📱 Switch to SuperMobile from T-Mobile. Save up to $1,100 on an iPhone 17 Pro with T-Mobile*

SuperMobile gives your business what it needs: unlimited premium data on America’s largest 5G network, intelligent network performance, and a 5-year price guarantee.**

Plus if you switch to SuperMobile right now, you can save up to $1,100 on an iPhone 17 Pro (with a qualifying plan) to run your business.

The best business plan on the best network.

With 24 monthly bill credits when you add a line and trade-in an eligible device on SuperMobile. For well-qualified customers; plus tax & $35 device connection charge.

*Exclusions like taxes & fees apply.

RouterFreak: OpenClaw is Coming for Your Network, NerdClash Update

Aloha RouterFreakers! 🤙

This week we're tackling something that's been blowing up in every network engineering forum and Slack channel — OpenClaw, the open-source AI "super agent" that's racked up over 150,000 GitHub stars and is almost certainly already running somewhere on your network. If you haven't heard of it yet, you will — probably when a user puts in a ticket asking why it can't reach the internet.

We break down the real network and security implications of OpenClaw for engineers who need to plan for it, detect it, and set policy around it.

Plus, we've got a development update on NerdClash (formerly called CertFreak).

🚦 OpenClaw Network Security: Agentic AI on Your Network

Your users are already deploying AI agents on your network. OpenClaw — the open-source AI agent framework that exploded to 150K+ GitHub stars — can execute terminal commands, access files, and broadcast its presence via mDNS on your LAN. For network engineers, this isn't just a security team problem. It's a network visibility, segmentation, and policy problem.

We cover the network-layer risks, how to detect OpenClaw activity on your infrastructure, and what your acceptable use policy needs to say before the help desk tickets start piling up.

Check it out: OpenClaw Network Security: Agentic AI on Your Network

☁️ NerdClash Development Update

We've been quietly building something on the side — a competitive, gamified IT certification prep app called NerdClash. Think Duolingo meets Clash Royale, but for people studying for IT Certs. Here's where the project stands, the tech decisions behind it, and how you can get involved in the beta.

Read more: NerdClash Development Update

🗓️ Upcoming Events for Network Engineers

Because even the best engineers need to escape the server room sometimes. Here’s what’s on the horizon:

• Cisco Live 2026 Las Vegas
  May 31 - June 4, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV
  Cisco's flagship event with 300+ technical sessions covering networking, AI, security, and infrastructure automation. Free certification exams included with Full Conference passes.

• NANOG 97
  June 1 - 3, 2026 | Bellevue, WA
  The premier gathering for network operators in North America. Technical talks and community-driven discussions covering network architecture, peering, routing, and operational best practices. If you run infrastructure, this is your conference.

• Black Hat USA 2026
  August 1-6, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV
  The world's leading information security conference. Four days of hands-on training followed by two days of cutting-edge security research briefings, exploit demos, and the Arsenal open-source tool showcase.

That’s a wrap for new content this week! Keep Scrolling for Engineer Resources, and Opportunities to Contribute and Connect.

Got thoughts on OpenClaw? Running it in your lab? Blocking it at the firewall? Hit reply — we want to hear your take.

P.S. If you enjoyed this, forward to a friend or your favorite sysadmin. Sharing is caring— unless it's your SSH keys.

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Resource Center

To improve accessibility to our free resources, we will include links to our free downloads page in every newsletter.

Call for Resources:

Do have Visio Stencils we are missing or Python Scripts we can share with other newsletter subscribers (no paywalls, we only ask visitors to subscribe to our newsletter for access). Reply to this email with whatever you can help our community out with!

​Specific Requests:

We've received requests for the following Visio stencils, does anyone have these so we can get them into our archive and out to the specific RouterFreaks who asked for them?

Contribute and Connect

We believe that the strength of our network lies in the collective wisdom of our members. As we continue to grow and evolve, we're reaching out to tap into the vast pool of knowledge and resources that you, our valued readers, possess.

We're looking for:

• Technical guides you've created or found particularly useful

• Troubleshooting tips that have saved the day

• Book recommendations for network engineers at all levels

• Online courses or webinars that have enhanced your skills

• Tools and software that have improved your workflow

• Industry reports or whitepapers worth sharing

• Regular content writers

Your contributions will help fellow network engineers tackle challenges, stay updated with the latest trends, and grow professionally. By sharing, you're not just helping others – you're strengthening our entire community. How to contribute:

1. Email your resources to [email protected]

2. Include a brief description of why you find the resource valuable

3. Let us know if you'd like to be credited by name or remain anonymous

We'll review all submissions and feature the most impactful ones in our upcoming newsletters and on our website. Remember, every bit of knowledge shared is a step towards a more connected and informed RouterFreak community. Let's pool our resources and grow together!

​

Mahalo,
​

Dan on behalf of RouterFreak