Archives for December 2021

Happy New Year’s Eve! Are you ready for the big championship bowl games today? Who are you rooting for?

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 20 | Dell PowerEdge R610 | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 20

At our recent 20 year celebration, we invited several former team members to eat and celebrate with us. It was fun to walk down memory lane with everyone and highlight some of the milestones we’ve hit along the way. Without a doubt, CK would not be what it is today without the influence of our former HR Manager, Susan. She brought joy and excitement to our company culture (we still miss her presence) and helped set us up for success in the future by implementing things like personality testing into our hiring and team-building process. She is still a great friend to me and Craig and many others at CK.

From the time we met and hired Susan, we knew she had a passion for addiction recovery ministry. We witnessed firsthand her passion and desire to help others, and we encouraged her to take the leap to start an organization that would bring her vision to transform the way addiction recovery was done to life. She and her husband, Farley, did just that and have had great success in our community. They founded Navigate Recovery and later Lightway Recovery for Women.

CK has given to Navigate Recovery and adopted rooms at Lightway Recovery in the past. We are thrilled to be able to include both organizations in our $20k for 20 years giving campaign this year!

Christin

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Dell PowerEdge R610 is Dell’s eleventh generation of their already proven server line that is designed to simplify data operations and provide a low cost of ownership. The R610 is a multi-purpose server that can be used for virtualization or system management. Dell has worked in simplifying the layout of ports, LCD screens, and LED lights to be standard across all units. This helps with visually understanding each generation of a server. The processor platform for the R610 is based on the Intel Xeon processor line. The R610 has two Intel processor slots, 2 PCIe G2 slots plus one storage slot, six hard drive slots (2.5” SAS or SSD drives), and can hold up to 192Gb of total memory.

Learning Center Article – What is OM5 fiber and how is it different than OM4 & OM3?

Designing fiber optic networks was never easy, but over time, the challenges have shifted. There are more tools than ever to help you optimize every corner of your network. At the same time, increasing options make it more difficult to find satisfaction with the choices you make. That holds true with selecting your fiber cables. So far, the options between singlemode and multimode networks were self-selecting.

As for multimode systems, the somewhat narrow range of variety made that selection a little easier as well. Now, OM5 is on the rise, and it brings with it a new niche combination of performance and cost-effectiveness. Is it right for your systems? This quick read will help you determine the answer

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Amy Schneider continues her streak as the highest-earning and longest-winning woman in “Jeopardy!” history.
• The New Year’s Day Powerball jackpot currently sits at $500 million.
• Hundreds of homes burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated after a rare wind-driven wildfire tore through suburban neighborhoods in Colorado.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention increased its travel warning for cruise ships to the highest level.

Happy Thursday! We know some of you put up Christmas decorations early but now we want to know, how long do you keep them up? Have you already packed them all away or are you waiting until after the new year?

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 19 | Cisco Meraki MX67W Security Appliance | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 19

Today we’re sharing more with you about our corporate giving for this year. In years like this, we often look for new ways to impact our community. What is going on around us? How can we use our experience, skills, and resources to make an impact? In the course of my research for new organizations, I ran across a local donor-advised fund (DAF) provider, and they had put together a non-profit wish book for charities in our area. I love this idea and wish every area had something similar!

I looked through their wish book for needs that stood out, something we could be passionate about and that would hopefully be an ongoing relationship. Path United is one of the organizations that sparked my interest. I like their story and the fact that we could connect to their mission, so I reached out to their Founder, Jim, to learn more about their needs. Fun side story: it turns out he already knew who we were because of a leadership course we’d both attended years ago.

Path United works with community leaders, churches, and local schools to transform mobile home communities by showing children God’s love while building positive relationships and empowering them socially and emotionally. We are very interested in what they do because Craig was raised by a single mom in a mobile home park. He quit school at age 15 and started working full time … and now he’s our CEO! Having built several successful businesses and lived a life of amazing experiences, I know his story will be inspiring to children growing up as he did. We are excited that we’ll be able to see one of the local programs in action in January.

Finding ways to connect our experiences to our giving is one of my favorite ways to make an impact. We each have a story and experiences to share. I hope you’ll be inspired this season (and throughout the year) to seek ways to impact your own community with your unique experiences and gifting!

Christin

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco Meraki MX family of devices are multifunctional security & SD-WAN enterprise appliances that feature a wide range of capabilities to address a wide variety of use cases – from an all-in-one device. Organizations of all sizes and across all industries rely on the MX to deliver secure connectivity to hub locations or multi-cloud environments, as well as application quality of experience, through advanced analytics with machine learning.

Learning Center Article – How to future-proof your network with Cisco 8800 series phones.

Technology is constantly evolving and advancing, and the world of VoIP phones is no exception. Voice-over-IP technology has come a long way since it was first introduced in the 1990s, and many businesses, small and large, are adopting IP phones as replacements for old analog technologies.

If you are in the market for a VoIP phone, it’s critical that you maximize your investment by choosing equipment that will meet the needs of today as well as those of tomorrow. The Cisco IP Phone 8800 Series is Cisco’s next-generation advanced VoIP phone series and is an excellent option for anyone looking to future-proof their network. Read more here.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Betty White is counting her blessings as she nears a full century of life! Enjoy this video of what she enjoys eating ahead of her 100th birthday.
• The discussion of Pluto being a planet is back on the table after further discussion of defining the word ‘planet.’
• Here are 10 astronomy events to get excited for in 2022.
• DoorDash will require all employees, including its engineers, corporate executives and CEO, to complete deliveries at least once a month after reinstating its WeDash program.

Happy Wednesday! Who’s ready for the New Year? Did you accomplish your 2021 resolutions? Which resolution are you most proud of?

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 18 | CAT8 Ethernet Cable | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 18

Several years ago we were introduced to Gamer’s Outreach when they reached out to us after purchasing some cabling to tell us more about what they were up to. They were just getting started with their work, and we loved their mission:

“Gamers Outreach is a charity that empowers hospitalized children through video games. We’re building a world where play is easily prioritized alongside research and treatment.”

Check out this portable gaming cart that they build, deliver and support for children’s hospitals: Project GO Kart

Craig met up with them at our office to learn more about what they were doing and gave them a tour, we donated some equipment that they needed for an event and a couple of years after that we were able to build a GO Kart with them for one of our local children’s hospitals.

I caught up with their founder last week, and he had great news about how they’d been able to expand in the last few years. They now have GO Karts in over 300 children’s hospitals across the United States (it was around 10 when we built our first cart), and they’ve built a volunteer program where they bring gamers into hospitals to encourage, teach and game with the kids. They also continue to fundraise through their annual Gamers for Giving event.

We’ve pledged to build two new carts in early 2022, and we’d love to multiply that for them. If you’d like to donate a cart, reach out and let them know. You can choose the hospital if you have a special connection to one and the hospital is open to it, or they can let you know about hospitals that have requested one.

Christin

Product Spotlights & Updates

Our S/FTP Booted Category 8 Ethernet Patch Cables are the newest addition to the network cabling family and have hit the ground running! With the ability for 40gb and 2GHz bandwidth transmission over 20 meters, these network data cables are a Data Center Manager’s dream to handle the speeds that their network and users need. These patch cables are backward compatible with both Cat6 and Cat5e, and all previous categories.

Learning Center Article – What are SFP’s and How do They Work?

High-end networking demands high-end equipment. You have a plethora of options, but eventually, you have to make decisions on which technology covers each of your applications. When considering all of those options, an understanding of SFP transceivers is pivotal. It’s a core technology that serves as a primary workhorse in many networks.

This guide is going to explain all about SFP and its primary uses.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• John Madden, legendary NFL coach, broadcaster, and namesake for a popular sports video game has passed away.
• Nearly 17 feet of snow has fallen in California’s Sierra Nevada.
• The Book of Boba Fett has now premiered on Disney+.
• Check out NASA Perseverance Rover’s Biggest Moments of 2021.

Today is National Chocolate Candy Day so it’s the perfect day to polish off the last of those specialty candies you received as a gift! There are so many different kinds of chocolate. What’s your favorite?

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 17 | Cisco ASA 5515-X Firewall | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 17

Hello everyone! I’m Sterling and I’ve been with CablesAndKits for 2 years. They are wonderful people to work for and have such big hearts for giving that I enjoy being part of.

I have chosen to give my CK team donation to Right to Play. I wanted to give to this organization as sports is one of those things that shaped me and helped me become who I am today. This organization helps children across the globe who face hardship and challenges. For me, sports always taught me how to break boundaries and instill positive values in my life and taught me many important life lessons. One quote as reigned true to me throughout playing soccer is, “I learned all about life with a ball at my feet” and I hope more people can experience something as similar as I did.

Sterling

Product Spotlights & Updates

Cisco ASA5500-X series next-generation firewall is the new enterprise-class standard in security for the current and emerging security pressures that may threaten your network. The ASA5500-X series will give you a comprehensive range of next-generation security services that include: granular visibility and control, web security over the cloud or onsite, protection from malware, and remote access. The ASA5500-X series is specifically designed for small to medium businesses that have one or more locations, service providers, and large enterprises.

Learning Center Article – Benefits of Blade Servers in Your Data Center

No matter the type of business or application, when you need a server, you have to choose from an extensive list of options. Finding the right way to design and maintain your servers is an undertaking. While you weigh your options, it’s worth your time to take a closer look at blade servers. They are designed to save space, but that description hardly does them justice.

A quick review of the top five benefits of blade servers in data centers makes their value clear.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Check out the top 10 games of 2021 you can play on your gaming PC here.
• The CDC has shortened the recommended times that people should isolate when they’ve tested positive for Covid-19 from 10 days to five days if they don’t have symptoms.
• A team led by Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron has laid the foundation for an alternative method for storing hydrogen in tiny nanoparticles.
• The top performing tech stocks of 2021 were: Upstart, Synaptics, Asana, Fortinet, and Nvidia.

Happy Monday! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas Holiday and enjoyed time relaxing with friends and family! Did you start any new traditions this year? We’d love to hear about them!

In This Issue: 20 Days of Giving: Day 16 | Meraki Access Point | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – 20 Days of Giving: Day 16

Happy Monday! It is such a wonderful season to give. I have been with CablesAndKits for almost 8 years and love seeing the giving efforts we make as a company.

I have chosen to give my CK team donation to Just People. Every Sunday my wife and I go to Kroger at Flowery Branch to grocery shop. I have seen this van parked there that says ‘Just People’ on the side. I have always wanted to know what they are about. As I looked at what they do, it hits home for me. They help those with disabilities live independently and grow with their disability. As I live with a learning disability and have struggled through my life, it is good to see others wanting to help those less fortunate do the same.

Chad

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Meraki MR52 is a cloud-managed 4×4:4 802.11ac Wave 2 access point with MU-MIMO support. The MR52 provides a maximum of 2.5 Gbps* aggregate frame rate with concurrent 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios. A dedicated third radio provides real-time WIDS/WIPS with automated RF optimization, and a fourth integrated radio delivers Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) scanning and Beaconing.

The MR52 access point is an ideal cloud-managed solution for offices, schools, hospitals, shops, and hotels. It provides high-level performance, enterprise-grade security, and is simple to manage.

Learning Center Article – What are Ferrari-Style Ethernet Cables?

Managing data centers and comparably powerful networks comes with a slew of daily challenges. The need for redundancy and absolute uptime can force any administrator to expend copious resources on equipment and manpower. As a consequence, you will always be looking for ways to relieve this strain.

Read more here about Ferrari-style Boot Ethernet Patch cables.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Researchers have discovered a group of free-floating planets—planets not orbiting a star.
• Google Fit on iPhone has the ability to measure your heart and respiratory rate using just cameras.
• “Spider-Man: No Way Home” reached $1.05 billion at the global box office over the Christmas weekend.
• Floating wind farms are being planned off the coast of Australia.