[ Tech field day ] [ Security ] 5 min read
Fear and Logging in Las Vegas
I'm headed to Tech Field Day Extra at AWS re:Invent to hear what AWS has to say about security, how it compares with Azure, and where the rest of the industry is going.
We help executive teams turn technology into a strategic advantage–driving growth, efficiency, and long-term scalability.
Latest posts
All posts →I Understand Most of the Words I'm Saying: An Introduction to How LLMs Work
An introduction to a six-part series on how large language models work, from a network engineer who understands most of it and a little of the math.
[ Ai and llms ] Introduction 3 min read
Prompting ClaudeMost of What You Know About Prompting Is From 2023
Prompting advice ages faster than the models it was written for, and a lot of what's still online, including my own notes, now backfires. An introduction to a six-part series where the infographics do the heavy lifting.
[ Ai and llms ] Part 1 of 6 2 min read
Prompting ClaudeStop Yelling at the Robot
I used to write prompts the way I wrote change-window emails to the NOC: in capital letters, with the word CRITICAL in them. Eight prompt habits that helped on 2023-era models and backfire on the current ones, on one chart. Part one of six.
Two Strong Oxen or 1,024 Chickens: The Hardware and Network Behind LLM Training
A frontier training run is a networking problem dressed up in a math costume. The industry chose the chickens over the oxen, so how do you get 16,000 of them pulling in the same direction? Part three of six.
What we do
AI & Agentic Systems
Architecture and design for AI, ML, LLM, and agentic systems that solve a specific business problem, scoped to what your data, budget, and people can actually support.
Fractional CTO & Strategic Advisory
Independent guidance for the technology leaders you already have, or part-time leadership until you hire one: a strategy built around your constraints that the business can actually execute.
Audit Preparedness
Getting ready for SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST, and other security and compliance audits, with the policies, documentation, and daily processes in place well before the audit begins.
Infrastructure & Network Consulting
Independent assessment and design for enterprise networks and infrastructure, backed by hands-on experience designing, building, and fixing networks from mid-market to Fortune 100.
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Landscape assessments, vendor evaluations, and market briefings, written for practitioners rather than procurement committees and without the analyst-firm retainer.
Custom Writing
Custom writing projects, from white papers to technical guides, by a long-time member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors with a deep portfolio of published and private work.
From the archive
Browse the archive →[ Networking ] [ Security ] 6 min read
ASA Upgrade to 9.0(2)
“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” Yogi Berra Usually, no matter how much planning, testing, thinking about, or stalling you build in to an upgrade project, the bill …
[ Leadership and career ] [ Networking ] 5 min read
Random Thoughts
Random (and not so deep) Thoughts by Some Clown I haven’t been writing a lot lately, mostly due to a combination of my work and study schedule. I thought, however, that it would be useful to just toss down a few random …
802.1x for Wired Networks (Part 1)
Most of you are probably familiar with the IEEE 802.1x specification, at least in general terms, but are more than likely used to seeing it applied in the context of wireless networks and services. In this multi-part …
[ Everything else ] 1 min read
The Writing Process as Photography
I’m currently working on multiple writing projects, as well as looking forward to beginning a new, different gig tomorrow, so my office is a bit messy. With all the books and studies seeming to point toward messy, …