Network Automagic

Seven network automation engineers. One table. Zero filter. In our first-ever roundtable episode, Steinn and Urs are joined by Marco Martinez (Swisscom), Bart Dorlandt (Dream Networking), John Howard (ProtonMail), Joseph Nicholson (NTT DATA), Mark Prosser (Nokia), William Collins(Itential), and Ryan Shaw for an unfiltered conversation about AI's real impact on network engineering. The panel digs into what AI has actually changed day-to-day, whether the "force multiplier" framing holds up, the danger of vibe coding without validation, AI mandates from management who read one LinkedIn post, knowledge atrophy vs getting dumber, why critical thinking is the meta-skill of the AI era, and whether code quality is a moral virtue or just a pricing tier. Expect sharp disagreements on OSPF vs IS-IS, a 1910 engineering quote that predicted all of this, and Marco's call to action: if AI makes you 30% faster, invest that time in quality — not just more output. What we cover:• AI as a force multiplier — the xkcd ROI chart has been rewritten• The cognitive shift from code generation to code verification• AI mandates and the unhealthy pressure of inflated expectations• Are we getting dumber or just shifting context?• Vibe coding, neural fatigue, and the ownership problem• Code quality as a pricing tier — script vs service• Critical thinking in the age of information overload• The next generation of engineers and how they learn differently Guest LinkedIn profiles:Marco Martinez — linkedin.com/in/marcom4rtinezBart Dorlandt — linkedin.com/in/bartdorlandtJohn Howard — linkedin.com/in/jonnyhowardJoseph Nicholson — linkedin.com/in/joseph-nicholson-b8413533aMark Prosser — linkedin.com/in/mark-prosserWilliam Collins — linkedin.com/in/william-collinsRyan Shaw — linkedin.com/in/ryan-shaw-3a474169 Hosted by Steinn "Steinzi" Bjarnarson and Urs Baumann. Subscribe and follow:YouTube: youtube.com/@networkautomagicSpotify: Network AutoMagicApple Podcasts: Network AutoMagic #networkautomation #networkautomagic #ai #networkengineering #automation #podcast

Steinn and Urs are joined by Calvin Remsburg — network engineer turned AI security specialist at Palo Alto Networks, formerly at Juniper — to break down the MCP vs CLI debate for AI agents, why deterministic tooling is beating probabilistic tool invocation, and what network engineers should be doing right now to stay ahead.

Network Automagic episode 007Scott Lowe (Cisco/Isovalent, former Pulumi DevRel) joins Steinn and Urs to break down Pulumi — the infrastructure-as-code tool that lets engineers ditch HCL for real programming languages. The conversation covers what makes Pulumi tick, how it bridges Terraform providers, the honest state of the company, and why network automation remains fundamentally harder than cloud or server automation. Scott and Urs dig into the idempotency trap of mixing imperative code with declarative engines, rollback pitfalls, and provider quality across vendors. Scott closes with a controversial opinion: network engineers who stop caring at the server boundary are setting themselves up to get left behind.

Peter Sprygada   Chief Architect at Itentia Joins Urs and Steinzi to talk about the AI hype train and network automation.

Network Auto Magic Podcast Episode SummaryJuniper Mist SSR Platform and API AutomationEpisode OverviewThis episode features Steinn & Urs discussing Juniper's Session Smart Router (SSR) platform and Mist automation capabilities with two Juniper guests:Episode GuestsDaniel Petrov: Product Manager for HPE Juniper Networking AI-native SD-WAN teamThomas Munzer: Platform team member focused on API integrations and automation (And Steinzi’s personal hero)\Key Technology HighlightsSSR (Session Smart Router) PlatformCore Technology: Secure Vector Routing (SVR) - eliminates traditional IPsec tunnelsKey Benefits:Sub-second failover capabilitiesNo fragmentation issues (maintains 1500 MTU)Selective encryption (doesn't double-encrypt already encrypted traffic)Tunnel-less overlay architectureFast boot times (under 2 minutes)New SSR 400 SeriesFeatures: Built-in switching, PoE support, 5G capability, built-in Wi-Fi, fanless designPower Efficiency: Designed for customers deploying 20,000+ devicesSecurity: Built-in IDP engine with simple profile selectionLicensing Change: Eliminated bandwidth-based licensing in favor of three tiers (Standard, Advanced, Premium)Security FeaturesQuantum-resistant encryption (NIST FIPS 203, 204, 205 standards)Advanced anti-malware and antivirus protectionSSL proxy capabilitiesSecurity assurance analytics (13-month traffic analysis)API and Automation EcosystemAPI ArchitectureScale: Over 1,000 API endpointsPhilosophy: API-first development - UI uses the same public APIsCoverage: Everything visible in UI is accessible via APIConsistency: Same endpoints work for both SRX and SSR platforms despite different underlying OSesDeveloper ToolsPython SDK: Comprehensive software development kitTerraform Provider: Recently launched for infrastructure-as-codePostman Collections: Pre-built workflows and practical examplesOpen API Specification: 100,000+ lines of documentationChrome Extension: Discovers API calls made by the UIIntegration FeaturesWebhooks: Proactive notifications instead of pollingAudit Logging: Complete change tracking with before/after statesTemplate System: Centralized configuration managementMulti-tenancy: MSP-friendly with UUID-based resource identificationMist Cloud Platform BenefitsManagement FeaturesAutomatic Patching: Security updates applied automaticallyMarvis AI: Proactive troubleshooting and network optimizationTDR Testing: Built-in cable testing without connected devicesDynamic Packet Capture: Automated network troubleshootingIdea Portal: Customer feature request and voting systemOperational AdvantagesCentralized Control: Single pane of glass for access points, switches, and WANMonthly Feature Releases: Continuous platform improvementsVirtual Lab Support: Can test configurations in virtualized environmentsInstant Power-On: PoE devices get power immediately during bootAutomation Use CasesSite Deployment: Template-based rollouts across thousands of locationsSecurity Policy Management: Centralized firewall rule automationNetwork Monitoring: Custom dashboards and executive reportingChange Management: Configuration versioning and rollback capabilitiesMulti-vendor Integration: Works alongside other Juniper products (Apstra for data center)Enterprise AdoptionScale: Customers deploying hundreds of thousands of sitesIndustries: Banks, retail (largest fast food chain), and enterprise customersGartner Recognition: Top-right quadrant for five consecutive yearsDeveloper ResourcesApps Lab Portal: Collection of automation scripts and examplesGitHub Repositories: Python script libraries and toolsDocumentation: Comprehensive API guides and best practicesSupport: Direct access to product teams for troubleshootingTechnical Architecture NotesCloud-Native Design: Configurations pushed from cloud to devicesResilient Operations: Network continues functioning during cloud connectivity loss

Network Automagic episode 004 - Autocon3 hallway trackThis is a three part episode from Autocon3

Network Automagic EP003 - NUTS with Marco Martinezhttps://networkautomagic.net/podcast/na003/In this episode, we sit down with Marco Martinez, a core maintainer of NUTS (Network Unit Testing System), to explore how this powerful tool is revolutionizing network testing automation.Marco walks us through the development of NUTS, designed to address comprehensive testing challenges in large networks that go beyond simple configuration checks. Learn how NUTS automatically tests routing tables, BGP neighbors, and more through an elegant system built on the Pi test library with YAML-defined tests.🔍 Key Topics: • NUTS architecture and development philosophy • The innovative "INPG Stack" for generating test definitions and visualizing results • Integration with Nornir, Napalm, Netbox, and Infrahub • Comparison with tools like pyATS, ONDATRA, and BATFISH • Pre/post change testing strategies and prioritization • Unix systems advantages for network automation📋 Episode Timeline: 00:00 - Introduction 03:46 - NUTS Overview and Philosophy 12:31 - Technical Components 25:16 - Integration Ecosystem 35:01 - Visualization with INPG Stack 42:31 - Unix Systems Advantage 48:46 - Tool Comparison 55:21 - Future Development 61:11 - Conclusion and Resources📚 Resources: • NUTS GitHub Repository: https://github.com/network-unit-testing-system/nuts • SwiNOG#39 Presentation: https://youtu.be/ZVl0GnYMUEo • Network Automation Landscape: https://steinzi.com/network-automation-landscape/🎧 Listen to Network Automagic: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2UubY0s1KCJ4ct9srD2yUW • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/network-automagic/id1796167806 • RSS Feed: https://anchor.fm/s/1012b01b8/podcast/rss🎵 Featured Music: "Party Weekend" by Joe 'King' Carrasco and the Crowns (1980)#NetworkAutomation #NUTS #NetworkTesting #NetDevOps #Automation #Python #NetworkEngineeringSubscribe for more network automation content!

🎬 Network Automagic 002 - Infrahub with Damien Garros https://networkautomagic.net/podcast/na002/We sit down and talk about Infrahub from https://www.opsmill.com with Damien, is it a replacement for Netbox?Let’s hear about the fully flexible schema and what Damien thinks about the future of network automation.Listen to the show anywhere:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@networkautomagicSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2UubY0s1KCJ4ct9srD2yUW?si=e22f5d886e3c4166Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/is/podcast/network-automagic/id1796167806🍔 Show notes resources:Infrahub from OpsMillhttps://www.opsmill.comInfrahub Labhttps://opsmill.instruqt.com/pages/labsInfrahub live demohttps://demo.infrahub.appInfrahub on GitHubhttps://github.com/opsmillInfrahub install guidehttps://docs.infrahub.app/guides/installationNetbox Service mappingshttps://netboxlabs.com/blog/netbox-service-mappings-tech-preview-design-driven-automation-comes-to-netbox/Opsmill blog How To Turn Your Source Of Truth Into A Service Factory:https://www.opsmill.com/how-to-turn-your-source-of-truth-into-a-service-factory/💽 Featured Music:"Party Weekend" by Joe 'King' Carrasco and the Crowns (1980)A slice of vintage Spanish rock that's as rebellious as our approach to network automationDon't forget to smash that like button if you're tired of fragile automation scripts that break faster than your last New Year's resolution!#networkautomation  #temporal   #techtalks  #network #ipv4 #automation #python  #golang

Network Automagic 001 - Temporal with Ryan Shaw https://networkautomagic.net/podcast/na001/Ever wondered how to stop wrestling with your network automation like it's a caffeinated octopus? In this episode, we dive deep into Temporal (https://temporal.io) with Ryan Shaw, exploring how this beast of a platform is changing the game for network automation.Join Steinn "Steinzi" Bjarnarson and Urs Baumann on this inaugural episode of Network AutoMagic🔧 What we cover:The real deal about Temporal's approach to the durable execution of your application code!How to stop your automation workflows from implodingWar stories and practical insights from the trenches💽 Featured Music:"Party Weekend" by Joe 'King' Carrasco and the Crowns (1980)A slice of vintage Spanish rock that's as rebellious as our approach to network automationDon't forget to smash that like button if you're tired of fragile automation scripts that break faster than your last New Year's resolution!#networkautomation #temporal #techtalks #network #ipv4 #automation #python #golang