Network Automagic

About Network Automagic

Learn and discover network automation tooling with Steinn & Urs

Publisher

Steinn Örvar

Category

technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Feb 2025

Latest episode

7 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

11 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Aug 2026

   NA011 - Netlab, ACLs and AI-Generated Configs with Ivan Pepelnjak

   Ivan Pepelnjak joins Steinn and Urs to talk about netlab, why multi-vendor ACLs are a hellscape, and what AI can and cannot do with network configuration. Ivan is a CCIE Emeritus, the author of more Cisco Press books than most of us have read, the voice behind ipSpace.net (https://ipspace.net), and the creator of netlab (https://netlab.tools) — an open source tool that builds and configures virtual labs across roughly twenty platforms. He describes it himself as an "intent based digital twin lifecycle management system", then immediately admits that's a bullshit bingo winner if you have the right card. The conversation digs into why LLMs write decent Python and bad router configs (vendor CLIs are almost identical but not quite, which is the worst possible training data), the ChatGPT doom loop Ivan hit trying to configure EVPN on Nokia SR OS, and the endless device quirks behind multi-vendor abstraction — Juniper loopbacks, Nokia prefix lengths, and one vendor with roughly 400 keywords you are not allowed to use as a VLAN name. Plus: why every layer 3 switch is really a bridge in disguise, why ACLs are containable and QoS never will be, what a real CCIE engagement looks like when you have twenty years of customer mistakes and exactly one command to fix them, and Ivan's controversial opinion on conferences. What we cover What netlab actually is, and the five years behind it Whether netlab is a crutch for beginners Splitting a lab across multiple servers with automatic VXLAN tunnels Netlab vs containerlab and Kubernetes-based labs Why AI generates good Python and bad router configs The ChatGPT doom loop on Nokia SR OS EVPN Cloning production into a lab: control plane works, data plane is a lottery ACL support in netlab, Cartesian products and resequencing AI code review vs AI code — technically correct and five times too long Vibe coders, 1982 edition, on a ZX Spectrum Leaky abstractions and worst common denominators Device quirks: Juniper, Nokia, Cisco, and 400 forbidden VLAN names on EXOS Why every layer 3 switch is a bridge with a router attached ACLs are containable. QoS is not. BGP labs designed like gym machines Why CCIE lab scenarios are so insane — and why they're accurate The power of saying no, and the customer who said thank you Controversial opinion: the hallway track is the only track Links from the episode netlab: netlab.tools (https://netlab.tools) netlab on GitHub: github.com/ipspace/netlab (https://github.com/ipspace/netlab) netlab examples: github.com/ipspace/netlab-examples (https://github.com/ipspace/netlab-examples) Ivan's blog: blog.ipspace.net (https://blog.ipspace.net) Free BGP labs: bgplabs.net (https://bgplabs.net) Free IS-IS labs: isis.bgplabs.net (https://isis.bgplabs.net) Free VXLAN/EVPN labs: evpn.bgplabs.net (https://evpn.bgplabs.net) Batfish: github.com/batfish/batfish (https://github.com/batfish/batfish) Aerleon: github.com/aerleon/aerleon (https://github.com/aerleon/aerleon) Guest Ivan Pepelnjak — ipspace.net (https://ipspace.net) | netlab.tools (https://netlab.tools) Hosted by Steinn "Steinzi" Bjarnarson and Urs Baumann. Subscribe and follow Watch on YouTube: youtu.be/odcwCByRj6g (https://youtu.be/odcwCByRj6g) Channel: youtube.com/@networkautomagic (https://youtube.com/@networkautomagic) Web: networkautomagic.net (https://networkautomagic.net) #networkautomation #networkautomagic #netlab #ipspace #AI #networkengineering

2. 

   26 Apr 2026

   NA010 - The future of Platform Engineering with Stuart Clark

   NA010 - The Future of Platform Engineering with Stuart Clark Hairdresser to CCIE Automation. Cisco DevNet to AWS to Spotify. Stuart Clark joins Steinn and Urs for a wide-ranging conversation on internal developer portals, AI in production, and what 8 years across DevRel actually taught him about driving revenue instead of vanity metrics. The conversation digs into Spotify's Backstage and the new Portal SaaS offering, why IDPs become a "voice to chaos" the moment AI agents start checking in code, what really happened to Cisco DevNet after the leadership changes, and Stuart's signature Ford RS Turbo metaphor for organizations bolting on horsepower without ever upgrading their brakes. Plus: Claude Code knocking 221 broken links to zero in an hour, the AI mania trap and why Stuart signs out of work apps after 6pm, the conference-room reality that 99% of devs use AI but only 2% run it in production, and Stuart's closing hot take on not letting your job define you. What we cover: • Stuart's hairdresser-to-CCIE-Automation career arc • What happened to Cisco DevNet after Susie Wee and Mandy Whaley left • Working faster, not harder, with AI assistants • Setting boundaries in the always-on AI era • DevRel as revenue pipeline, not vanity metrics • Spotify's Backstage and the Portal SaaS offering • Why IDPs are a "voice to chaos" once AI agents are committing code • Skills files, golden paths, and CI/CD • The 99/2 gap between AI use and AI in production • The Ford RS Turbo brakes metaphor for platform engineering • Why a strong fundamentals CCIE still beats chasing every shiny thing • Why AI companies still ask candidates to write Python by hand Guest: Stuart Clark, Senior Developer Advocate at Spotify — linkedin.com/in/stuarteclark Hosted by Steinn "Steinzi" Bjarnarson and Urs Baumann. Subscribe and follow: YouTube: youtube.com/@networkautomagic Spotify: Network AutoMagic Apple Podcasts: Network AutoMagic #networkautomation #networkautomagic #platformengineering #backstage #spotify #devnet #ai #devrel #podcast

3. 

   3 Apr 2026

   NA009 - The Square Table — AI, Hype, and the Future of Network Engineering

   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

4. 

   27 Mar 2026

   NA008 - AI and Automation MCP vs CLI with Calvin Remsburg

   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.

5. 

   23 Mar 2026

   NA007 - Pulumi with Scott Lowe

   Network Automagic episode 007 Scott 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.

6. 

   10 Oct 2025

   NA006 - AI hype with Peter Sprygada

   Peter Sprygada, Chief Architect at Itentia, discusses the current AI hype and its implications for network automation with hosts Urs and Steinzi in an interview.

7. 

   15 Sept 2025

   NA005 - HPE Juniper MIST Automation and the SSR400 launch

   Daniel Petrov and Thomas Munzer from Juniper discuss Juniper's Session Smart Router platform, Mist automation capabilities, and the new SSR 400 series features in an interview with Steinn and Urs.

8. 

   23 Jun 2025

   NA004 - Autocon3 hallway track

   This episode captures conversations from the Autocon3 hallway track, offering insights into the latest network automation trends.

9. 

   10 Apr 2025

   NA003 - NUTS with Marco Martinez

   Network Automagic EP003 - NUTS with Marco Martinez https://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 #NetworkEngineering Subscribe for more network automation content!

10. 

    5 Mar 2025

    Network Automagic 002 - Infrahub with Damien Garros

    🎬 Network Automagic 002 - Infrahub with Damien Garros https://networkautomagic.net/podcast/na002/ (https://networkautomagic.net/podcast/na002/) We sit down and talk about Infrahub from https://www.opsmill.com (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/@networkautomagic (https://www.youtube.com/@networkautomagic) Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2UubY0s1KCJ4ct9srD2yUW?si=e22f5d886e3c4166 (https://open.spotify.com/show/2UubY0s1KCJ4ct9srD2yUW?si=e22f5d886e3c4166) Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/is/podcast/network-automagic/id1796167806 (https://podcasts.apple.com/is/podcast/network-automagic/id1796167806) 🍔 Show notes resources: Infrahub from OpsMill https://www.opsmill.com (https://www.opsmill.com) Infrahub Lab https://opsmill.instruqt.com/pages/labs (https://opsmill.instruqt.com/pages/labs) Infrahub live demo https://demo.infrahub.app (https://demo.infrahub.app/) Infrahub on GitHub https://github.com/opsmill (https://github.com/opsmill) Infrahub install guide https://docs.infrahub.app/guides/installation (https://docs.infrahub.app/guides/installation) Netbox Service mappings https://netboxlabs.com/blog/netbox-service-mappings-tech-preview-design-driven-automation-comes-to-netbox/ (https://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/ (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 automation Don'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

11. 

    13 Feb 2025

    Network Automagic 001 - Temporal with Ryan Shaw

    Network Automagic 001 - Temporal with Ryan Shaw https://networkautomagic.net/podcast/na001/ (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

Who has been a guest on Network Automagic

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Peter Sprygada
• Daniel Petrov
• Thomas Munzer

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,772

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 17 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

5

Social presence

0

YouTube

74

Engagement

0