Welcome to Heavy Networking! On today’s show we’ve got a roundtable conversation on the state of automation in the networking industry. This show was inspired by the recent AutoCon conference, which is a new conference focused specifically on network automation. Ethan Banks and I both attended, as did two our guests, and we’re going share some takeaways and perceptions of the event, and get into issues such as sources of truth, which was a major topic at AutoCon. We also talk about the learning, cultural, and business challenges of network automation–and how to get beyond them. Episode Guests: Claudia de Luna | Advanced Technical Consultant for Networking and Automation, EIA LinkedIn Keith McGlon | Sales Engineer, Juniper Networks LinkedIn Sponsor: Palo Alto Networks Your branch has changed. Your SD-WAN should, too. Join Palo Alto Networks to see how AI/ML is powering next-gen SD-WAN and SASE for the branch. SDxCentral and Palo Alto Networks hosted an exclusive online event that shows how next-gen SD-WAN and SASE can help you modernize and secure your branches. Watch on demand! Show Links: The First Ever Network Automation Conference – AutoCon0 – The Gratuitous ARP (Claudia de Luna) AutoCon Takeaways – Keith McGlon on LinkedIn The Source of Truth Can’t Be The Network Itself – Ethan Banks on LinkedIn You don’t have to keep the lights on if the lights are automated – Ethan Banks on LinkedIn 3 Takeaways From AutoCon0 – Packet Pushers Network Automation Nerds Community Network Automation Learning Community Full Stack Journey 070: A Network Automation Career Journey With Eric Chou – Packet Pushers BiB 088: Mastering Python Networking Third Edition by Eric Chou – Packet Pushers Network Automation Forum