Cables2Clouds

Send us Fan Mail Network automation doesn’t fail because engineers can’t code. It fails because teams can’t turn one-off wins into a repeatable way of operating. We sit down with Scott Robohn of Solutional, co-founder of the Network Automation Forum and one of the people behind Autocon, to unpack why Autocon keeps growing and why a “production-first” mindset changes the entire conversation. We tal...

Send us Fan Mail We react to the biggest stories from Cisco Live, focusing on why Cloud Control and Multi-Cloud Fabric could simplify how teams manage multi-domain infrastructure. We also unpack the Mythos export control shockwave and the growing backlash to AI data centers as efficiency claims collide with real community costs.  • Cloud Control as a manager of managers, bringing consoles, telemet...

Send us Fan Mail A $435 million all-cash acquisition doesn’t happen just to add another logo to a portfolio. We break down why Lumen is buying Alkira to become the control plane for cloud connectivity, and what that signals about where multicloud networking is headed. Alkira’s POP-based backbone and marketplace approach made cloud interconnect feel like a service. Plug that into a telco-sized foot...

Send us Fan Mail If you still picture “hackers” as hoodie stereotypes and fast typing in a dark room, this conversation resets the story with real, practical detail. We sit down with Kyle Winters from Learn with Cisco to define ethical hacking and penetration testing the way security teams actually use it: as a sanctioned, scoped way to think like an attacker so you can fix weaknesses before a rea...

Send us Fan Mail “Too dangerous to release” is a bold claim in cybersecurity, so we treat it like any other security headline: we interrogate it. We kick off our monthly news round-up by welcoming Catherine McNamara as a permanent co-host, then dig into Anthropic’s Mythos preview model and Project Glasswing, positioned as an AI security and threat intelligence leap that can allegedly find zero-day...

Send us Fan Mail Your AI can write code fast, but it can also wander fast. That’s why we sat down with Jason Belk from Learning at Cisco to unpack spec-driven development, a simple idea with huge impact: write the rules and requirements first, then let your coding agent execute with far fewer surprises. We talk through what “agentic coding” looks like in practice with Claude Code, including the tr...

Send us Fan Mail AI is everywhere right now, but the numbers and the real-world trade-offs don’t always match the hype. We dig into a headline that AI added basically nothing to US GDP growth last year, even after billions in spending from the biggest names in tech. That launches a bigger question we can’t ignore: is the AI boom creating durable productivity, or mostly moving money around the same...

Send us Fan Mail Ready for a reality check on AI security? We invited Cisco cybersecurity expert Katherine McNamara to dig into where large language models actually break: from prompt injection and over-permissioned plugins to reckless “vibe-coded” apps that leak IDs, photos, and entire backends. The stories are real, the stakes are high, and the fixes are concrete. We trace how AI sprawl mirrors...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when an AI agent decides the “best” fix is to delete production? We unpack the AWS outage tied to an over‑permitted agent and zoom out to a bigger pattern: systems built for maximum utility and minimum restraint. From MCP’s connective promise to its post‑auth sprawl, we break down how agent toolchains turn small mistakes into big blast radii—and how to fix that with r...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what it really takes to walk away from a prestigious DevRel job and build a creator business that actually serves people? We bring back Erika (aka Erika the Dev) to share a candid, practical look at life after big tech: why she chose ownership over prestige, how she teaches coding fundamentals for network automation in a world obsessed with AI shortcuts, and the ungl...

Send us Fan Mail Layoffs, chips, and a lobster-shaped lesson in security—this month’s news run is a tour of how tech’s biggest bets collide with real-world constraints. We start with Amazon’s plan to complete 30,000 job cuts under the banner of “flattening the org.” That might clean up charts, but it also stretches managers thin and risks slowing the very decisions teams need to ship. The human co...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder why some architectures feel effortless to run while others need a babysitter? We invited Russ White to help us unpack the real craft of network design: building mental maps that tie history, theory, and practical constraints into clear decisions you can defend and operate. Forget packet field trivia. We focus on how to think, what to simplify, and which trade-offs actu...

Send us Fan Mail The year felt like it stretched on forever, and in that extra space the networking world reshaped itself. We traded weekly cadence for deeper focus, shipped an AWS Advanced Networking book that the community embraced, and then watched the landscape pivot as vendors consolidated, clouds connected to each other, and AI hype met the hard edges of security and reliability. We dig into...

Send us Fan Mail A bus-powered hackathon, a $100K prize for a gloriously “useless” app, and keynotes that said AI so many times you could turn it into a supercut—re:Invent 2025 brought energy, irony, and real signals hiding in the noise. We’re joined by AWS Hero Chris Williams to unpack what actually matters: where AI is genuinely useful, where it’s lipstick on a feature, and how builders should a...

Send us Fan Mail We break down Cloudflare’s outage, why a small config change caused big waves, and what better guardrails could look like. We then unpack AWS and Google’s cross‑cloud link, Megaport’s move into bare metal and GPUs, Webex adding deepfake defenses, and a new startup aiming to tune AI networks at microsecond speed. • Cloudflare outage root cause and fallout • Automation guardrails, v...

Send us Fan Mail Networks can sometimes feel like a maze of licenses, tunnels, and 2 a.m. pager alerts. We sit down with Graphiant CEO Ali Shaikh to unpack how Network as a Service makes connectivity on-demand, consumption-based, and finally as flexible as the cloud it serves. From the SD-WAN wave to the pandemic reset, Ali explains why the old build-and-forget model couldn’t keep pace with multi-...

Send us Fan Mail Start with a simple truth: when the platform breaks, your clever architecture won’t save you. We dig into the AWS US‑East‑1 outage where DynamoDB’s role in DNS planning for load balancers collided with a race condition, leaving empty records and stalled EC2 instances. Forget the finger‑wagging about “well‑architected” apps—this was a platform failure with limited customer escape r...

Send us Fan Mail If the network is the backbone of modern tech, why did it fade into the background while cloud, AI, and security stole the spotlight? We sit down with technical evangelist Alexis Berthoff to pull the curtain back on the real work of making complex systems understandable, usable, and resilient. Alexis shares how she acts as a translator between product, marketing, sales, and the co...

Send us Fan Mail We weigh efficiency against hype as Huawei’s open-source quantization aims to shrink LLM costs while AI spending sprints toward $1.5T. From Oracle’s blue-sky risk to Cisco’s SNMP flaws, Equinix and Alkira’s AI networking moves, and a leap into quantum networking, we look for what’s real and what’s next. • Huawei’s SINQ quantization for smaller, cheaper LLM deployments • AI spend a...

Send us Fan Mail The gap between cloud-native and traditional networking has never been more evident. As organizations struggle with hybrid environments, finding a unified management strategy feels like searching for the mythical "one ring to rule them all." In this thought-provoking episode, we welcome Eric Chou, author, instructor, and podcast host with over a decade of experience at A...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Chris dive into the month's most significant tech developments, exploring antitrust rulings, emerging AI security threats, and the financial sustainability of the AI industry. • Google avoids having to sell Chrome in federal antitrust ruling but is barred from exclusive distribution contracts • Cybercriminals deploy "S1ngularity Attack" using LLM prompts to...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when three major cloud providers each reimagine network design from scratch? You get three completely different approaches to solving the same fundamental problem. The foundation of cloud networking begins with the virtual containers that hold your resources: AWS's Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), Azure's Virtual Networks (VNets), and Google Cloud's VPCs...

Send us Fan Mail Cloud security and infrastructure providers are making strategic moves to maintain competitive advantage through acquisitions and service enhancements while combating emerging threats. We explore the latest developments including Palo Alto's massive acquisition, new cloud services, and enhanced security features that are reshaping the industry. • Palo Alto Networks announces...

Send us Fan Mail Making a career transition is never easy, especially in specialized technical domains. In this episode, we dive into the world of professional evolution with returning guest Will Collins, who shares his journey from cloud networking at Alkira to automation engineering at Nintex. "I'm not lazy, but I hate repetition," Will explains, describing the mindset that led hi...

Send us Fan Mail The tech industry's shifting strategies and priorities take center stage in this episode as we examine several major developments reshaping the landscape. We dive into Ingram Micro's recent ransomware attack by the SafePay group, analyzing both the immediate impacts and potential long-term consequences of the four-day operational disruption. The incident raises important...