Ethan Banks
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ecbanks.bsky.social
Ethan Banks
@ecbanks.bsky.social
Founder of Packet Pushers--podcasts for IT ppl. (NH)NUG organizer. Recovering CCIE #20655. Co-host of the Heavy Networking, Tech Bytes & N Is For Networking pods.

https://linktr.ee/ecbanks

Your network is not a democracy. Rig every election.
The next New Hampshire Networking User Group (NH)NUG is happening on April 16, 2025 in Manchester. Venue TBD, but probably Stark Brewing.

CFP! We want to mix up format with lightning talks. You got ~15 minutes to share something? LMK!
January 15, 2025 at 3:42 PM
With the advent of AI doing ever-deeper analysis of network traffic and providing actionable insights, do network engineers need to do packet analysis anymore? This & more are discussed by me and Chris Greer in this episode of Heavy Networking.
HN763: You Too Can Say ‘Yes’ to Packet Analysis
Packet capture and packet analysis is incredibly useful for problem-solving and troubleshooting. Analyzing packets is also a difficult skill to master. With the incredible array of network troubleshooting tools at our disposal, including emerging netwo...
packetpushers.net
January 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
In this week's N Is For Networking (a podcast for new networkers), we discuss the default gateway. How does a host know when a destination is local & when it needs a gateway to forward traffic on instead? We keep the answer simple without dumbing it down.
N4N008: What Is a Default Gateway?
Today’s topic is the default gateway, essential for routing traffic between networks. We explain its purpose, configuration, and the consequences of incorrect settings. Using home networks as an example, Ethan and Holly illustrate how default gateways ...
packetpushers.net
January 10, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Spent my afternoon working on a lab environment that will be a foundation for YouTube content. It's a mix of an Ubuntu server I'm running Ivan Pepelnjak's netlab on, plus a couple of older physical switches and routers I picked up cheap on eBay. 3560X-24 + 4948 switches, 2951 + ISR4321 routers.
December 16, 2024 at 11:54 PM
A friend of mine at a company I think highly of is hiring for a developer evangelist role. The right person (you?) is excellent in a public-facing role and deeply knowledgable about network automation. If you’d like to know more, DM me. The role is not being publicly advertised.
December 13, 2024 at 4:12 PM
Hey, VMware Fusion & Workstation users. So, it's free now. Are you still using it, or have you moved on, because Broadcom?

If you've moved on, what are you using instead, and what's your use case?

blogs.vmware.com/cloud-founda...
VMware Fusion and Workstation are Now Free for All Users
These powerful desktop hypervisor products are free to all users - commercial, educational, & personal users alike!
blogs.vmware.com
November 12, 2024 at 7:30 PM
I wrote a thing. For saying so little, I'm not sure why it took several hours of fussy editing before I finally hit publish and sent it into the void.

packetpushers.net/blog/the-pro...
The Problem With Network Automation Certifications
As I’ve reviewed network automation certs, I find that they are teaching products and techniques specific to a vendor ecosystem or tool environment. There's nothing wrong with those certs. You'll lear...
packetpushers.net
November 4, 2024 at 9:36 PM
When Uncle Tim releases the M4 MBPs today, I'm thinking of a 16" M4 Max. I'm currently rocking an M1 Pro. I don't *need* a Max. I rarely do video rendering. Not much of a gamer these days. But from what I'm reading, the battery hit isn't that bad.

Anyone with a 16" Max got a comment on battery?
October 30, 2024 at 1:19 PM