The Art of Network Engineering

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“AI Won’t Replace You, But Someone Using AI Might”
AI is everywhere; stickers, marketing, hype. Network engineers are understandably skeptical.
In this episode, Andy Lapteff is joined by longtime friend of the show John Capobianco (now Head of AI & DevRel at Itencho) and Mike Bushong for a practical, optimistic “ABCs of AI” discussion designed for working network engineers.
We start with a blunt reality: automation adoption is still low, and the old “automate or die” narrative hasn’t helped. Then we pivot into what’s changed: modern models are strong enough to be useful, but only if you stop treating them like a search bar and start connecting them to real tooling and real data.
John explains the core building blocks—LLMs, RAG, agentic workflows, and especially Model Context Protocol (MCP)—and why MCP may be the protocol that finally makes AI feel operationally real.
Finally, we land on a concrete “Hello World” for neteng: connect an AI client to a source of truth like NetBox or Nautobot (in a sandbox), start with read-only workflows (logs, config deltas, compliance), and build from there—safely.
If you’ve been curious but overwhelmed, this is your on-ramp.
This episode has been sponsored by Meter.
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Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

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What does “mission-critical networking” really mean?
At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, it’s not about uptime SLAs or dashboard metrics; it’s about supporting the research and care that helps save children’s lives.
In this episode, we sit down with Remington Loose and Josh Morris to explore the architecture, scale, and responsibility behind one of the most meaningful networks in the world.
We dig into:
How research networking differs from traditional enterprise IT
The massive data demands behind pediatric cancer research
Designing networks where downtime isn’t just inconvenient, it’s unacceptable
Supporting clinicians, researchers, and life-saving applications simultaneously
Lessons enterprise engineers can learn from healthcare environments
From high-performance data movement to reliability strategies that operate without margin for error, this conversation reframes what networking looks like when human outcomes are on the line.
Because in environments like St. Jude…
The network isn’t just infrastructure; it’s part of the care team.
This episode has been sponsored by Meter.
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Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

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Erika Dietrick (aka “Erika the Dev”) is back on the show, and she’s days away from a major life change (welcome, Baby Dev). In this follow-up conversation, we dig into the thing that keeps coming up in network engineering careers: programming is no longer a “nice-to-have.”

Erika breaks down her free YouTube course designed specifically for network engineers: Level 1 is “programmatic thinking” (the mindset + foundations), Level 2 is where AI becomes your learning accelerator, and Level 3 is about generating code responsibly, without falling into the “vibe coding” trap.

We also talk about why coding feels so foreign to CLI lifers, why so many “slick” courses lose beginners, and how to use AI like Google-on-steroids. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not smart enough for this” or “I don’t have time,” this one’s for you.

What we cover:
- Why network engineers struggle with coding (and it’s not your fault)
- The difference between using AI while coding vs vibe coding
- How to build foundations that make AI actually useful
- Why libraries matter, and how Level 2 focuses on network automation libraries
- Career reality: why Python shows up in job descriptions everywhere

Find Erika:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCkWURMuDQZox53bskCFS6vw 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikadietrick/
This episode has been sponsored by Meter.
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Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

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We've all worked on those technical projects that felt doomed from the start. 

In this episode, we're joined by Eyvonne Sharp and Mike Bushong to dig into what actually derails technical projects, and why the root cause is usually people, not packets.

We unpack:
- Why 80–90% of project failures aren’t technical
- What “executive sponsorship” is supposed to mean (and why most teams never use it)
- The real reason timelines feel arbitrary: information asymmetry
- What “healthy escalation” looks like (and how to avoid the courtroom vibe)
- How to deliver bad news to leaders: few words, calm tone, clear next step, clear ask
- The leadership move that instantly lowers the temperature: removing blame
- Why informal networks matter, including a legendary security-incident save powered by… cheesecake

If you’ve ever felt stuck in status-call theater, pressured to keep the project's status green, or unsure how to talk to leadership when reality hits, this episode is your playbook.
This episode has been sponsored by Meter.
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Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

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Recorded on-site in Austin, Texas, at AutoCon 4 (Network Automation Forum), Andy sits down with Colin Doyle to talk about the human side of technical communication and why it matters more than ever in technical careers.
They dig into practical speaking advice for engineers: how to slow down without losing authority, why “dead air” feels scarier than it is, how to stop relying on scripts, and how to structure a talk so your audience can repeat your message when you leave the room. Colin shares the “audience-first” mindset shift: don’t tell your story, tell the audience’s story with you in it.
Then the conversation widens into the network automation adoption problem: why network automation still lags behind other IT domains, why tooling fragmentation creates anxiety (“what if I learn the wrong thing?”), and why starting with Python is often the safest first step. Colin also reframes overlays (EVPN/VXLAN) as a fundamental shift: abstraction changes operations, pushes configuration to the edge, and makes intent-based operations and assurance the real job.
If you’re a CLI lifer preparing to level up, or you’re giving your first big talk, this episode is a practical, grounding guide.
In this episode: communication fundamentals, talk prep, booth culture at AutoCon, automation adoption barriers, overlays → intent → assurance, and why you don’t need to be a “kung fu wizard” to start automating.
This episode has been sponsored by Meter.
Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now!
Support the show
Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng