Network Source of Truth (NSoT) is only step one in an automation effort — turning it into operational automation is where outcomes happen. In this sponsored episode by Network to Code, Eric Fetty, a self-taught network engineer who literally automated his way through his CCIE lab, shares how he’s doing exactly that at... Read more »

Wingpy is an open-source tool that aims to make it easier to automate network tasks that use Cisco APIs. Today Eric is joined by returning guest Andreas Baekdahl, the creator of Wingpy. They discuss why Andreas started Wingpy, how it can help streamline your workflows, and how you can start using it right away. They... Read more »

Eric sits down with David Henderson, Principal Architect for NetDevOps at Presidio, to discuss the practical journey for network engineers transitioning from manual CLI operations to scalable NetDevOps and automation. They discuss how traditional networking knowledge and certifications are foundational, and suggest essential tools and habits for beginning your automation journey. David also shares a... Read more »

Today we are joined by Matt Remke, who has spent years in the trenches of network automation projects as a consultant. Matt offers a unique, non-engineer perspective on scaling network automation in real-world, complex environments for some of the world’s largest companies. Matt shares what worked, what backfired, and the hard-earned lessons he has gained... Read more »