Big thanks to ‪@Cisco‬ for sponsoring this video and sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Amsterdam. 

Will AI replace network engineers in 2026? In this video, I sit down with Joe Vaccaro (VP/GM of Cisco ThousandEyes) to reveal the truth about "Agentic Ops" and how it differs from traditional AIOps. We dive deep into the new "Digital Teammate" concept within ThousandEyes and demo exactly how AI agents can autonomously troubleshoot complex network outages (like DHCP and DNS failures) in seconds.

Instead of taking your job, Joe explains how these agents act as a force multiplier for your career—handling the tedious "mean time to innocence" tasks so you can focus on architecture. If you are worried about the future of the CLI or manual troubleshooting, you need to see this demo.

Key Topics Covered:
• Cisco Agentic Ops Explained: Joe Vaccaro breaks down the shift to autonomous reasoning.
• ThousandEyes Demo: Watch an AI agent diagnose a DHCP failure and suggest the exact fix (subnet expansion).
• Views Explainability: How to troubleshoot "unknown paths" and ISP outages
(like AWS/Azure) automatically.
• Career Survival Guide: Why Cisco believes AI will train the next generation of CCIE-level engineers, not replace them.

//Joe Vaccaro’s SOCIAL //
Cisco Blogs:  https://blogs.cisco.com/author/vaccaroj
LinkedIn:    / joevaccaro  
X:  https://x.com/joevaccaro
X:  https://x.com/thousandeyes
Website:  https://www.thousandeyes.com/

// David's SOCIAL //
Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co
TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal
YouTube: / @davidbombal
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE...
SoundCloud: / davidbombal
Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

// MY STUFF //
 https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal 

// SPONSORS // 
Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com

// MENU //
0:00 - Coming up 
0:42 - Troubleshooting 
02:00 - ThousandEyes Updates 
03:52 - Demo 1
06:50 - Agentic Steps on a network
07:26 - Demo 2 
10:50 - ThousandEyes Outages Page
11:34 - Agents in ThousandEyes 
13:49 - New Demands by AI 
14:14 - Will AI Replace Network Engineers ?
15:15 - Will The Agents Need a Human in the loop?
16:10 - Will This become More Autonomous ?
16:48 - Conclusion & Outro 

Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel! 

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only.
#cisco #ciscolive #ciscoemea

#548: Stop Troubleshooting Manually. Meet Your Digital TEAMMATE

In this episode, we interview Jean Christophe Rode, principal engineer working in the IOS-XR engineering team. He also specalizes in SONIC support. He explains how this open source operating system is gaining ground and what are the difference with Cisco proprietary IOS-XR.
No blue Hedgehogs are mentioned in this episode


Cisco Tech Stories - ep 32 -  Open Source Pizza Boxes in the DC

The bottleneck in AI isn't compute anymore, it's the network. In this video, I sit down with Martin, the architect behind Cisco’s Silicon One, to discuss the massive leap to 100 Terabits per second. We go deep into the silicon level to understand how "intelligent agents" embedded in the hardware are solving the packet loss problem for massive AI training clusters.

We cover the new 1.6T Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO), why Cisco is becoming the "Apple of Networking" by building their own full stack, and why they believe Ethernet has officially won the data center war.

Topics Covered:
• Cisco Silicon One: The architecture behind the 100Tbps & 51.2Tbps chips.
• AI Scale: How to interconnect 128,000 GPUs without stalling.
• Hardware Agents: Real-time traffic rerouting at the silicon level.
• 1.6Tbps Optics: Moving DSPs out of the module to save power (LPO).
• Ethernet vs. InfiniBand: Why standard Ethernet is winning in AI.

Big thank you to ‪@Cisco‬  for sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Amsterdam!

// Martin Lund SOCIALS // 
LinkedIn:    / martinlundca   

// Website REFERENCE // 
https://blogs.cisco.com/sp/cisco-sili... 

// David's SOCIAL //
Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co
TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal
YouTube: / @davidbombal
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE...
SoundCloud: / davidbombal
Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

// MY STUFF // 
https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal  

// SPONSORS //  
Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com 

// MENU // 
0:00 - Coming Up 
01:09 - Intro 
01:42 - Cisco's New Announcement (G200 Chip) 
02:32 - How Many Companies Are Doing This? 
05:02 - Is Cisco The 'Apple' Of Networking? 
07:30 - Intelligent Collective Networking 
08:09 - Who Designed The Chip? 
08:56 - Cisco's New Optical Module 
09:59 - Why Do We Need These Speeds? 
15:46 - Data Center Scale 
16:50 - Cisco Switches 
19:16 - Who Is The Target Audience? 
20:23 - Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) 
22:04 – Conclusion 

Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel!  

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. 
#cisco #ciscolive #ciscoemea


#549: The Apple of Networking? Cisco’s 100T Full Stack (Connects 128,000 GPUs)

In this video, we dive into a real-world Red Team vs. Blue Team scenario. We simulate a cyberattack on a Finance Application that has integrated a new LLM Chatbot. You’ll see firsthand how attackers use Prompt Injection to bypass standard rules, how they move laterally through Kubernetes clusters, and how they attempt to execute Zero Day exploits.

More importantly, we show you how to defend against it. Using Cisco’s Hybrid Mesh Firewall, AI Defense, and Secure Workload, we demonstrate how to:
1. Detect & Block Prompt Injections: safeguarding your LLMs from manipulation.
2. Secure Kubernetes: using micro-segmentation to isolate threats in the cloud.
3. Inspect Encrypted Traffic: utilizing the Encrypted Visibility Engine (EVE) to
spot malware in TLS flows without decryption. 

Whether you are a Network Engineer, Security Analyst, or just interested in how AI is changing the cybersecurity landscape, this demo is packed with practical insights

Big thank you to Cisco for sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Amsterdam. 

// Ant Ducker SOCIALS // 
LinkedIn:    / ant-ducker-0052801   
YouTube channel dCloud:     / @ciscodcloud   

// Website REFERENCE  // 
Cisco Security Cloud control:  https://sign-on.security.cisco.com/ 
Cisco.com:  https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solu... 

// YouTube Video REFERENCE // 
Rick Miles’ video will be linked at a later stage once published. 

/ David's SOCIAL //
Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co
TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal
YouTube: / @davidbombal
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE...
SoundCloud: / davidbombal
Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

// MY STUFF // 
https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal  

// SPONSORS //  
Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com 
 
// MENU // 
0:00 - Coming Up 
01:29 - Intro 
02:20 - Demo Overview 
03:57 - Demo Begins 
09:35 - Adding Guardrails 
11:45 - Secure Workloads 
14:30 - Segmentation Workflow 
18:33 - Overviewing Finance App 
21:02 - Encrypted Visibility Engine 
24:34 - Firewall Obversability and Control 
25:44 - Ant's Advice For The Youth 
26:40 - How to Learn Hybrid Mesh Firewall 
28:16 - Conclusion 

Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel!  

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only.
#cisco #ciscolive  #ciscoemea

#550: Firewall Demo of Red Team vs Blue Team: Hacking Finance Apps with AI Chatbots

Cisco SE Talks: AI in Manufacturing with Sentinel- Episode 8 is LIVE!

In this episode of Cisco SE Talks, we dive deep into the practical applications of AI with many of our manufacturing customers. We’re thrilled to also bring in Bob Keblusek – Chief Innovation and Technology Office at Sentinel and Richard Sonnen, Director of AI Innovation and Matt LeMasters, Cisco SE as we talk through customer pain points and challenges specific to manufacturing and true partnership with Cisco.  
 
As part of the discussion – we also discuss how Cloud with AI can sometime be the easy button, but often comes with Security challenges and ultimate cost restraints. Join us for this jam-packed session – we’re Cisco SEs lead the way! 

Watch the full episode now: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGoNjF93Mxo

Cisco SE Talks: AI in Manufacturing with Sentinel

In the latest episode of the Cisco AI Insights Podcast, hosts Rafael Herrera and Sónia Marques welcome Cisco AI operations engineer James Tidd for a discussion on the world of small language models (SLMs) and the evolution of efficient AI inference. Together, they unravel the complexities behind “Fast Inference from Transformers via Speculative Decoding,” a groundbreaking paper from Google that explores how smaller draft models can speed up large language model predictions while maintaining accuracy.
 
James shares his hands-on experience experimenting with the technique, leveraging knowledge distillation and speculative execution. The trio also discusses the potential of this approach to optimize AI, reduce power consumption and costs, and help businesses of all sizes get more out of existing hardware.

A special thank you to Google’s AI team for developing this month's paper. If you are interested in reading the paper yourself, please visit this link: https://research.google/blog/looking-back-at-speculative-decoding/.

AI Insights – EP.2: Unlocking Cost-Effective AI with Small Language Models

Ian’s out, Carina’s in (for a week) — and somehow 404 is both nicer and more organized?

In this week’s episode, Kat is joined by her best friend in marketing, Carina Barreto for a very real and relatable deep dive into life in field marketing. From partner strategy and demand gen to why events are way more than just catering and a PowerPoint, the two unpack what actually makes a customer say “yes”  — and why experiential marketing is the way.

They also get into the unspoken truth of the role: sales is your best friend (like, 80% of your calendar kind of best friend), the art of saying yes before you earn the right to say no, and how building internal advocates can make or break your success. Along the way, expect tangents on MBA survival, women-focused executive events, and the eternal question of what sounds better than just staying home?

No Ian this week, but don’t worry — Kat and Carina still manage to get their jokes in just like he's there. 

If you like the show, give us a click to keep the funding coming:  id.cisco.com/app/ciscoid_aemcloudprodsaml_1/exk14lk1xf6SKDANc5d7/sso/saml


404 Script Not Found: Field Marketing

Unified Networking Architecture: Find out how X-Haul consolidates fronthaul, midhaul, and backhaul into a single, software-defined transport platform, and enables seamless 5G deployment across diverse topologies. AI-Drive Automation and Optimization: Learn to reduce operational expenses by up to 40% while improving service reliability.  Future-Ready Scalability:  Dive deep into how this technology supports emerging applications requiring ultra-low latency and massive bandwidth. 

Beyond the Fiber - Tech Talk on X-Haul with Waris Sagheer 02182026

In this exclusive interview, Kamal Hathi reveals how the new Cisco Data Fabric and Splunk Machine GPT are unlocking agentic AI for cybersecurity. Discover the future of SOC analysts and network telemetry in 2026!

Big thanks to Cisco for sponsoring this video and sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Amsterdam 2026.

// Kamal Hathi’s’ SOCIAL //
LinkedIn:    / kamal-hathi  

// Website REFERENCE //
https://www.splunk.com/

/ David's SOCIAL //
Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co
TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal
YouTube: / @davidbombal
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE...
SoundCloud: / davidbombal
Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...


// MY STUFF //
https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal 

// SPONSORS // 
Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com

// MENU //
0:00 - Coming up
0:36 - Kamal Hathi introduction and machine gpt update
03:36 - Splunk and machine data
05:47 - Resources to learn Splunk
06:48 - Cisco Time Series Model on Hugging Face
07:50 - Cisco Data Fabric explained
09:37 - Updates in 2026
15:51 - Cisco & Splunk
17:50 - Conclusion

Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel! 

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only.
#cisco #splunk #ciscolive

#559: How Splunk unlocks the Agentic AI transition in 2026

Ian and Kat are back with a "yin and yang" week of personal chaos and professional growth. Kat recounts the harrowing story of her recent hit-and-run—including a very embarrassing realization about her side-view mirror—and shares how she managed to keep her cool (and her work schedule) on track.

Beyond the road drama, Kat dives into her experience at a women’s-only C-suite event, discussing the power of intimate networking, the future of AI in the workplace, and the importance of Cisco showing up in non-traditional spaces. Ian and Kat also get real about the "triangle of life"—balancing fitness, money, and sanity—and why sometimes, you just have to give yourself a break.

Tune in for an episode full of personal anecdotes, leadership insights, and a reminder that even when things (or cars) get hit, the show must go on. 

Since we didn't talk (much) Cisco this week, PLEASE give us a click here: https://id.cisco.com/app/ciscoid_aemcloudprodsaml_1/exk14lk1xf6SKDANc5d7/sso/saml

404 Script Not Found: The Car Crash

The Cisco Podcast Network is a collective of podcasts from across Cisco spanning technology to culture and everything in between. Hear from Cisco customers, partners, and Cisco insiders on the topics that matter most to you. Email us with your feedback and suggestions. Discover your favorite playlists today!

Want to learn about IT? Want to get ahead in your career?  Well, this is the right place! 

On this channel, I discuss Python, Ethical Hacking, Networking, Network Automation, CCNA, Virtualization and other IT related topics.
   
This YouTube channel has new videos every week! Subscribe for technical, detailed, no fluff content.

David’s details:
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/davidbombal 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidbombal 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co 
Website: http://www.davidbombal.com  
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/davidbombal 

All the best!
David

New tracks tagged #Cisco