Tag: IT

My First Cisco Live

If you live in the world of technology, Cisco Live is one of the biggest events of the year. It’s an event where thousands come to learn and spend time with other like-minded individuals. There are exciting announcements, great speakers, and cool parties. It is the place to be. For years, I’ve always tried to attend, but it never worked out. The first year I received an actual approval to go to the conference was 2020, so the trip did not happen. Eventually I came over to Cisco. Even here though, it was not a guarantee I could attend the conference. Finally, this year I was selected with a few other colleagues to represent the team and attend with our customers. It was an outstanding experience and I want to tell you all about it! Continue reading “My First Cisco Live” →

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Why Cisco Meraki Makes Sense

What do many IT teams want? Simplicity. They want to see simplicity not only in the implementation of a solution, but in its operation and troubleshooting. However, often times we end up implementing complicated solutions or making them more complicated than necessary. Before you know it, only EngineerA knows how it works. If EngineerA leaves the org, everything falls apart. It should not be that way. It does not make business sense. What does make business sense is the way Cisco Meraki makes things simpler for enterprise networks around the world. Let’s take a look at three ways Cisco Meraki does this. Continue reading “Why Cisco Meraki Makes Sense” →

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From Ops to Sales

It’s been about nine months since I made the jump from an operational role to a sales role. I have been in operational roles my entire career, so it was a different direction moving into a Systems Architect role at Cisco. These months have flown by and its been great to see the other side. If you are thinking about making the move from ops to a sales role but are unsure of what to expect, keep on reading. I’ll be diving in to some of the myths I’ve heard. Continue reading “From Ops to Sales” →

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Device Management with Cisco ISE

Cisco’s Identity Services Engine (ISE) allows network and security teams to implement policy enforcement and weave in network access control in an automated fashion. ISE provides the visibility to allow intelligent decision making that gives administrators granular control. This granular control serves as a benefit when it comes to managing devices. What does Device Management look like with ISE? How do we utilize TACACS+ based AAA to give administrators granular control? This blog entry will dive into those details. Continue reading “Device Management with Cisco ISE” →

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The Career Change

We make choices everyday. Some of the choices are simple. Do I wear pajama pants or jeans today? Am I having breakfast? Do I want coffee? Whether it is a yes or no, those choices are not life changing. However, once in a while there are more complex choices to make. Do I want to move to a different company? Is it time for a career change? Those questions are not easily answered. They require thought. Big changes impact your life. They can impact your family’s lives. Wanting to grow and wanting more led me to ask those questions. The answers led me to a change from a life in operations into a sales role. Continue reading “The Career Change” →

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Simple Cisco FMC Upgrades

I’ve only recently started diving a bit deeper into Cisco Firepower. I’ve heard some mixed reviews regarding using and upgrading Firepower Management Center and the FTDs. Some have had decent luck while others seem to run into issues. As I have an FMC that is non-production (for now), I’ve decided to upgrade it to the latest version and find out for myself how difficult these upgrades are. I’ll also need to head into version 6.7 for some SAML capabilities on the FTDs. One factor you should look for when deciding to use certain products is how easy it is to maintain them. Continue reading “Simple Cisco FMC Upgrades” →

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Engineering Our Qualities

What is the most important thing you need to learn about in order to succeed in your IT career? Is it mastering a certain system? Is it programming like an expert? Is it creating the best disaster recovery plan? Maybe. Those can be individual accomplishments that can help open doors. However, once you have your foot in the door, how do you maintain a presence that can continue to elevate you in the workplace? It’s great to know everything, but if your attitude stinks your value drops. I put much more value on those humble techs and engineers who try their best, have good attitudes, and are there when their colleagues need them. It’s tough to show those qualities on paper, but they do get noticed by good leadership. I am going to bring up a few qualities that I believe are important to have for anyone that wants to shine in their role. Continue reading “Engineering Our Qualities” →

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2021: Thinking Forward

Who doesn’t love to make plans and have goals? It’s January of 2021. Let’s not discuss what happened last year. Many of us accomplished different things and many of us did not. No matter what happened last year, I’d like to look forward to making plans for this year. However, making plans is not enough. Executing is what needs to happen. Sometimes our execution is derailed by many outside factors throughout the year. This will happen. I believe it is best not to thrust all of our worries on the things we cannot control. Let’s focus our energy on the what is within our reach. As a network engineer, there are a few goals I want to briefly write about. I am hoping writing it will help keep me accountable. Continue reading “2021: Thinking Forward” →

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