This session explores how network engineers and software engineers collaborate to build self-healing networks. It highlights how operational knowledge, automation frameworks, and AI-driven monitoring systems combine to create resilient infrastructures that can detect, diagnose, and resolve faults with minimal human intervention. Modern digital infrastructure is evolving at a pace that demands new approaches to reliability and resilience. One of the most significant developments is the rise of self-healing networks. These systems are designed to automatically detect faults, diagnose failures, and initiate corrective actions with minimal human intervention. Although automation frameworks and artificial intelligence play important roles, their success depends on the operational expertise of network engineers. This session examines how collaboration between network engineers and software engineers drives the development of intelligent and resilient network systems. Software engineers build the automation frameworks, telemetry pipelines, and machine learning models that support large-scale observability and automated decision making. Network engineers contribute the domain knowledge that defines failure signatures, operational thresholds, and effective remediation strategies. Together, these disciplines create the foundation for self-healing infrastructure. The presentation begins by exploring the operational roots of network reliability. For decades, network engineers have produced root cause analyses, troubleshooting guides, and operational playbooks that document how networks behave during faults, congestion events, and configuration errors. These records contain the practical knowledge that has long guided incident recovery. When this expertise is translated into machine-readable logic, it becomes the basis for automated detection and remediation. Participants will examine real scenarios where operational insight enhances automated responses. A monitoring system may detect abnormal CPU utilization or routing instability, but it is the contextual understanding of experienced engineers that determines the appropriate corrective action. By embedding this knowledge into automation systems, organizations can shift from reactive monitoring to intelligent and adaptive recovery processes. The session also considers how the role of the network engineer is changing in an era shaped by automation and artificial intelligence. Automation does not replace engineers. Instead, it amplifies their influence. Engineers who understand telemetry systems, automation tools, and infrastructure programmability can directly shape the design of self-optimizing networks. Their operational judgment becomes encoded into systems that scale far beyond what manual processes can achieve. By the end of the session, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how human expertise and automation work together to strengthen digital infrastructure. The central message is clear. Self-healing networks are not created by software alone. They emerge through collaboration, operational insight, and the shared knowledge of the engineers who design and operate the networks that power modern society.
Higher-education data centers must support growing workloads amid constrained resources. This session explores common DCF challenges and practical considerations for improving reliability, efficiency, and long-term adaptability in university environments.
Higher-education institutions increasingly rely on their data centers to support research, teaching, and institutional services, while facing ongoing constraints in funding, staffing, and infrastructure. As workloads continue to grow in scale and complexity, ensuring reliable and efficient data center fabric operations has become a critical priority. This session examines the most common challenges universities encounter in designing and operating data center fabrics. Rather than focusing on specific technologies or vendor solutions, the discussion will center on broader architectural and operational considerations that can help institutions sustain performance while managing risk and complexity. Participants will gain insights into approaches for reducing operational overhead, improving day-to-day reliability, and balancing performance with resource efficiency. The session will also explore how institutions can establish adaptable foundations that support evolving research and service demands over time.
This session examines how Alyssa’s Law is advancing school safety beyond its intended mandate of silent panic alarms to enable broader adoption of technologies. It highlights approaches to improving first responder communications and strengthening connected safety systems in K-12 environments.
First responder communication technology in K–12 schools has gained significant momentum over the last decade, driven by a growing number of tragedies and school safety concerns. One of the most impactful recent catalysts has been Alyssa’s Law, which mandates the installation of silent panic alarms in schools to immediately alert law enforcement during an emergency. While the law’s core focus is on panic alarms, its impact extends far beyond a single piece of hardware. In many states, Alyssa’s Law has become a gateway to broader safety enhancements. In Utah, the passage of School Safety Amendments (H.B. 84) expanded requirements beyond panic alarms to include comprehensive communication capabilities, safety protocols, and additional emergency preparedness resources. This includes Emergency Responder Communication Enhancement Systems (ERCES), which ensure that police, fire, and EMS personnel can maintain reliable communication inside school buildings, even when radio signals are obstructed by walls or infrastructure. In this session, Hunter Kampmoyer, West Regional Manager at ADRF, will discuss the importance of Alyssa’s Law to the growth of public safety in schools, as well as present a Mountain West-based case study that walks attendees through different approaches to deploying ERCES in school, and how the system can double as an important backup to other connected school safety measures currently running on WiFi, including those required within H.B. 84.
A comprehensive presentation on how Zoom's Collaboration platform can revolutionize educational operations across K-12 and higher education institutions. By seamlessly integrating various workloads and communication channels into a unified platform, educational institutions can improve efficiency across internal operations and student/parent engagement. Campus safety remains paramount, and we'll discuss how Zoom can reduce the operational overhead of E911 compliance and support future legislation like Alyssa's law.
K–12 IT teams are under pressure to do more with less while supporting complex, always-on environments. This engineer-led session shares real-world operational insights on simplifying networks, improving performance, and reducing workload. We’ll explore how AI is changing network and security operations, focusing on practical impact, real use cases, and not a sales pitch.
K–12 IT teams are expected to support high-density environments, enable digital learning, and maintain secure, always-on networks, often with limited staff and time. The challenge isn’t just deploying new technology; it’s operating it effectively every day. This session takes a real-world, engineer-led look at modern network operations in K–12 environments. We’ll share practical lessons from the field, focusing on how districts are reducing complexity, improving visibility, and streamlining troubleshooting across their networks. We’ll also explore how AI-driven networking and security platforms are reshaping IT operations, shifting teams from reactive troubleshooting to more proactive, automated approaches. The focus will be on how these capabilities are being applied in real environments to reduce noise, accelerate root cause analysis, and improve end-user experiences. Designed for a technical audience, this session focuses on what’s actually working in production environments without the sales pitch.
