Tom Hollingsworth

Someone needs to make an AI notetaker named Chatham House that's really bad at identifying speakers.

Lumen is now on Nasdaq and that sets up some big moves for the company now that they've integrated Alkira into their stack. I analyze that outlook here for @futurumgroup.bsky.social : futurumgroup.com/insights/lum...

Any conference call you can take on speaker phone in a hotel lobby is not important enough for you to shush me. Get headphones or get a room. Just get out of my face.

Two and half months since I’ve been on a plane! Headed out for some @techfieldday.com fun in Washington DC.

I love the new method of text spam that asks an innocuous question that tries to elicit interaction. I barely want to talk to people I know via text.

Aching for Engagement Click here to learn more about this random vague thing so you can engage with me!

It's. About. Time. corporate.walmart.com/news/2026/08...

Don't bring a letter opener to a gunfight.

The Consumable Space Data Center Data centers? In Space? It's more like disposable compute satellites than you think.

Mike & i recently tested 295 ft of uncoiled CAT6 for science TL;DR - the heat caused both coiled & uncoiled tests with the same cable to fail CAT6, but otherwise the results between them were so close we came to the conclusion that coiled vs uncoiled makes very little difference in performance 👍🏼

Is Indoor Standard Power The Fix You Need? 6 GHz Wi-Fi has lots of potential. But should you be deploying standard power indoors?

I sat down with @scottrobohn.bsky.social to talk about a bunch of stuff! packetpushers.net/podcasts/tot...

AI Isn’t a Genie, It’s an Intern Tell me if you've heard this one before. We build a super intelligent system and give it a specific goal like maximizing paperclip production. The system decides to do the job as well as possible by converting all available matter into paperclips. Everything. The…

#MFD14

One thing that never fails to amaze me about #ConferenceLife in Las Vegas is how I can be absolutely freezing in a conference room when it's 101 outside. #HPEDiscover

#HPEDiscover I know that people say that AI can solve network issues like a real engineer. But AI can't consume that much coffee.

#HPEDiscover Apstra? Now there's a name I've not heard in a long time.

#HPEDiscover I think @fsmontenegro.bsky.social and I are the new Statler and Waldorf of keynotes. And I'm totally here for it.

#HPEDiscover You know that Rami has to be happy to be able to talk about routing. After all that's where Juniper really shined.

#HPEDiscover If you like hearing Madani presenting on stage, make sure you check him out at @techfieldday.com too!

#HPEDiscover Ah, the old gem of "so easy a product manager/salesperson can do it". Yeah, it's easy. Narbik's grandma is a CCIE. But make it so simple that we don't HAVE to do it. That's the real challenge.

#HPEDiscover Okay, I have to ask. How often do you have an MTU mismatch outside of tunnels or weird token ring stuff (don't ask). Is a self-driving network that diagnoses MTU issues just adding features that won't get used often?

#HPEDiscover There is a lot of applause from the audience for Aruba CX switches and dual-personality APs being managed by HPE Mist.

#HPEDiscover I agree with Sunalini. Traffic spikes from people walking into a keynote area are a struggle.

#HPEDiscover Sunalini is on stage now. I'm glad because she is VERY good at this. Make sure you check out all her Field Day appearances!

#HPEDiscover "We have a football stadium. Perhaps you've heard of it. The Horseshoe. Not the casino. Because the house always wins at our horseshoe." Again, ask Baker Mayfield about that. He's so good he can make the Browns win.

#HPEDiscover Rami brings up the CIO for Ohio State University. Of course there's some banter about football at the beginning. I'll avoid mentioning Baker's flag plant because I don't want to draw a penalty. #BoomerSooner

#HPEDiscover HPE Networking has made more advances in the area of self-driving networks than anyone else. Given the heritage of Mist, Juniper, and Aruba I'd say they had a great head start.

#HPEDiscover AI for Networks, Networks for AI. It's the pitch now. Wanna know the difference? AI for Networks = AI Field Day Networks for AI = AI Infrastructure Field Day @techfieldday.com

#HPEDiscover The network is no longer mere infrastructure. It's the platform we build on for the future.

#HPEDiscover Rami starts off by talking about the Millenium Tower in SF and how the sinking and leaning happened because the foundation wasn't strong. I bet there's a lesson here.

I'm back at #HPEDiscover and it's networking time! Rami Rahim takes the stage to talk about the most important subject ever. Networking.

#HPEDiscover Of course managing thousands of agents is an easy task. Except I've programmed three of them to randomly tell you they need the day off because their dog/kid/grandma is sick. Now manage them like people.

#HPEDiscover HPE Networking CX switches are going to be managed by Mist AND Marvis Actions are coming to HPE Aruba Central! There's your line in the sand. Mist is everywhere.

#HPEDiscover What's this? Antonio is talking about the campus and branch? Why, with all this AI hype I think people forgot there was a network that they connected to!

#HPEDiscover Antonio is now talking about using SASE as a foundation for a security-first network architecture. It's easy to sleep at night when your apps and AI aren't constantly under attack.

#HPEDiscover Antonio on-stage says that HPE Aruba and HPE Juniper are combined to be HPE Networking. That helps with the messaging moving forward.

#HPEDiscover starts the keynote with a hype video that says that it all starts with your network. Thank you for validating your career choice all over again.

I'm at the #HPEDiscover keynote and we're about to hear from Antonio Nieri. And now that the Wi-Fi traffic spike seems to have passed I can tell you all about it!

Conference tip: if you want somewhere quiet to work, skip the main show area and go up/around to the session rooms. The hallways are nice and quiet most of the time. #HPEDiscover

Cisco Live 2026 – Requiem For A Corner What was Cisco Live 2026 like this year? I have thoughts.

I think it's a new tradition. Everyone loves Lotus of Siam! @fsmontenegro.bsky.social @jenniferlucille.bsky.social @rob-coote.bsky.social @avalonhawk.bsky.social @radzima.bsky.social @techfieldday.com @bbaize.bsky.social #CiscoLive #TFDx

I’m a big fan of practical swag and @forwardnetworks.com wins at #CiscoLive with a clear bag! So many venues have clear bag policies now and this is so handy! #TFDx

I didn’t have #CiscoLive hot sauce collab on my bingo card but I’m here for it! #Itential #Selector

I have the solution to the AI Token problem. Someone just needs to call IBM and buy all those Token Ring tokens. After all, who still uses those?

Disappointed. This is a series that still has some great aspects with good stories to tell.

The height of hilarity at #CiscoLive. There is a Tropicana billboard still up even though the hotel is long gone and the stadium is half finished.

I hope everyone is watching the #TFDx stream from #CiscoLive today! We're covering @cisco.com Data Center and Enterprise Networking today. youtube.com/TechFieldDay

Weird. I just ordered Starbucks at #CiscoLive and two of these drinks are the same!

Is it even a trip to Vegas if everyone doesn’t have matching t-shirts? #CiscoLive