60% of the time, it's Bot traffic every time
IPv6 vs IPv4 ain't got nothing on this fight
This time migrate DNS from GoDaddy to Cloudflare with no downtime 🕣; optimise your ExpressRoute routing ⚡️; run 10 Gbps without melting your Broadcom SFP 🔥; flat is replacing fat in the AWS Data Centre ☁️; visualise the world with GeoTraceroute 🌎; automate your job and make yourself a better Leader 🦾; bot traffic overtakes human traffic on the Internet 🤖 and how to use LLMs as a Staff Engineer in 2026 🔌. Let’s dive in; ⬇️
Poll 🗳️
Are we covering the NetDevOps and Network Engineering content you want to see? Vote now to shape the Reload in 10 Newsletter to be more relevant to you:
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NetEng 🔧
Migrated Our DNS from GoDaddy to Cloudflare on a Saturday Night - Here’s What Happened and some tips on how you can avoid some of the apex and TTL traps within 💡
Optimal routing with ExpressRoute – Revisited goes deep on Azure ExpressRoute and general approaches to Cloud Interconnect that could apply to any Cloud provider ☁️
10Gb/s Ethernet: switching to a Broadcom SFP+ module if there’s two things that kill SFPs it’s dropping them, heat and snapped LC connectors (ok, that’s three things then…) 🔥
The Whales Left IPv4. The Crowd Took Over shows the move to IPv6 in anger; Public IPv4 address space is no longer the secret retirement plan it once was 👴
DNS Is for People - Not for IT Infrastructure has some controversial thoughts on the use of FQDNs that might actually make sense in Big Corporate and Enterprise 🤔
Understanding Scale-Out, Scale-Up, and Scale-Across Networking is key if you want to get down with AI Network Fabrics and backend vs frontend applications for your GPUs and LLMs 🤖
NFD40: NetAI Deterministic Analysis Enables Automated Problem Resolution gives a compelling demo of AIOps coming for NetOps; hold onto your INC and Jira hats 🧢
How flat is replacing fat in AWS data center networks turns your ideas on Clos vs 3-tier Architectures upside down; in Access Core Network, Distribution is you! 🧑💻
Book Club 📚
AI Networking Cookbook by Eric Chou
Full Stack Network Automation by Shahzad Qadir
DDoS: Understanding Real-Life Attacks and Mitigation Strategies by Stefan Behte
Network Engineer Toolkit - 22 Production Templates for ISP & Data Center Engineers
Training 🎓
🏦 Cisco U CE Credits
💡 Re-certify your CCNA (40 CE Credits) or CCNP (80 CE Credits) with these free Cisco U courses using Continuing Education (CE) credits:
Cisco AI Technical Practitioner (AITECH)
(Course, 8 CE Credits, 15h 30m)Cisco AI Business Practitioner (AIBIZ)
(Course, 8 CE Credits, 16h 30m)Understanding Cisco Network Automation Essentials (DEVNAE)
(Course, 16 CE Credits, 29h)Advanced Automation with Cisco Modeling Labs (CMLAPI)
(Course, 8 CE Credits, 8h)Introduction to Network Simulations with Cisco Modeling Labs (CMLLAB)
(Course, 6 CE Credits, 8h 30m)Administering Cisco Modeling Labs (CMLADM)
(Course, 5 CE Credits, 4h 30m)Designing Cisco Security Infrastructure (SDSI)
(Course, 41 CE Credits, 41h)
🪚 Tools
GeoTraceroute
(Internet, IXP, Traceroute)obra Superpowers
(AI, Skills, Coding)Clipy
(Screen Recorder, AI)WiFi Analyser
(Wireless, Online, PCAP)ChromeOS Connectivity Diagnostics
(Internet, SpeedTest, Browser Tools)
🎓 Learning
BGP Basics
(Video, 30 mins, BGP)How to Deploy the NetBox Diode Server
(Video, 15 mins, NetBox)
Hiring 💼
📢 The Reload in 10 Jobs Board is here 🥳, with a hand-picked selection of awesome Network Engineering, NetDevOps and Network Automation jobs.
It’s also free to list a job if you’re hiring and want to let us know 👂
🔥 (just some of) This week’s Hot Hirings
🇺🇸 Field Automation Engineer @ OpsMill, USA, Remote
🇦🇺 Senior Network Engineer @ Intercontinental Exchange, Australia, Southbank
🇫🇷 Network Engineer @ Datadog, France, Paris
🇵🇱 Network Engineer Intern @ Accenture, Poland, Warsaw
🇬🇧 Senior Network Engineer @ TGR Haas F1 Team, UK, Banbury
🇬🇧 Network Automation Solution Architect @ Barclays, UK, London
🇺🇸 Senior Network Engineer @ Disney, USA, New York, NY
…and over 150 more jobs at the Reload in 10 Network Engineer Jobs Board
NotEng 🤔
I automated my job (and it made me a better leader) gives food for thought in using AI for the true “productivity” hack that is hacking your own brain to not do work procrastination stuff all the time (ouch, we feel seen…) 🍅
How Bain Turned Vibecoding Into a Build vs Buy Weapon isn’t an angle we expected; VCs can vibe code your Startup or Company to see if they like the cut of your jib before buying you out, vibe before you drive? 😎
Here We Go Again has the infamous Andy Lapteff draw a great analogy to what was happening with Network Engineers and Automation to Network Engineers and AI, same same, but a different hit 🥊
‘Bots have now passed human traffic online,’ Cloudflare boss laments - says agentic traffic wasn’t expected to eclipse real people until next year and finds a takeover curve that’s actually way faster than IPv4 vs IPv6 browser share, and a tad more scary 👻
How I use LLMs as a staff engineer in 2026 is both full of great tips and concerning how quickly things are evolving since the same post from a year or so back 📈
Using netlab to Argue with Vendor TAC is exactly why you want a Digital Twin - never mind assuring Production works, assure your sanity when dealing with a sh!tty TAC Engineer 👌
Pytest for Automated Network Testing (I) goes in depth, with examples, to applying the popular framework and general Unit Testing approach to Network Engineering, including the immediate payback this brings 💰
21 Tips to Give Effective Employee Feedback missed out Tip 22 - “Don’t” and Tip 23 “Hammer away at Copilot until you realise you’re have to write it yourself” 🦾
Events 📅
🤜 Meet-ups
NetLdn, London, Monthly, Every 2nd Thursday
NetMcr, Manchester, Every Monthly, 2nd Thursday
NetBCN, Barcelona, See schedule
NLNAM, Utrecht, 9 September 2026
CPH Network Meetup, Copenhagen, 2 October 2026
📢 Conferences
🎩 Hat-tip to the wonderful Pete Crocker @ OpsMill for the help
NetUK 3, London, 6 - 7 July 2026
MWPS 2026, Des Moines, 8 July 2026
IETF 126, Vienna, 18 - 24 July 2026
AusNOG 2026, Brisbane, 3 - 4 September 2026
NLNOG Day 2026, Hilversum, 4 September 2026
Connected Britain, London, 9 - 10 September 2026
BCIX Roundtable Summer, Berlin, 10 September 2026
European Peering Forum 2026, Paris, 14 September 2026
INEX 30th Anniversary, Dublin, 17 September 2026
BalticNOG 2026, Riga, 23 - 24 September 2026
HUNOG 4, Hungary, 30 September - 1 October 2026
Netnod Tech Meeting 2026, Stockholm, 6 October 2026
NANOG 98, Miami, 19 - 21 October 2026
ARIN 58, Miami, 22 - 23 October 2026
RIPE 93, Sofia, 26 - 30 October 2026
AI Networking Summit, New York, 28 - 29 October 2026
OARC 47, Vancouver, 9 - 10 November 2026
Salotto 2026, Milan, 11 - 12 November 2026
Cisco Live APJC, Melbourne, 9 - 12 November 2026
IETF 127, San Francisco, 14 - 20 November 2026
DENOG18, Essen, 15 - 17 November 2026
AutoCon 6, Tucson, 16 - 20 November 2026
Luxembourg Internet Days, Luxembourg, 17 - 18 November 2026
Industry 🏭
NetBox Labs Announces Infrastructure Intelligence Platform With New Capabilities Spanning Entire Network and Infrastructure Lifecycle and we’re very interested in the NDX marketplace and MCP capabilities coming 😲
Nornir has found a long-term home at OpsMill and we’re chuffed it’s going to a bunch of people who will actually care and improve it 💪
Data centre planned for Microsoft’s UK HQ and you’re not going to believe what town beginning with the letter “S” it’s actually not in, for a change; ow! (oh right, that rhymes with Slo…) 😄
A16z and Netris Get the SDN Band Back Together because Software Defined Networking is cool again at last, dust of the OpenFlow and P4 books, it’s time… ⚡️
That’s all for this week, but if you have any tip-offs, blogs, events or job posts you’d like us to feature then please feel free to let us know at newsletter@reloadin.net 📮 and we’ll see if we can add them in 💬.