The Changing Role Of The Network Engineer

Interop puts spotlight on how the job of a networking pro is evolving as software takes center stage. The rise of software-defined networking, network automation, and DevOps has led to much speculation about the future of the network engineer and how the job might change. Interop 2016 offered a couple perspectives on the future role of networking pros and what they should focus on moving forward. In his session with the provocative title, "The 'Network Revolution' Is A Lie," network software developer Matt Oswalt said that while SDN and network automation are often described as shaking up the networking industry, the result hasn't been what network pros wanted, which was simple tools to manage networks more efficiently.