Tessera
Folgen

PackITForwarding.com

@ntwrk80.bsky.social

83 Posts163 Follower253 Folgt
PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · last wk.

Cyber conferences aren't just in Vegas. I spent this week at the National Cyber Summit in Huntsville, AL, the Rocket City. Takeaways: quantum could break RSA sooner than you think, AI agents are escaping their sandboxes, and yes, private-sector folks should go. #CyberSecurity #PQC #AI

Cotton… and Rockets? – National Cyber Summit 2026

Cybersecurity conferences aren't just for Vegas. Here are my takeaways from the National Cyber Summit in Huntsville, Alabama: quantum computing's threat to RSA, why post-quantum cryptography can't wait, AI agents escaping their sandbox, and whether private-sector security pros should attend.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 2w ago

Picture me on a ladder with a hand mirror and a phone, trying to scan a QR code on the back of a floodlight camera. My new Eufy NVR setup was flawless until I added one wireless camera. The fix wasn't on the camera at all. It was one setting on my Eero. #wifi #networking #smarthome

Review and a Rant on the Eufy S4 NVR

My Eufy S4 NVR and its PoE cameras went in without a hitch. My wireless floodlight camera did not. After a ladder, a hand mirror, a pile of resets, and plenty of cussing, the fix turned out to be one Eero setting. Here's what happened and what Eufy should fix.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 2w ago

HopMatrix still has more tricks up its sleeves. Today I'll talk about how it can serve as an iPerf server and/or client for performance testing. #hopmatrix #ciscochampion #networking

HopMatrix – Throughput Testing

iPerf, the tool of choice for throughput testing. Unfortunately, getting it onto Windows devices has always been a bit of a Google crapshoot. Which mirror is legit and which is a trojan horse. This is where our new favorite tool HopMatrix shines. All versions of HopMatrix, whether it be on macOS, Windows x64, Windows ARM, or Linux, have a built-in iPerf3 client and server.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 4w ago

Upgrades and outages end with the same question: is everything back up? HopMatrix monitors a whole list of hosts in parallel — paste a CSV, a comma-separated list, or a CIDR block, then strip it down to what's actually alive. Free, no signup.

HopMatrix – Is It Up?

Need to prove a list of hosts was up before a change — and back up after? HopMatrix's Monitor mode takes a CSV, a comma-separated list, or a whole CIDR block, then prunes it down to what's actually alive.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · last mo.

Every engineer knows the 2 AM jump box problem: no tools, no install rights, and a path you can't see. HopMatrix is one portable EXE — continuous visual traceroute, per-hop latency graphs, AS mapping, hop-by-hop MTU discovery. Free.

Now Introducing… HopMatrix!.

Every network engineer knows the 2 AM problem: you're on a customer jump box, you can't install anything, and the tools you do have won't show you what's actually happening. HopMatrix is one portable executable that answers it — continuous visual traceroute with per-hop latency and loss graphs, autonomous system mapping, a time slider to replay intermittent issues, and hop-by-hop path MTU discovery. Here's a first look, plus two real cases where it found what packet captures alone couldn't.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Twelve observability tools. One outage. Zero shared truth. The single pane of glass was always the wrong target. We needed a shared data layer underneath the panes, not another pane on top. #nfd40

Twelve Tools, One Outage, Zero Shared Truth: The Real Cost of the Dashboard Spiral

Twelve observability tools, one outage, zero shared truth. Why the single pane of glass keeps failing and what to fight for instead. From Network Field Day.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Your switch config backups are telling on you. If you need them to rebuild, your "source of truth" isn't. A takeaway from Networking Field Day 40 that applies whether you run 30 switches or 3,000. #nfd40

Your Switch Config Backups Are Telling On You

At Networking Field Day 40, Alex Saroyan from Netris illustrated how their AI clusters automate networks without the need for config backups. The discussion revealed a common issue: many networks rely on outdated backup practices, treating running configs as the primary truth. A shift towards documenting intent can enhance network management.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Sometimes you just have to ask and see if something is possible. Today I did that with Claude and my 3D printer. With no CAD skills of my own, I was able to to make something possible.

AI Enabling My 3D Printer

Like many geeks, I have a 3D printer, and I use it to print things that I find online. Before now, I had only done small modifications to STL files that I found online. I have had two occasions to take my 3D printer usage to a new level. The first was to create an accessory to my new bidet seat.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Every network vendor has an "AI-powered" story right now. Most of them are 10% of the actual solution. I broke down what the other 90% looks like after watching Aviz Networks demo their AI NOC platform at Network Field Day. #NFD #Networking #NetOps #AI

AI, More Than a Bolt On Solution for Networking

The post critiques the marketing use of "AI-powered" in network tools, highlighting the gap between flashy demos and real enterprise needs. It emphasizes the importance of multi-source data integration, on-premises hosting, and robust role-based access. Genuine AI solutions must address complexities beyond simple Q&A interfaces to be effective in real environments.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Silicon and network OS are decoupling at the high end. Cisco's SONiC support on Silicon One is the latest sign. You're probably not switching, but the question to ask your next vendor just changed. #nfd #ciscochampion

Silicon One Everywhere, SONiC On Top: A Cisco Pitch I Wasn’t Expecting

Cisco is now the third-largest contributor to the SONiC project, following Microsoft and NVIDIA. This shift indicates a change in its strategy, as Cisco promotes both NXOS and SONiC on its Silicon One hardware. While NXOS remains preferred for traditional networks, Cisco's SONiC support reflects evolving market demands and competitive methodologies.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Mind the Gap: How MSPs Can Use Lightyear to Own the Telecom Lifecycle I'm sitting in the audience at Network Field Day watching Dennis Thankachan and Ryan Schrack from Lightyear demo what they call a "telecom operating system," and my brain is doing that thing it does where it stops listening to…

Mind the Gap: How MSPs Can Use Lightyear to Own the Telecom Lifecycle

I'm sitting in the audience at Network Field Day watching Dennis Thankachan and Ryan Schrack from Lightyear demo what they call a "telecom operating system," and my brain is doing that thing it does where it stops listening to the presenter and starts thinking about my customers. Lightyear is pitching to enterprises, Fortune 500s, big-name logos. And I get it, that's where the big contracts are.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 6mo ago

New post up on Pack IT Forwarding about why AIOps fatigue is real, what "deterministic root cause" actually means in plain English, and the questions you should be asking before you buy the next shiny thing. #NFD40 #AIOps #NetworkEngineering

AIOps Fatigue Is Real, And It’s Your Vendor’s Fault, Not Yours

Mike Hoffman has been doing this longer than most of us. His first network troubleshooting tool was an oscilloscope on thick coax, shooting down the cable and picking up a 50 ohm resistor looking for the little bleeps from vampire taps. His next tool was the first-generation Network General LAN Doctor. A briefcase with an RS-232 cable where he read binary blink patterns to figure out what was going on.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Vendors publish "validated designs" and let them collect digital dust. Nokia's NVD program has a 4-year support lifecycle, yearly updates, and a public GitHub repo with testable simulations. It raises the bar on what "validated" should actually mean. #nfd40

Try Before You Buy: Nokia Is Taking Validated Designs Seriously (And That’s Rarer Than You Think)

Vendors publish "validated designs" and let them rot. Nokia is doing something different — and the four-year support commitment is the part worth paying attention to.

packitforwarding.com

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Ok I know I have some smart people out here and even some electricians. I have a TP-Link Kasa HS-220 dimmable smart switch. I just put in a new ceiling fan (separate switch for fan and light kit). How do I figure out that a bulb is TRIAC dimmable?

PackITForwarding.com@ntwrk80.bsky.social · last yr.

Trying to setup a new phone account has turned into an all afternoon process because I dared put a fraud alert on my credit report thanks to the lovely hackers that have gotten my information multiple times from multiple companies in the last 5 years. Somehow there has to be a better way to be safe.