Cisco Live Take Aways

Well the week is over and Cisco live has come to an end, but not without some awesome reveals, information, and insights into the next steps at Cisco!! I was not fortunate enough to make it to the event, but I am really inspired to do great things, and am lucky enough to work for such an incredible company. Since all events are concluded I thought it would be a nice thing to revisit some of the main takeaways and what they mean for the upcoming future of Cisco Technologies.

The event started out with a keynote address by CEO Chuck Robbins talked about Multi-cloud, IoT, and AR/VR, changing networks as we know them. The discussion continued with several different speakers talking about these emerging technologies and the need to redesign networking to handle more dynamic environments.  With users having multiple devices across a range of networks, connecting multi-cloud applications, and security issues become vital aspects to consider. Cisco has also taken steps to improve the impact of the insights they gather from all this new data. 

Cisco announced a number of software updates that are meant to increase the amount of AI and machine learning to the network. This new automation of the network with other analytics tools is meant to assist teams working with this enterprise equipment to gather more insights and visibility into the data collected.

The new Cisco's developer program was a big item of discussion, DevNet updating the professional certification program is a huge shift in the Cisco learning path. Software developers joining with network professionals to speed up the progress of network automation in all areas of business and technology. These new certifications include a wide variety of DevNet certifications structured to validate software professionals. By streamlining certifications to validate engineering professionals, Cisco is aiming to train a new era of entry level professional that is knowledgable in both software and networking principles. To a degree this has already been happening, but with the addition of these new certificates Cisco has made the process more available and potentially more rewarding.

Having the ability to connect to remote locations is one thing, but to do that securely and in harsh environments is what Cisco IoT edge is all about. The new ruggedized industrial networking equipment was on full display at this years Cisco Live, showing off the switches, access points, and routers that can withstand a multitude of environment variables. These devices are able to handle the harsh, remote work environments, including oil refineries, chemical plants,  and mines.

Unifying its collaboration portfolio, Cisco is making communication easier for both IT teams as well as regular users. They announced this development at Cisco Live, all Cisco devices are now on the same operating system. Doing this will make it easier to move between the different platforms for collaboration. Cisco has stated that this will allow their users to more easily move into the cloud and take advantage of this useful technology.

Obviously, there are many things that I could continue to talk about and expand upon, but this is the basic top level view of the conference. If this doesn't show what Cisco has done to stay relevant and an important player in the continuously advancing world, then I don't know what would. 

Here are some important links to the new products Cisco announced at Cisco Live:

Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series Switch. Ideal for manufacturing plants and mines.

Catalyst IW6300 Heavy Duty Series Access Points. Perfect for oil and gas, utilities, and petrochemical plants with potentially combustible gases, vapors or dust.

IR1101 Integrated Services Router Rugged. Offers industrial SD-WAN with faster rollouts and more reliability and security.

IoT #CLUS

The Opening Keynote for this years Cisco Live presentation consisted of CEO Chuck Robbins highlighting the important items on the menu this year. Other speakers took the stage as well to talk about other aspects of Cisco’s innovations and developments. One such speaker was Liz Centoni who is the SVP, of the IoT Business Group, which is the head of the department that I work in at Cisco, it was great to hear what she had to say about our department.

All of the important information is outlined in this article on the Cisco live press release page: Click Here

Make sure to check it out!!

The Cisco Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series Switch that will be available in the summer, was my favorite reveal so far.  I might be a little biased since I helped ramp up these devices before shipping them out. Some of the final testing will be done by my team once we get to the final stages of the release, this will be my first major project working for Cisco.

Live from Cisco!!

It’s that time of year again, the time in which all the big tech companies show off all the goodies and new developments they have been hard at work on. I just finished getting the updates on the Apple event and I am sure the Google and Microsoft keynotes will be fun to watch as well, but what I want to focus my attention on is Cisco Live seeing as I work for them now. Getting hired as a Software Test Engineer in February, my role is not as a reporter or journalist in any way. That said I hope to learn a lot from the event and gain insight about my new company. 

Cisco has started to populate the Information Sphere with a hashtag #CLUS (Cisco Live United States) which has been used to promote the upcoming event. This link directs you to the official website where they have all the things you might expect, dates, times as well as topics of the various talks. https://www.ciscolive.com/us.html 

This event is broken down into four main categories;

1. Keynotes
2. Closing Keynote
3. Innovation Talks
4. Big Idea Talks

As far as the subcategories of the event there are much more than I am willing to list, but rest assure that I will be keeping a keen eye on the conference and update on the topics I think are the most interesting. 

Progress and Timeline

It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I got the call offering me a position as a Software Test Engineer at Cisco Systems. Time certainly has gone fast, since I have just recently hit my 90-day mark. Nevertheless, I wanted to share with those of you who are interested what exactly I have been up to since I moved down to Austin, TX. Having a stronger understanding of what my role is now I can properly describe my new Career. 

Month 1

Team - Meeting and interacting with my team was much more relaxed then I thought it would be, I quickly learned that Cisco is a place where you can be yourself as long as you can get the job done. My manager and team mates were very welcoming and gave me ample time to adjust to this big change in my life. Everyone has their own personal talents to contribute to the team in addition to their own features that they work on and test.

Collab Tools - Using the collaboration tools that Cisco offers their employees is imperative to communication and efficiency within the various teams. I remember on my first week after getting my computer and email setup I had over 100 emails, now that seems like a small number to sift through. 

Orientation - Since I work at a smaller branch of Cisco I didn’t get to experience the grand orientation that those who were hired in San Jose get to experience, mine was done online with the Webex application.

Learning Path - After completing the NewHire task list I was given a more personalized learning path that geared to the job needs of the Test Team. This included things like refreshing my understanding of Networks, the introduction to Industrial Engineering (IE) protocols, as well as common Test Engineer practices. 

Month 2

Networking - Having already taken many different courses in IT Networking I thought simply a refresher would suffice. Unfortunately most of the knowledge that I had previously gained had been insufficient, luckily there are plenty of seasoned engineers that were happy to push me in the right direction and give me tips on how to succeed. 

Testing - When I first started reading the different texts about how the Software Test Engineer should approach and follow through with the process of making sure software is working properly I was a bit intimidated. I have been putting some of those teachings into practice lately and it is not so different than being a customer of the product. 

Industrial Engineering - The Cisco Industrial Internet of Things Division has a very specific type of customer base and that is the Manufacturing Environment. Learning about the Industrial Networking architecture has really opened my mind yet again on how networks can operate and help improve overall production in many different environments.

Automation - The future is Automation, there is no way to avoid the advancement of these types of technologies so the only thing you can do is continue to learn and grow to meet the needs of these new systems. Cisco uses a specific type of automation using the Python programming language, I never was very good at coding but now more than ever I have a reason to succeed at doing so.

Month 3

Common Industrial Protocol - The third month I was finally given a goal to focus my efforts towards and that is to learn and be able to test features of CIP. I have learned a lot about the workings of CIP and how many different objects (protocols) operate within the Industrial Plant architecture. 

Cisco Test Lab - I spend most of my days in the test lab practicing all the things I can on the physical equipment provided to me by my manager and team members. My goal is to learn something new every day whether it be something to do with networking or python, as long as I keep working hard I know the results will be worth the struggle.

The Journey continues

A little over 4 years ago today I started a journey to improve my life by making drastic changes. I was unhappy with my life and started brainstorming what I could do to make myself happy and successful. My first inspiration for this change was thanks to my Dad, Chris Peck. Talking about how crazy and profound technology was getting gave me an idea. This was a key moment in my decision to go back to school for an I.T. related field and really try this time.

My final decision was to register at Milwaukee Area Technical College in the IT Networking Specialist program. This is where my second source of inspiration occurred, in a class focused around social media and business. Tony J. Stanislawski The class was great as a whole, but what I really took away from this class were the concepts of “Passion” and being a Life Learner. What I didn’t realize at the time was that being a Life Learner will cause your “Passion” to grow and change.

One of my favorite classes was the study of Cisco Routing and Switching, and really was the crux of my IT knowledge today. Coming from no prior computer background, my first teachings were about the networking side of things and how the OSI layers work as well as the history of how data is transmitted. I would be lying if I said it was easy, but I really wanted to learn and I was determined to cross this threshold.

After my first successful Semester with a 4.0 no less, I was feeling the results of my hard work. I decided to go visit my Uncle Douglas J Peckwho wanted to help me build a computer for the first time. I did the research and picked all the parts myself then I built the new computer with some guidance and support.

Getting hired at a company called UBreakIFix as a repair technician was another fundamental stepping stone to my success and learning. Vernon Gene Thornton Deyssler Downs Matthew Scott La Berge Sandy Prentiss, since Dan has no facebook XD!! Thanks to the OG team for hiring me to be a UBIFer it was a lot of fun and I will miss you guys. And new team Mikey Van Dehy Jacob Moser good luck with your futures as well!!

Graduation from MATC with a 4.0 this was my first major success in my entire life and am truly grateful to all those involved that helped and supported me especially my family! Patty Peck Connor Peck Christopher F Peck

The next step was UWM, and with an open mind, I made my way and started learning things that I never thought I would like. Having a life learning attitude is infectious and I started to enjoy other subjects, Literature, Greek Mythology, Mathematics, and even Spanish were all requirements for my degree and I passed them all. I especially liked Spanish and even took the opportunity to Study Abroad in Madrid, Spain for a Month. A special thanks to those that made that trip for me possible! Allison Libbey Saúl Oceguera Dasha Bzeniuk

My core classes while enrolled as an UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies student, there was a more software and web development focus. One of my most important ventures at UWM was my acceptance into the Nonprof-IT Internship Sunstar Vue Adam Hudson Sam Goerke.

Before I knew it I was up on the Graduation stage wearing a cap and gown getting my name called to shake hands with the Dean! Bachelors Degree completed at UWM. Steve Peck even made the journey to see it happen so I have witnesses!

Many interviews later I finally broke some ground. I was asked to do a series of video interviews for a position that I really wanted! I prepared like crazy for these interviews and made sure to do everything in my power to let them know I mean business and will do whatever it takes to succeed in this role with their company. A week later I was getting a call from HR and getting a real honest to God offer from Cisco Systems Inc. Austin, TX.

I am now a Software Test Engineer in the IoT Development team! I have come so far to finally be able to start this new chapter in my life working for the company that quite literally started my journey!

Well I don’t want to end this abruptly, but I am headed to work and learn everything that I can! Have a good day everyone!!!

Re-Branding

Recently I have come to several conclusions about my life and ways to improve myself in all areas I wish to advance in. My first major realization was that I learn much more when I explain what I have learned to someone who has little or no knowledge of the subject. For this I plan to make posts and other content to explain the things I have just learned or have known for some time.

The next insight I have gained is that in order to unlock my true potential it is necessary to create a well rounded lifestyle. My hopes for this in the future is to create content about the things I enjoy, hobbies I have, and current news I find to be specifically important to cover.

There are hundreds of possible methods for sub-categorizing the elements of one’s life and it is impossible for anyone to claim one style fits all people, thus my findings probably won’t fit anyone else. It is possible that some or even many of the things I am about to outline will work for others, but the interests and passions I hold are my own. 

Looking back at my studies and previous habits to improve my life I remembered one of the things that I truly enjoyed which was my time writing on my blog. Therefore I have decided to re-create the blog I used to have when I started my journey into the I.T. world. By diversifying my focus and making content about different areas of interest there will be a larger pool of information I can pull from.