Building and Monitoring a Home Lab

Roadmap to Self-Driving Networks

You can't automate what you can't observe. In this episode of Signal Over Noise, Sara sits down with Alex Degitz (ElastiFlow) and Kyle Baxter (HPE) to discuss the unique observability challenges inherent in AI-driven infrastructures. We explore why traditional monitoring falls short and the key milestones we must achieve before we get to self-driving networks. Resources from ElastiFlow: - 1 year of ElastiFlow (free trial) [https://www.elastiflow.com/basic-license] - https://www.elastiflow.com/blog/posts/automate-your-network-alerts-a-step-by-step-elastiflow-and-slack-tutorial [https://www.elastiflow.com/blog/posts/automate-your-network-alerts-a-step-by-step-elastiflow-and-slack-tutorial] - https://www.elastiflow.com/blog/posts/sampled-data-is-sabotaging-your-automation [https://www.elastiflow.com/blog/posts/sampled-data-is-sabotaging-your-automation] Resources from HPE: - https://www.hpe.com/us/en/what-is/self-driving-network.html [https://www.hpe.com/us/en/what-is/self-driving-network.html] - https://www.hpe.com/us/en/newsroom/press-release/2026/05/hpe-moves-self-driving-networks-from-vision-to-reality-with-autonomous-networking-capabilities.html [https://www.hpe.com/us/en/newsroom/press-release/2026/05/hpe-moves-self-driving-networks-from-vision-to-reality-with-autonomous-networking-capabilities.html] - https://community.hpe.com/t5/networking/hpe-juniper-networking-leading-the-charge-to-self-driving-data/ba-p/7262258 [https://community.hpe.com/t5/networking/hpe-juniper-networking-leading-the-charge-to-self-driving-data/ba-p/7262258]

Staying Up To Date

In this episode, we’re learning about learning. In a space that is constantly evolving, how do you stay up to date? Sara invites 3 of ElastiFlow’s software engineers to talk about their favorite sources for information and how they’re working to strike a balance when overconsumption can seem so tempting. We also discuss the importance of fostering a default to open culture and knowledge sharing.  * What helps inform our architectural decisions * RSS feeds - don’t call it a comeback  * The importance of community - virtual and IRL * Our favorite tool to hoard research papers Resources * Journal Club on YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3JPT4F31T1lxpO-bWlZDBrgSpmLXBzPU&si=UaijpGAiFLDKue-z] * Check out the ElastiFlow blog [https://www.elastiflow.com/blog] * Learn more about Mermin [https://docs.mermin.dev/] * Web AI Wednesdays [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/elisabethjoyashley_weve-gotten-so-used-to-paying-for-ai-subscriptions-activity-7448780502779719680-PV9U?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAd0CaIBpH_KyKVPOVmzerutWnM3P7fwH7E]

eBPF: Performance Gains for Observability

In this episode of Signal > Noise, Sara invites Sven Cowart, co-founder and CTO of ElastiFlow, to explore why eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) has become the clear favorite for high-scale, performance-critical networks. From its origins to its current status as a revolutionary tool for observability and security, Sven breaks down how eBPF provides kernel-level insights without the traditional performance overhead or the need for manual application-level instrumentation. * a brief history of eBPF * eBPF vs sidecars * power of autoinstrumentation * key projects in the ecosystem * bridging NetOps and DevOps Resources * eBPF: Unlocking the Kernel [OFFICIAL DOCUMENTARY] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb_vD3XZYOA] * eBPF for Kubernetes network observability [https://docs.mermin.dev/] * Get a free trial of ElastiFlow's observability solution [https://www.elastiflow.com/get-started]

Building and Monitoring a Home Lab

In this episode, Sara invites Madison Grubb, Senior SRE at ElastiFlow, and Brad Collins, Sales Engineer at ElastiFlow, to discuss the evolution and observability of home labs. They explore the iterations of their home lab setups—ranging from repurposed laptops to K3s—and the differing philosophies behind open-source solutions vs add-to-cart, plug-and-play. Madison and Brad share real-world stories of how network visibility uncovered hidden vulnerabilities, such as a "local" doorbell leaking data and a 3D printer generating excessive DNS noise and how they remediated. Resources * Blog | Building, Scaling, and Monitoring a Home Lab [https://www.elastiflow.com/blog/posts/whats-in-our-home-lab-building-scaling-and-monitoring-a-home-lab] * Monitor your home lab for free [https://www.elastiflow.com/basic-license] * Watch on YouTube [https://youtu.be/LPCsQGhHxPk?si=W_5Vx8qUC4Uii0rH]

The Art of Communication for Engineers

In this episode, Sara invites Reggie Ross, Engineering Manager at ElastiFlow, to discuss the critical role of communication in engineering, particularly in agentic development. They explore how effective communication can bridge the gap between technical and non-technical audiences, the importance of setting boundaries and expectation management, and the parallels between human relationships and interactions with AI. Reggie shares insights from his background in communication and how it informs his approach to engineering, emphasizing the need for engineers to develop strong communication skills to succeed in their careers. Resources: * Reggie's Blog: Are Your Agents the Problem or Are You Just Bad at Communicating? [https://www.elastiflow.com/blog/posts/are-your-agents-the-problem-or-are-you-just-bad-at-communicating] * Reggie's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginald-ross-20385967/] * Mermin on GitHub [https://github.com/elastiflow/mermin] Chapters: 00:00: Celebrating Engineering Week and Communication 03:04: The Importance of Communication in Engineering 05:58: Communication Strategies and Techniques 09:08: Managing Expectations and Boundaries 11:58: The Role of Communication in Team Dynamics 14:58: Humanizing AI and Communication Challenges 18:10: Improving Communication Skills for Engineers 21:00: Future Research and Community Building