Radia Perlman: You’re Solving the Wrong Problem

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What if the biggest problem in networking is that we’re solving the wrong one?

In this episode of The Art of Network Engineering, Andy and Lexie sit down with Radia Perlman, one of the most influential figures in networking history and the inventor of Spanning Tree Protocol.

This conversation goes far beyond protocols and configurations. Radia shares how networking evolved, through constraints, tradeoffs, and human decisions, and why so much of what we learn today is incomplete without understanding the problems those technologies were trying to solve.

You’ll hear:

•  Why Ethernet was never designed to be used the way we use it today 
•  How Spanning Tree came to be, and why it wasn’t meant to be permanent 
•  The blurred lines between Layer 2 and Layer 3 
•  The real reason BGP exists (and its limitations) 
•  Why engineers often jump into solutions before understanding the problem 
•  What people get wrong about quantum computing and AI 

This is one of those conversations that doesn’t just teach you what networking is, it changes how you think about it.

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The Art of Network Engineering explores the human side of IT—real stories, real lessons, and practical insights from people shaping the industry.

This episode has been sponsored by Meter. 

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