PODCAST · technology
The Hedge
by Russ White
culture eats technology for breakfast
Episodes
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Best of the Hedge: 17, Programming Skills for Network Engineers
Network engineers do not need to become full-time coders to succeed–but some coding skills are really useful. In this episode of the Hedge, David Barrosso (you can find David’s github repositories here), Phill Simonds, and Russ White discuss which programming skills are useful for network...
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Hedge 322: AI Crash
Just about everyone is watching the financial markets, either wondering how much better they can get, or when the AI financing bubble is going to crash. Dough Dawson, from POTs and PANs, joins Tom and Russ to talk about the logic of a coming crash, and consider where engineers should be looking…
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Hedge 321: Sockets
There are many “unsung technologies” in the Internet. While we often think of TCP/IP, various models, Ethernet, and DNS, we don’t often think about the lowly socket interface. What is the history of the socket, and why is it important in the world of the Internet? George Michaelson joins Colin...
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Hedge 320: Service Consolidation
Over time, services like DNS and email have been centralized, leaving the Internet itself much more centralized. In this episode of the Hedge, Doug Jacobson joins Tom Ammon and Russ White to discuss centralization and service consolidation....
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Hedge 319: Using AI
AI is everywhere. While there are many questions about whether AI is a bubble, the ethics of AI, and the cultural impact of AI, in this episode of the Hedge Mike Bushong joins Eyvonne, Tom, and Russ to talk about how network engineers can use AI. Are some use cases better than others? Are there...
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Hedge 318: Parkinson’s Law (and Bastiat)
It’s time for Eyvonne, Tom, and Russ to gather round the hedge and talk about various items of interest. In this roundtable, we consider what we can learn about product development from Bastiat, and the various ins and outs of Parkinson’s Law....
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Hedge 317: AI Tools and Coding
How effective are AI tools–even agentic AI tools placed into a system–at building and testing software? Derick Winkworth and Donald Sharp Join Russ to discuss various projects they’ve worked on using AI tools, lessons they’ve learned, and how developers can make effective use of AI....
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Hedge 316: AI Governance
Deploying AI for AI Ops, or even just for general use in your network, is very simple–but we often forget that these kinds of new technologies need to be governed. From privacy through cost, operators need to decide how to govern their AI deployments to control costs, ensure accuracy, measure...
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Hedge Classics 17: Strong Opinions Loosely Held
Strong opinions loosely held? This is probably not as good of an idea as it seems. Instead of producing confidence, it might produce overconfidence. Michael Natkin joins Tom and Russ to discuss the problems with this mantra. https://media.blubrry.com/hedge/content.blubrry.com/hedge/hedge-017.mp3...
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Hedge 315: Engineering Psychology
We often talk about “human infrastructure” in network engineering–but what does this mean, and how do we help engineers “produce” while helping them to flourish as individuals? Catherine Hicks joins Tom and Russ to discuss the psychology of software engineering, and how the lessons learned apply…
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Hedge 314: Questions from a New Engineer
Sometimes we can be so focused on the problems in front of us that we forget the people who are following in our footsteps. Michael McCollum, a new network engineer, joins Tom and Russ to ask questions about life as a network engineer.
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Hedge 313: Out of Band Management Networks
Most designers and operators default to carrying all traffic--including network management traffic--across the same paths as application data, or in band. Is this the right choice, or should operators seriously consider creating an out-of-band network just for network management? If you decide to...
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Hedge 312: Keys and DNS
The entire technology world has, for decades, treated the IP address as a shorthand host identifier. This is clearly not the way IP was designed, but what are our other choices? In this episode of the Hedge, Scott Robohn joins Russ And Tom to discuss a recent paper arguing cryptographic keys…
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Hedge 311: The Dangers of AI
We are often told that if engineers who don't go "all in" on AI will be left behind. While there are a few voices who argue that AI can be a dangerous tool, impacting not only the quality of our work, but the very quality of our thinking skills. Doug Smith, a critic of using AI for engineering,...
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Hedge 310: AI Ops
What is AI Ops, and how can it be useful for your network? Akshay Balaganur and Sushanth Mascaren join Tom and Russ to discuss various aspects of AI Ops.
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Hedge 309: DNS Persist
As DNS is more widely used to distribute certificate information, proving ownership of a resource becomes more critical. The constant challenges required to prove resource ownership, however, increase delay in connecting or using a resource. DNS persists--as the name implies--creates a persistent...
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Hedge 308: Hidden Competence
We all talk about how engineers deal with imposter syndrome--but we don't often talk about the experience of making things work "in the background." What is competence, and what do we do when competence isn't recognized? Justin Wilson (j2sw) joins Russ and Tom to discuss....
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Best of the Hedge: Episode 15, Supporting Open Source
Many companies rely on open source, regardless of whether or not they realize it. In this best of the Hedge episode, Alistair Woodman joins Russ White and Tom Ammon to talk about not only why you should support the open source projects you use, but how you can....
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Hedge 307: bgproutes.io
If you advertise routes into the default free zone (or global Internet), you might struggle with seeing and understanding what they look like "on the other side." While there are many manual tools to help operators with this process, bgproutes.io gives you visibility in the global routing table...
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Hedge 306: RPKI Transport
Synchronizing information across the Internet, at an initial glance, looks like a fairly simple problem to solve. Just copy a file to a host and create a magic protocol, right? Not really. Each kind of data has a fairly unique set of requirements--and RPKI data, used to provide security…
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Hedge 305: From Security to Networking
We don't often hear the stories of those who move from some other IT career field into network engineering. Ayush Mishra, a student at University of Colorado Boulder, joins Tom and Russ to discuss why he moved from security to network engineering.
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Hedge 304: Deep Dive into a Network Master’s Program
If you've ever been curious about what an advanced degree in network engineering looks like, you'll want to join us for this episode of the Hedge. Levi Perigo from the University of Colorado at Boulder joins Tom and Russ to talk through what earning a Master's in Networking involves and what…
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Hedge 303: Data Centers?
In this roundtable episode of the Hedge, Eyvonne, Tom, and Russ hang out and talk about data centers--why are we building all these things again? Our second topic is the FCC's ban on non-US made home routers. Was this the right thing to do? Was it the wrong thing to do? Were there any other…
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Hedge 302: Communications in Biological Systems
What does biology have to do with computer networks? Much more than you might think. Communications systems, after all, need to solve the same problems--and they often use the same kinds of tools. In this episode of the Hedge, Emily Reeves and Joe Deweese join Russ and Tom to talk about a recent...
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Best of the Hedge: Episode 30, Network Fundamentals
What are networking fundamentals, and why are they important? Join us for this repost of a classic Hedge discussion with Ethan, Eyvonne, Tom, and Russ.
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Hedge 301: SONiC
What's the deal with SONiC? Is it easy to build and use, or hard? Is it something you should be looking at? Jeff Doyle joins Russ and Tom to look at the SONiC operating system, ecosystem, and deployment.
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Hedge 300: Solving Injection Attacks
It's episode 300, and it's roundtable time. In this episode, Tom, Eyvonne, and Russ talk about how systems can be designed to prevent injection attacks, and then the perennial unpleasantness of layoffs.
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Hedge 299: 6G
As we discussed in the prior episode, the 6G hype is building. What's in 6G, though, and how realistic is it that a new wireless technology is going to radically change the world? In this episode of the Hedge, George Michaelson joins us from Australia to discuss the ins and outs of 6G.
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Hedge 298: The 6G Hype Begins
It's 2026, and it's time for a new cellular telephone hype cycle: 6G! Doug Dawson from CCG joins Russ and Tom to talk about why 5G is really 4.5G, the proposed changes for 6G, and the challenges higher frequency ranges and bandwidths face in the real world. It's definitely worth following Doug's...
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Hedge 297: MPLS
Has MPLS really "died" because of SD-WAN services? Scott Robohon joins Tom and Russ to talk about the past and future of MPLS.
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Hedge 296: AS-SETs
AS-SETs (not that kind) were originally designed to simplify filtering at eBGP peering points--but they seem to have gone horribly wrong. Job Snijders and Doug Madory join Tom and Russ to discuss the history, use, problems, and (hopeful) demise of AS-SETs.
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Hedge 295: Specialization
Should network engineers focus on specializing in one technology, vendor, or solution, or should they think about building a diverse skill set? Eyvonne, Tom, and Russ discuss the advantages of each, how these options relate to the future of network engineering, and skill diversification.
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Hedge 294: Resource Constrained Environments
The future of network design and architecture is--based on current trends--is going to be working with and around resource constraints. How would resource constraints impact the way we design and manage networks? Mike Bushong joins Tom, Eyvonne, and Russ to ponder network engineering in a…
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Hedge 293: Moore’s Law
Is there an interaction between Moore's Law and network computing? If so, what is the relationship? How do advances in silicon capabilities and network speeds and feeds rely and drive one another. Geoff Huston joins Russ on this episode of the Hedge to look at a bit of the history.
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Hedge 292: Data Center Costs
The cost of building and maintaining a data center is rising rapidly--and not just in financial terms. George Michaelson joins Tom and Russ to discuss the wider costs of data centers.
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Best of the Hedge 9: Ethics in IT
Nash King (@gammacapricorni) joins Russ White and Tom Ammon in a wide ranging discussion of ethics in IT, including being comfortable with standing up and saying “no” when asked to do something you consider unethical and the virtue ethic.
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Hedge 291: The Assault on Standards
As the Internet centralizes and gets "big," standards are often being sidelined or consumed. What are the possible results of abandoning standards? Is there anything "normal network engineers" can do about it?
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Hedge 290: The Amoeba and the Mathematician
In this Hedge roundtable, Eyvonne, Tom, and Russ discuss The Amoeba and the Mathematician
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Best of the Hedge: Hedge 6 on DoH (Part 2)
In this episode of the Hedge, Geoff Huston joins Tom Ammon and Russ White to finish the discussion on the ideas behind DNS over HTTPS (DoH), and to consider the implications of its widespread adoption. Is it time to bow to our new overlords?
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Best of the Hedge: Episode 5 on DoH (Part 1)
In this episode of the Hedge, Geoff Huston joins Tom Ammon and Russ White to discuss the ideas behind DNS over HTTPS (DoH), and to consider the implications of its widespread adoption. Is it time to bow to our new overlords?
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Hedge 289: Containerlab
If you are struggling with building labs on lighter weight systems--or if you're just interested in what Containerlab is and does--join Rick, Roman, and Russ for this discussion of what Containerlab is, what it does, and where its going.
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Hedge 288: Loneliness
Sometimes we just like to talk about "life issues" as they relate to network engineering and technology career fields. Loneliness seems to especially plague network engineering and other "small" IT fields, where communities are small, change is rapid, and stress is high. Loneliness expert Lucy…
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Hedge 287: IPv6 in Planned Economies
Do planned economies, like China, have an advantage in deploying IPv6? What do the numbers on the DFZ show? George Michaelson joins Russ and Tom to discuss.
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Hedge 286: Roundtable
It's time again for Tom, Eyvonne, and Russ to talk about current articles they've run across in their day-to-day reading. This time we talk about WiFi in the home, how often users think a global problem is really local, and why providers have a hard time supporting individual homes and…
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Hedge 285: Post Quantum Crypto
Is quantum really an immediate and dangerous threat to current cryptography systems, or are we pushing to hastily adopt new technologies we won't necessarily need for a few more years? Should we allow the quantum pie to bake a few more years before slicing a piece and digging in? George…
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Hedge 284: Netops and Corporate Culture
We all know netops, NRE, and devops can increase productivity, increase Mean Time Between Mistakes (MTBM), and decrease MTTR--but how do we deploy and use these tools? We often think of the technical hurdles you face in their deployment, but most of the blockers are actually cultural. Chris...
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Hedge 283: Technical Planning
We network engineers often find ourselves without a viable plan--our plans always seem to go awry, to the point that many network engineers just give up on planning. Is "giving up" the right solution? Or can we learn to be better planners? Jonathan Adams and Tim McConnaughy join Russ to…
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Hedge 282: Future of Operations
On this episode of the Hedge, Anil Varanasi joins Russ to talk about the complexities of network operations and what Meter is doing in this space. note: even though this is a more product-heavy episode of the Hedge than usual, it is not sponsored
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Hedge 281: Blockchain
What is the relationship between blockchain technologies and network engineering? Is blockchain "just another application," or are there implications for naming, performance, and connectivity? Austin Federa joins Tom and Russ to discuss the intersection of blockchain and networks.
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Hedge 280: Networking Careers
When you think of careers in network engineering, you probably think of being a console jockey, racking and stacking and configuring boxes. There is, however, much larger than just these things. Ethan Banks joins Eyvonne and Russ to talk about the broader world of careers in network engineering.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Hedge have?
The Hedge currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Hedge about?
culture eats technology for breakfast
How often does The Hedge release new episodes?
The Hedge has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Hedge?
You can listen to The Hedge on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Hedge?
The Hedge is created and hosted by Russ White.
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