Network Break
Packet Pushers
Network Break keeps you informed with fast, focused analysis of IT news, products, tech trends, and business outcomes. Blending sharp commentary with a touch of humor, hosts Drew Conry-Murray & Johna Till Johnson sift through the weekly landslide of press announcements, product launches, financial reports, and marketing decks to find the stories worth talking about. You come away with the information and context to make smart decisions in your organization and career … all in the span of a (longish) coffee break.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 24, 2023 • 55min
Network Break 439: Ethernet Gets Ultra Injection For AI; Huawei Climbs The Patent Charts
This week on Network Break we discuss the launch of the Ultra Ethernet Consortium and its intention to revamp Ethernet to support AI and HPC workloads. We also cover NOS startup Arrcus pulling in a $65 million series D round, Fortinet launching big-iron firewalls, Huawei flexing its patent muscles in 5G and wireless, and more tech news.
Jul 17, 2023 • 51min
Network Break 438: Intel Abandons NUC; EU Blesses Broadcom/VMware Union; Microsoft Joins SSE Race
Take a Network Break! This week we discuss Intel walking away from the NUC PC, Microsoft rebranding Azure AD and launching an SSE offering, and Microsoft Exchange Online getting hacked. We also cover the EU's conditional approval of Broadcom's VMware acquisition, why Wireshark needs your help, and more IT news.
Jul 10, 2023 • 36min
Network Break 437: Ethernet Turns 50; TSMC Imports Workers For Arizona Fab; BT, HPE Partner On Managed LAN
On today's Network Break, Greg Ferro wishes Ethernet an unhappy birthday, HPE and BT want to manage your LAN, TSMC brings in Taiwanese workers to build new fabs in Arizona, Nokia touts new Fixed Wireless Access milestones, and more IT news.
Jul 3, 2023 • 21min
Network Break CCCCXXXVII: Summer Holiday Special!
This bonus episode of Network Break discusses a new free tier of Prosimo's multi-cloud networking offering, the latest ThousandEyes acquisition, new SEC problems for SolarWinds, and a million-dollar refrigerator.
Jun 26, 2023 • 42min
NB436: Cisco AI Silicon, DEM. HPE Greenlake AI LLM. FCC Talks Bandwidth Caps.
Cisco announces AI Networking versions of SIlicon One ASICs and buys another DEM business. HPE Greenlake adds AI LLM. FTC talks bandwidth caps. Google accusing Microsoft of monopolistic behaviour. We laughed.
Jun 19, 2023 • 46min
NB435: Your FUs, VMware takeover, DPU News and Cooling is Toxic
FU, vendors co-operating ? Google ditches something, Quantum computing, the state of AMD DPUs. Finally liquid cooling is toxic due to PFAS are 'forever chemicals'.
Jun 12, 2023 • 1h
Network Break 434: Cisco Licensing To Get Simpler, Bluecat Buys Again, Hashicorp Money Problems, and Itential Pops A Release
Take a Network Break: Drew is on holiday (again) and Ethan shows up. Who knew he was still around ? We start with FU, Cisco Live was underwhelming announcing a new focus simplicity and that customers hate their licensing, Bluecat spends again, Hashicorp gets a financial slapping, Itential ships a new version and Quantum Space Networking.
Jun 5, 2023 • 59min
Network Break 433: NVIDIA Melds Switches, DPUs For AI Networking Fabric; FTC Says Amazon Ring Employee Spied On Female Customers
This week's Network Break discusses a new Google offering to interconnect public clouds, NVIDIA's platform for AI networking fabrics using Ethernet switches and DPUs, and Cisco's latest security acquisition. We also cover Riverbed getting a new private equity owner, Amazon paying a pittance to the FTC to settle allegations of customer privacy violations, and more tech news.
May 30, 2023 • 57min
Network Break 432: DriveNets Aims To Make Ethernet AI-Friendly; China Goes Eye-For-An-Eye With US Over Tech Bans
This week we discuss a new offering from DriveNets that aims to make Ethernet more suitable as a network fabric for AI workloads, why the EU slapped Meta with a $1.3 billion fine, and a new offering from Extreme Networks that lets you manage Extreme gear in the cloud or from on-prem, China banning Micron, and more IT news.
May 22, 2023 • 57min
Network Break 431: Juniper NAC Emerges From The Mist; New Google TLDs Are A Bad Idea
This week's Network Break looks at a new Network Access Control (NAC) offering from Juniper, plus a ChatGPT integration with Juniper's Marvis. Google debuts new Top-Level Domains that have security experts worried, Cisco reports a robust Q3, Broadcom tries to assuage EU regulators about its VMware acquisition, and more tech news.
