Meet Radia Perlman—the visionary who created the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and reshaped Ethernet forever. Ahead of her SharkFest keynote, Radia sits down with us for a candid, idea-packed conversation: why STP was meant as a temporary hack, how misuse at Layer-2 still creates catastrophic loops, what a better Layer-3 could have been (hello CLNP), and why IS-IS thrived while IPv6 inherited avoidable complexity. We also cover QUIC, blockchain hype vs. reality, and the roadmap to quantum-safe cryptography—plus Radia’s take on building tech that humans can actually operate.
Highlights
Why STP was designed as a simple, auto-magic safety net—and how misconfigurations still take down data centers
Layer-3 done right: CLNP, IS-IS, addressing, and why IP wasn’t the only path
QUIC’s connection IDs vs. legacy sockets, NAT/PAT, and what that means for ops
Blockchain buzzwords vs. real problem-solving (and why “start with the problem” wins)
Post-quantum (quantum-safe) crypto: what will actually change and when
Encouragement for women in tech and practical advice for network practitioners
Chapters
00:00 Intro & why Radia’s work matters
03:10 STP origin story—“a short-term fix” that went global
11:45 Layer-2 loops, priorities, and why “just remove the loop” isn’t a fix
18:30 Layer-3 the industry could’ve had: CLNP & IS-IS
27:40 QUIC vs. TCP sockets, NAT/PAT, and ops reality
34:20 Blockchain: hype filters & when (not) to use it
41:20 Quantum-safe cryptography: migration mindset
48:00 Women in networking & mentoring the next wave
53:00 SharkFest keynote teaser
Call to Action
If this helped you think differently about Layer-2/Layer-3 design, like, subscribe, and share. Drop questions for Radia—we’ll collect the best for a follow-up.
Guest: Radia Perlman — Computer scientist, inventor of STP, author of Network Security (3rd ed.)
Event: SharkFest (Keynote)