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Most network engineers know BGP, OSPF, and maybe EIGRP, but far fewer have hands-on experience with ISIS. In this episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Andy Lapteff sits down with Russ White and Mike Bushong for a deep, opinionated, and refreshingly honest discussion about routing protocol design in modern data centers.

We explore why BGP has become the default hammer for every networking nail, what we lose when we blend underlay and overlay into a single protocol, and why some of the largest networks in the world still rely on IS-IS for simplicity, scale, and resilience.

This isn’t a “which protocol is best” argument, it’s a design conversation. One about failure domains, operational reality, education gaps, and why many engineers never learn the protocols that quietly power hyperscale networks.

In this episode:

Why BGP is policy-rich but intentionally slow
The architectural value of separating underlay and overlay
How ISIS works and why it’s simpler than you think
TLVs, scalability, and protocol evolution
Why familiarity often beats good design (for better or worse)
Where RIFT fits and where it doesn’t
The cost of losing deep protocol knowledge as engineers retire

If you’ve ever wondered why networks are designed the way they are, or if you’ve felt uneasy about “just using BGP everywhere,” this conversation is for you.

Subscribe for more conversations where technology meets the human side of IT.

This episode has been sponsored by Meter.

Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now!

You can support the show at the link below.

Support the show

Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

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In this special on-location episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Andy Lapteff sits down in person with Kevin Myers for a conversation that pulls no punches.

Kevin brings decades of service provider and whitebox experience to the table as the two dive deep into one of networking’s most complex decisions: how to choose the right vendor to build your network.

From Cisco to whitebox, from enterprise carpeted IT to hyperscale data centers, this episode is all about designing networks that align with business needs, not just personal bias or legacy choices.

Topics include:
Why vendor selection should come after requirements gathering.
How multi-vendor environments can create both resilience and complexity.
When whitebox networking makes sense—and what kind of teams can support it.
The hidden "operational tax" of expanding your vendor portfolio.
Why understanding the business is the most critical skill for modern engineers.

Whether you're a design engineer, network architect, or just trying to future-proof your ops, this episode is packed with insights that will change how you think about gear, vendors, and the networks we build.

This episode has been sponsored by Meter.

Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now!

You can support the show at the link below.

Support the show

Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng

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Andy sits down with longtime friend William Collins to unpack three big themes shaping modern NetOps.

First: the AWS US-East-1 outage and the myth that “cloud = resiliency by default.” They explore blast radius, hidden regional dependencies, cost trade-offs (active/active vs. DR), and why resiliency is engineered, not purchased.

Next: how public speaking accelerates a technical career (without live-demo heartbreak). William shares practical tactics to craft a memorable talk, lean on story, and handle Q&A.

Finally: a plain-English walkthrough of Model Context Protocol (MCP), why it exists, how it standardizes tool access for LLMs, and what that means for real NetOps workflows.

If you design for failure, want to level up your communication skills, or keep hearing “MCP” and wonder what it actually does, this one’s for you.

This episode has been sponsored by Meter.

Go to meter.com/aone to book a demo now!

You can support the show at the link below.

Support the show

Find everything AONE right here: https://linktr.ee/artofneteng