Best Sysadmin Podcasts (2025)

1
HN781: CCIE Service Provider Free Workbook & Track Update 59:13

1d ago59:13

59:13

While studying for the CCIE Service Provider certification, Andrew Ohanian assembled a workbook to help him prepare. It’s packed with lab exercises, and Andrew has turned it into a free Web resource that anyone can access. On today’s Heavy Networking, we talk with Andrew about what’s in the guide, the state of the CCIE SP,... Read more »…

1
HN781: CCIE Service Provider Free Workbook & Track Update 59:13

1d ago59:13

59:13

While studying for the CCIE Service Provider certification, Andrew Ohanian assembled a workbook to help him prepare. It’s packed with lab exercises, and Andrew has turned it into a free Web resource that anyone can access. On today’s Heavy Networking, we talk with Andrew about what’s in the guide, the state of the CCIE SP,... Read more »…

1
HN781: CCIE Service Provider Free Workbook & Track Update 59:13

1d ago59:13

59:13

While studying for the CCIE Service Provider certification, Andrew Ohanian assembled a workbook to help him prepare. It’s packed with lab exercises, and Andrew has turned it into a free Web resource that anyone can access. On today’s Heavy Networking, we talk with Andrew about what’s in the guide, the state of the CCIE SP,... Read more »…

1
TNO029: The Power of Curiosity With Michael Costello 45:41

1d ago45:41

45:41

Michael Costello shares his career journey on today’s Total Network Operations. Currently on the Board of Directors at NANOG and a Distinguished Engineer at Saviynt, Michael talks about his early days learning the ropes as a junior network engineer, trying to start an ISP, his stint in graduate school, and a very interesting role at... Read more »…

1
IPB175: IPv6 Basics – Link-Local Addresses 23:08

2d ago23:08

23:08

Our IPv6 Basics series continues with link-local addresses. Link-local addresses are unicast addresses used for addressing on a single link. The intent of link-local addresses is to let devices that may not have a router or global unicast address allocation mechanism still be able to communicate on a network segment. On today’s show we dig... Read …

1
2.5 Admins 247: MPOF 33:46

2d ago33:46

33:46

The basic computer science problems that still remain unsolvable, why you shouldn’t trust AI to tune ZFS (or answer any admin questions), and setting up a check-in system for a group of friends. Plug Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes Discussion Why You Can’t Trust AI to Tune ZFS Free consulting We were asked…

1
N4N026: What Is a Tunnel? 53:43

2d ago53:43

53:43

Let’s dig into tunnels. While some network engineers may want to quibble, a tunnel is when you put one packet inside of another packet to carry it across a network (frames also come into the picture, so hold off on your follow-ups for now). On today’s N Is For Networking, Ethan and Holly explore this... Read more »…

1
Ask The Hosts – Episode 24 19:18

3d ago19:18

19:18

Our least favourite fandoms, frivolous things we’d buy, favourite childhood TV shows and movies, and house cleaning hacks. With Amolith, Kevin, and Andy from Linux Dev Time. Patrons got this this in their feed two weeks ago.By The Late Night Linux Family

1
D2DO272: The Physics of DevOps 39:37

3d ago39:37

39:37

How do you measure developer performance and productivity? On today’s Day Two DevOps, we look at different methods with guest Laura Tacho, the CTO at DX. We explore industry benchmarks such as the DORA report, SPACE, and DevEx. Laura also introduces us to Core 4, a project she’s been working on that provides a new... Read more »…

1
PP062: Hunting for Host Security and Performance Issues with Stratoshark 33:45

4d ago33:45

33:45

Stratoshark is a new tool from the Wireshark Foundation that analyzes system calls on a host. Network, security, and application teams can use Stratoshark to diagnose performance issues and investigate behavior that may indicate malware or other compromises of the host. On today’s Packet Protector we talk with Gerald Combs of the Wireshark Foundati…

1
NB526: Cisco Unveils Quantum Networking Prototype; Arista Earns Record Revenues 38:47

5d ago38:47

38:47

Take a Network Break! We start with follow-up from a listener on the best way to listen to our podcast that helps the most. The answer? Any listen on any platform helps. Even better is to tell a friend! We discuss two critical security issues. First, CISA adds active exploits against known SonicWall vulnerabilities to... Read more »…

1
HN780: The Whys and Hows of Automated Network Testing 1:03:53

8d ago1:03:53

1:03:53

On today’s Heavy Networking we talk with Dan Wade about testing the network, inspired by Dan’s talk at AutoCon 2: “Step 0: Test the Network.” We discuss why testing is a good idea, and then explore four types of network testing, including unit tests and integration tests. We dig into Yang, RESTCONF, NETCONF and gNMI... Read more »…

1
HN780: The Whys and Hows of Automated Network Testing 1:03:53

8d ago1:03:53

1:03:53

On today’s Heavy Networking we talk with Dan Wade about testing the network, inspired by Dan’s talk at AutoCon 2: “Step 0: Test the Network.” We discuss why testing is a good idea, and then explore four types of network testing, including unit tests and integration tests. We dig into Yang, RESTCONF, NETCONF and gNMI... Read more »…

1
HN780: The Whys and Hows of Automated Network Testing 1:03:53

8d ago1:03:53

1:03:53

On today’s Heavy Networking we talk with Dan Wade about testing the network, inspired by Dan’s talk at AutoCon 2: “Step 0: Test the Network.” We discuss why testing is a good idea, and then explore four types of network testing, including unit tests and integration tests. We dig into Yang, RESTCONF, NETCONF and gNMI... Read more »…

1
TNO028: Move From Monitoring to Full Internet Stack Observability: New Strategies for NetOps (Sponsored) 52:35

8d ago52:35

52:35

Network monitoring, Internet monitoring, and observability are all key components of NetOps. We speak with sponsor Catchpoint to understand how Catchpoint can help network operators proactively identify and resolve issues before they impact customers. We discuss past and current network monitoring strategies and the challenges that operators face w…

1
2.5 Admins 246: Perpetual Hotpatch 30:23

9d ago30:23

30:23

Old passwords work for Windows RDP, Broadcom shows why perpetual software licenses aren’t really forever, Windows Server is getting hotpatching, and preventing changes to archived files. Plugs Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes Owning the Stack: Infrastructure Independence with FreeBSD and ZFS News/discussion…

1
TL013: The Process Communication Model: An Algorithm for Effective Communication 37:59

9d ago37:59

37:59

On this episode of Technically Leadership, we’re joined by Aleksandra Lemańska to learn about the Process Communication Model (PCM), a framework for enhancing communication. Alex calls PCM an algorithm for people, and it can be useful for improving interactions with engineers and technical folks operating in high-stress environments. We talk about …

1
N4N025: DHCP – Someone Get Me an Address! 56:43

9d ago56:43

56:43

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) assigns an IP address to a host that joins a network, along with other information necessary for the host to communicate. DHCP also has more to it, so this week’s episode is meant to be a solid introduction to this essential network protocol. We first discuss what it is... Read more »…

1
NAN091: The Future of Autonomous Networking With Jeff Doyle 46:52

10d ago46:52

46:52

Today’s guest is Jeff Doyle, an expert in the networking industry with over 30 years of experience as a consultant, instructor, architect, author, and speaker. Eric chats with Jeff about his background and how he got into networking (spoiler: it was not a computer science degree!). The conversation explores Jeff’s current work and delves into... Re…

1
PP061: Comparing Breach Reports, RSAC 2025 Highlights, and a Security Awareness Soapbox 35:36

11d ago35:36

35:36

New breach reports show threat actor dwell times are dropping significantly. It’s a positive development, but there is a caveat. We discuss this caveat and other findings from the 2025 editions of the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report and the Google M-Trends Report. We also get highlights from the 2025 RSA Conference, and JJ gets... Read mo…

1
NB525: Cisco, IBM Recruit AI for Threat Response; HPE Air-Gaps Private Clouds 31:46

12d ago31:46

31:46

Take a Network Break! This week we catch up on the Airborne vulnerabilities affecting Apple’s AirPlay protocol and SDK, and get an update on active exploits against an SAP NetWeaver vulnerability–a patch is available, so get fixing if you haven’t already. Palo Alto Networks launches the AIRS platform to address AI threats in the enterprise,... Read…

1
HN779: Do We Really Need the Modern Networking Stack? 55:15

15d ago55:15

55:15

On today’s Heavy Networking, a roundtable panel considers whether a modern network needs to be built around underlays and overlays. This isn’t just Ethan yelling at clouds. This is a legitimate question pondering the real-world value of an overlay/underlay approach. Is overlay everywhere overkill, or is that the architecture we need to deliver a sa…

1
HN779: Do We Really Need the Modern Networking Stack? 55:15

15d ago55:15

55:15

On today’s Heavy Networking, a roundtable panel considers whether a modern network needs to be built around underlays and overlays. This isn’t just Ethan yelling at clouds. This is a legitimate question pondering the real-world value of an overlay/underlay approach. Is overlay everywhere overkill, or is that the architecture we need to deliver a sa…

1
HN779: Do We Really Need the Modern Networking Stack? 55:15

15d ago55:15

55:15

On today’s Heavy Networking, a roundtable panel considers whether a modern network needs to be built around underlays and overlays. This isn’t just Ethan yelling at clouds. This is a legitimate question pondering the real-world value of an overlay/underlay approach. Is overlay everywhere overkill, or is that the architecture we need to deliver a sa…

1
TNO027: Seeing the Internet With Doug Madory 53:02

15d ago53:02

53:02

Doug Madory has been called “The Man Who Can See the Internet.” Doug has developed a reputation for identifying significant developments in the global layout of the internet. He joins us today to discuss his role in analyzing internet data to identify trends and insights. He shares his journey from a data QA position to... Read more »…

1
IPB174: How Enterprise IPv6 Requirements Are Shaping Microsoft Windows 38:44

16d ago38:44

38:44

Today we talk with Tommy Jensen, a Senior Technical PM Strategist at Microsoft, about IPv6 support in Windows. Tommy shares what he hears from enterprises that are moving toward IPv6-mostly, strategies for dealing with older applications and devices that expect IPv4, and how the customer conversations he’s having about IPv6 now are more engaged and…

1
2.5 Admins 245: IPaaS 30:16

16d ago30:16

30:16

Crosswalks were comically vulnerable to being hacked, even Google struggles with tiered SSD and HDD storage, some insight into how AI scrapers are using domestic IPs, and creating a ZFS mirror one disk at a time. Plugs Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes Inside FreeBSD Netgraph: Behind the Curtain of Adva…

1
N4N024: DNS Security, Record Types, and Reverse DNS 49:19

16d ago49:19

49:19

This week we continue with DNS. In our last episode we covered the basics; today we expand our scope to cover topics such as security for DNS, reverse DNS, and DNS record types. For dessert this week, a serving of Raspberry Pi and Happy Eyeballs. Episode Links: DNS: Turning Names into Numbers – N Is... Read more »…

1
D2DO271: Public Vs. Private Cloud In 2025 38:33

17d ago38:33

38:33

The shine has been coming off public cloud for awhile. Cloud costs remain high, complexity is growing, and public cloud interoperability is difficult. And while there’s talk about moving back to private cloud, that migration presents its own costs and complexities. To help us navigate the challenge that is cloud in 2025, we welcome Mark... Read mor…

1
PP060: Subsea Cables and the Watery Risks to Critical Infrastructure 44:43

18d ago44:43

44:43

Submarine cables are a hidden wonder. These fiber optic bundles carry data and voice traffic around the world and serve as critical global links for communication and commerce. Today on Packet Protector, guest Andy Champagne dives into the history of submarine cables, the technological and operational advancements that allow voice and data to trave…

1
NB524: Forward Networks Adds Endpoint Discovery; Intel Forecasts Q2 Layoffs 24:10

19d ago24:10

24:10

Take a Network Break! We start with a Red Alert for SAP NetWeaver’s Visual Composer Metadata Uploader, and then dive into a new endpoint discovery feature from Forward Networks, and Ericsson adding clientless ZTNA to its SASE offering. Aviatrix adds a Secure NAT Gateway for Microsoft Azure as a way to help Azure customers navigate... Read more »…

1
TNO026: Gain Confidence in AI for NetOps with Juniper Networks (Sponsored) 53:58

22d ago53:58

53:58

Confidence in a new technology is one of the greatest barriers to adoption of that technology. If you don’t believe it will improve your NetOps, why would you adopt it? This is especially true of AI products. On today’s show, we’re joined by Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer of Mist/Juniper to make the case for... Read more »…

1
HN778: Understanding Model Context Protocol (MCP) with Selector (Sponsored) 50:47

22d ago50:47

50:47

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a very new protocol that provides a standard way to link AI models to a variety of data sources and tools. As the industry heads toward agentic AI–in which an AI agent interacts with disparate applications, data sources, and other agents to achieve a task–MCP provides the protocol glue. On... Read more »…

1
HN778: Understanding Model Context Protocol (MCP) with Selector (Sponsored) 50:47

22d ago50:47

50:47

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a very new protocol that provides a standard way to link AI models to a variety of data sources and tools. As the industry heads toward agentic AI–in which an AI agent interacts with disparate applications, data sources, and other agents to achieve a task–MCP provides the protocol glue. On... Read more »…

1
HN778: Understanding Model Context Protocol (MCP) with Selector (Sponsored) 50:47

22d ago50:47

50:47

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a very new protocol that provides a standard way to link AI models to a variety of data sources and tools. As the industry heads toward agentic AI–in which an AI agent interacts with disparate applications, data sources, and other agents to achieve a task–MCP provides the protocol glue. On... Read more »…

1
2.5 Admins 244: Branded and Splintered 31:07

23d ago31:07

31:07

Some Synology NAS products will require drives they sold you, doubt is cast on the CVE program, why some FreeBSD packages didn’t appear when they should have, and backing up the keys for encrypted backups. Plugs Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes Robust & Reliable Backup Solutions with OpenZFS News Synol…

1
TL012: Weighing the Cost of Team Interventions 39:31

23d ago39:31

39:31

On this episode of Technically Leadership, Chris Leonard joins to talk about the costs of intervention in a team discussion, whether that’s to bring a team back to a topic or to make a decision that needs to be made. We discuss hero culture (both in the team and as the leader), imposter syndrome, and... Read more »…

1
N4N023: DNS – Turning Names Into Numbers 48:01

23d ago48:01

48:01

The Domain Name System (DNS) keeps the Internet running. On today’s N Is For Networking podcast, we talk about how DNS transforms human-readable host names into IP addresses so that Internet traffic can be sent to the right place. We talk about root name servers, Top Level Domains (TLDs), and other elements of the DNS... Read more »…

1
NAN090: Examining Network Automation’s Present and Future With Chris Grundemann 45:16

24d ago45:16

45:16

Today we explore the current state of network automation with Chris Grundemann, a co-founder of Network Automation Forum. Chris gives the history of the Network Automation Forum and AutoCon conference, which aims to blend technology and community. He shares ideas for advancing network automation, and invites other network engineers to participate i…

1
D2DO270: Spacelift Is Your Infrastructure Glue (Sponsored) 39:51

25d ago39:51

39:51

Working with multiple Infrastructure as Code (IAC) tools can be painful. Spacelift provides a platform that operates on top of disparate IaC tools, including Ansible, Kubernetes, Pulumi, Terraform, and OpenTofu. Spacelift helps build the automation with and between these tools, creating graphs of graphs that make your dependencies just work. On tod…

1
PP059: News Roundup – Oracle Plays Breach Word Games, Fast Flux Worries CISA, AI Package Hallucinations, and More 34:09

25d ago34:09

34:09

Once a month, the Packet Protector podcast likes to see what’s going on out there via our news roundup. There’s a lot happening! Today we discuss Fortinet warning that a threat actor has found a way to maintain read-only access on Fortinet devices even if you’ve applied the patch for the original threat. Avanti VPNs... Read more »…

1
NB523: CVE’s Reprieve, Google WAN For Sale, NVIDIA Pledges More US-Made Chips 49:46

26d ago49:46

49:46

Take a Network Break! We start with a red alert for the CVE program, which nearly lost government funding before CISA stepped in, and then raise an alert for a Dpanel vulnerability. Google makes its Cloud WAN available to enterprises and governments that want connectivity options, a US District Court rules Google’s ad business a... Read more »…

1
TNO025: Know the Packet Flow 42:57

29d ago42:57

42:57

Knowing the flow of how a packet gets from one end to the other is one of the most important pieces of advice given by today’s guest, Mark Prosser. He shares his journey in the IT industry, his thoughts on Ops vs. design, and the differences between working in a telco NOC and the enterprise... Read more »…

1
IPB173: The IPv6 Test Pod Project 32:30

29d ago32:30

32:30

What if there was an simple way to test software and services to see if they work in a variety of IPv6 environments, including v6-only, dual-stack, and others? That’s the goal of the IPv6 Test Pod Project. This project provides a device, at no cost to the applicant, that comes with a variety of v6... Read more »…

1
HN777: Overlay All the Things? 52:01

29d ago52:01

52:01

Today’s Heavy Networking is all about overlay technologies, their history, development, and current state, both from engineer and vendor perspectives. We discuss why the industry turns to overlays to solve problems, and look at overlay and segmentation approaches including VXLAN, SRv6, and EVPN. We also drill into the idea that EVPN could become th…

1
HN777: Overlay All the Things? 52:01

29d ago52:01

52:01

Today’s Heavy Networking is all about overlay technologies, their history, development, and current state, both from engineer and vendor perspectives. We discuss why the industry turns to overlays to solve problems, and look at overlay and segmentation approaches including VXLAN, SRv6, and EVPN. We also drill into the idea that EVPN could become th…

1
HN777: Overlay All the Things? 52:01

29d ago52:01

52:01

Today’s Heavy Networking is all about overlay technologies, their history, development, and current state, both from engineer and vendor perspectives. We discuss why the industry turns to overlays to solve problems, and look at overlay and segmentation approaches including VXLAN, SRv6, and EVPN. We also drill into the idea that EVPN could become th…

1
2.5 Admins 243: 0.5 Centuries 32:59

1M ago32:59

32:59

IPv4 addresses are worth an awful lot of money, the serious dangers of a seemingly sensible deepfake law, Microsoft is 50 years old, and our thoughts on antivirus on Linux and Windows. Plugs Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes Accurate and Effective Storage Benchmarking News Your IPv4 stash can now be col…

1
N4N022: SNMP Fundamentals 57:40

1M ago57:40

57:40

Following last week’s introduction to network monitoring, we discuss the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), one of the most implemented types of network monitoring. We discuss how it is organized, operations that SNMP can perform, and versions of SNMP. This week’s bonus conversation is a discussion on the future for SNMP. Episode Links: MIB…

1
D2DO269: Intergalactic Dataspeak and Making Data Actionable 39:39

1M ago39:39

39:39

Data and what you do with it is the topic of today’s show with guest Dominic Chapman, the Head of Product at Axiom. Dominic’s career focus is on data, how to store and how to operationalize all the data that different technology stacks create. We talk with Dominic about how the data does not lie,... Read more »…

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