The Packet Pushers community blog saw an enormous number of contributions come in during 2012. As the editor, I thank everyone that took the time to write. Writing is a time-consuming task; getting your thoughts down so that they make sense to someone else is hard. That you are are willing to share your knowledge and opinions says much about who you are. Many pieces written here have been springboards for larger conversations, mailing list discussions, study group talks, podcast arguments, and exchanges with vendors. The effort put forth is worthwhile. The networking community is richer for what’s been contributed here, and I hope we’ll see many more contributions in 2013.
This list represents the top 50 blog posts of 2012, as ranked by page views. Some of these pieces might go back to 2011, depending on just how popular they have been. Each category lists the the most popular pieces first. Take a look, and read through some of these great articles you might have missed.
Opinion & Work Life
Four Interview Questions I Have Asked Network Engineering Candidates
The Sad State of Data Center Networking
Virtualizing Network Services, Part 1: the Beginning
Is Burn Out Why IT People Change Jobs So Much?
Successfully Managing Talented Technical People
Why Network Engineers Are Sick of SDN – And What Vendors Can Do About It
Why Becoming a CCIE Doesn’t Fix Being Inexperienced
IT Is Dead. All Hail Systems Engineering!
Brand Inertia: Is Cisco Your Most Trusted IT Partner?
Three Types of Networks – Choosing a Career Path
What SDN Is and Why It Will Fail
Cisco Makes It Harder to Download Bug-Free IOS
Arista Networks Knows Who They Are – Do You?
Does SDN Mean IT Will Be Able to Get Rid of Network People?
Does TRILL Stand a Chance at Wide Adoption?
Security
Cisco ASA 8.3+8.4 Hairpinning NAT Configuration
Understanding When a Cisco ASA NAT Rule Can Override the ASA Routing Table
Welcome to the Dark Side – Configuring Juniper SRX AppFW
SQL*Net (a.k.a Oracle TNS) and Firewalls…
Introducing Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Profiling
Routing / Switching / Ethernet
Cisco Nexus 2000: A Love/Hate Relationship
Cisco Catalyst 3560-X + 3750-X StackPower Overview
Use a Cisco Nexus 5K as a Core Instead of a 7K? Isn’t That…Crazy?
Good Habits for Basic Ethernet Switchport Provisioning in a Cisco IOS Environment
Using Cisco IP SLA to Manipulate Route Forwarding Decisions
Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 2T Technical Highlights – Will Sup2T Stop You From Buying Nexus?
Using BFD to Detect WAN Forwarding Errors
Introduction to Junos – Part 1
Flow Control Storm – IP Storage Performance Effects
Tracing a Layer 2 Path on Cisco Nexus Switches
IPv6
Why Your Network Should Go IPv6 Only
Network Management
Review: HP IMC – Intelligent Management Center
The Importance of Diagrams When Building a Network
Using NETCONF + YANG to Configure Network Devices and Why It Does Not Replace SNMP
Regular Expressions for Network Engineers
Certification
Certified Ethical Hacker V7: Certification Review
JUNOS Logical-System: A Great Way to Learn Junos & Prepare for Certification
CCNP Studies: Configuring HSRP – Part One
CCNP Studies: Configuring DHCP Snooping
Personal Study Tips of a Time-Strained Cert-Seeker
About Ethan Banks
