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Hank Preston

Principal Engineer

Learning and Certifications

Hank’s two passions are technology and theatre. Bringing them together drives him towards a borderline obsession on creating entertaining presentations, labs and demonstrations that breakdown complex technology topics for audiences. After spending several years working on and behind the scenes on stage productions, what started as a hobby turned to a profession when Hank entered the IT industry with a focus on web and database development and engineering.

Drifting from development into infrastructure engineering brought him to Cisco as a Systems Engineer, focusing on Data Center and Cloud Architecture for large enterprise customers.

And after six years as an SE, Hank has taken up the mantle of a Developer Evangelist with DevNet where he can focus full time on reminding everyone that technology can and should be fun to work with.

Hank holds a Master Degree in Information Systems as well as several certifications including CCIE R/S 38336 from Cisco.

Find Hank at:

twitter: @hfpreston

GitHub: http://github.com/hpreston

Articles

October 13, 2023

LEARNING

Up, Up, and Away to the Clouds:
Cisco Multicloud Specialist Certifications

6 min read

Get up to speed on the latest multi-cloud certifications, professional-level specializations, and new Cisco U Learning Paths. Then sign up for instructor-lead training courses that help candidates learn all they need about these exciting cloud use cases to pass these new exams. 

July 28, 2023

5

LEARNING

A Technical Look at IPSEC VPN Tunnel Creation

16 min read

Explore the IPSEC VPN tunnel creation process, including "Phase 1" and "Phase 2," how Security Associations are impacted when ACLs identify "interesting traffic," and even the packets involved in the communications.

May 25, 2023

81

LEARNING

Influencing Forwarding Behavior with Policy Based Routing

4 min read

Learn how to configure policy-based routing to influence forwarding behavior in this step-by-step overview with Hank Preston, Principal Automation Engineer.

October 31, 2022

90

LEARNING

Be on Guard This Spooking Spanning Tree Season

10 min read

Take the scare out of spanning tree with a strong foundation in practical network design and configuration practices. You never know when it might come back to haunt you, just like in Hank's spooky story.

September 20, 2022

93

LEARNING

Exploring Default Docker Networking
Part 2

17 min read

In the second installment of the default Docker networking series, Principal Engineer Hank Preston continues his exploration into layer 3 (network), shining the light on how container network traffic is routed, NATed, and filtered.

June 27, 2023

32

LEARNING

Exploring Default Docker Networking
Part 1

18 min read

Learn Docker networking starting with the three options every network engineer should know. Principal Engineer Hank Preston provides a step-by-step walkthrough of the default Docker bridge network environment in Linux, Docker container networking, and much more.

July 28, 2022

21

LEARNING

Exploring the Linux ‘ip’ Command

14 min read

It's the skill every network engineer needs. Learn how to use the “ip” command to explore the network configuration of a Linux system.

June 7, 2022

5

LEARNING

Reflections on the Journey to DevNet Expert

13 min read

Walk down memory lane with Principal Engineer Hank Preston, as he shares his personal journey in bringing the DevNet Expert certification to life.

March 11, 2022

32

LEARNING

5 Reasons a Raspberry Pi Belongs in Your Network Lab

10 min read

It's not just for Pi Day! From Pi-powered network services to a network sensor/traffic analysis device or home lab management station, the Raspberry Pi is a flexible workhorse that should be the next worthy addition to your lab.