Archives for February 2022

Happy National Pizza Day! Whether it’s thin crust, Chicago-style, deep dish, or anything in between, pizza is an American favorite. What’s your favorite type of pizza?

In This Issue: Meet Avian! | Cisco 1000BASE-SX SFP Module | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Meet Avian!

Hello! I’m Avian and I’ve been in the Customer Service industry for more than 8 years and love what I do! I guess that’s pretty obvious because I wouldn’t spend all those years in this field if I’m not enjoying it. I’ve been with CK for almost 2 years – which reminds me, my work anniversary is coming up next month! Oh, how time flies!

I have a pet dog named Kobe and spending time with him is one of my favorite things to do! He is a Siberian Husky and the rumors are true – they are escape artists! Aside from my crazy dog, I also love beach camping. My husband and I usually visit isolated/remote islands with our friends. There’s no electricity and no mobile phone coverage but we don’t mind. The campfire stories, refreshing air, virgin white sand beach, and the sound of the waves at night… that’s my definition of relaxation.

Avian

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Hot-swappable, the GLC-SX-MM is an SFP transceiver module that provides gigabit uplink capabilities for a variety of Cisco switches, routers, and firewalls.

The GLC-SX-MM is a 1000BASE-SX SFP module. SFP stands for Small Form-factor Pluggable, a common specification that provides high speeds in a compact form and reduces both the time and expense involved in upgrading and maintaining your infrastructure.

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Learning Center Article – All About 100G Transceivers and Uses in Data Centers

As networking continues to evolve, it has become apparent that data centers are going to do all of the heavy lifting, regardless of who the network serves. In fact, that’s already the case. Networking hubs handle virtually all digital traffic before requests eventually filter down to individual users. Because of this, data center networking is only going to demand more from its hardware and design.

Meeting the needs today and tomorrow will require 100G transceivers. This article was designed to help you better understand and navigate the world of these transceivers.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Apple announced a new Tap to Pay feature for the iPhone that allows people to buy goods from merchants in the U.S. by tapping their phones together.
• Edgewell expects the demand for personal care and grooming items to increase in the coming months as people begin to return to the office.
• Here’s everything in Apple’s new iOS 15.4 update.
• A massive sponge garden was discovered on the peaks of extinct underwater volcanoes in the Arctic Deep Sea.

Happy Tuesday! We hope you are having a great week. Do you have some big goals for the week? We’re cheering you on as you work to achieve them!

In This Issue: New Products | Cisco Original 2600 Series 19″ Rack Mount Kit | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – New Products

Good morning and happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is off to a great start this week! I’ve mentioned before that my role at CK is in new product development, so I am constantly trying to find awesome products to add to our catalog to help you complete your projects on time!

We’ve got some really exciting stuff planned for 2022 so stay tuned for lots of updates! That said, I like to check in from time to time and ask if there are any products that you would like to see CK add to our portfolio? Any feedback is always much appreciated, so please let me know if anything is top of mind!

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Put your network back on track with the right rack mount kit from CablesAndKits. This Cisco 2600 Series 19″ Rack Mount Kit is compatible with a variety of models and includes two brackets and screws. Basically, we give you everything you need to store your router safely. Why choose us? Your purchase is covered by a 100% satisfaction guarantee and you can buy all your other Cisco accessories in one easy purchase.

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Learning Center Article – Meraki Network Products – Simplify Your Network

When it comes to industrial and enterprise networking, hardware solutions often create as many new problems as they solve. Networks get so complicated that scalable designs often devolve into a jumbled mess.

Cisco Meraki offers an incredible solution to this problem. Through the use of powerful automation features and a suite of devices that are designed to work well together, these products might prove to be the best way to manage many business networks. Read more here.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Regulators in Europe are currently drawing up new legislation that will dictate how EU citizens’ user data gets transferred across the Atlantic. This could result in Facebook and Instagram being shut down in Europe.
• Two of the largest paint companies, Sherwin-Williams and PPG, have said the supply chain shortages are impairing their ability to manufacture products.
• Due to the chip shortage, Telsa removed the steering racks of many vehicles. Several cars are expected to have a tweaked power steering system.
• Peloton has slashed its financial outlook for the full year after the company announced CEO John Foley will be stepping down as part of a broader restructuring of the business.

The Winter Olympics are in full swing! Team USA is officially on the board as snowboarder, Julia Marino, freestyle skier, Jaelin Kauf, and the figure skating team all earned silver medals! Which event are you most excited to watch?

In This Issue: Problem Solving | HP DL560 Generation 9 | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Problem Solving

Happy Monday! Over the weekend I had to deal with a kitchen sink faucet that had started leaking (imagine a whale spouting). It was quite an old faucet and not a very durable one. I went about getting a new one and installed it, but I was missing an adapter for one of the hoses. It turned out I needed a male-to-male half-inch to quarter-inch adapter to connect the hose to the faucet, and only had a female half-inch to male quarter-inch adapter. Well, I went up and down the plumbing aisle of the hardware store and could not find the exact part I was looking for. I checked everywhere, even the outdoor plumbing section and it seemed like the part didn’t exist. It occurred to me, maybe I needed to rethink the problem. I already had a female-to-male adapter… so I just needed a half-inch male-to-male fitting to connect my hoses. Luckily, I found a brass nipple fitting that would do the job. I went home and installed it and the new sink works perfectly now.

This experience made me think about all the other problems I hadn’t solved, just because I couldn’t find the right part, or just because I couldn’t find the exact solution that I thought I had needed. Moving forward I think I’ll take a little bit of time thinking about whether or not a problem could be solved another way. Anyways other than pretending to be a Mario brother, I enjoyed watching some of the Olympic games with my family over the weekend. I absolutely love the snowboarding; my wife and kids loved the figure skating. Go team USA! I hope you have a great week and maybe you will even find it helpful to look at solving a problem in a different way!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

HP DL560 Generation 9 servers come with everything you need for increased performance, scalability, and reliability in your data-intensive network! These 2U rackmount servers come with four Intel® Xeon® E5-4600 v3 and v4 processors and also feature 48 DIMMS of DDR4 RAM. These servers give you the processing power and memory you need to optimize your network.

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Learning Center Article – Best Practices for Cable Management in Data Centers

Every network administrator in the world has a horror story about cable management. In data centers, those horror stories grow into genuine nightmares. If enough people work on a system for a long enough period of time, the cables will eventually turn into some type of Ethernet vine monster.

Only strict adherence to cable management practices can prevent this disaster. The best practices in this article assume you already know some of the basics. They’re aimed to help you avoid subtler missteps that occur frequently in modern data centers.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Frontier and Spirit Airlines have announced they have agreed to merge, creating the fifth-largest airline in the U.S.
• Google is refreshing Chrome’s brand icons for the first time in 8 years!
• A slot machine in Las Vegas malfunctioned not alerting the player they had won the jackpot. Luckily the gaming board was able to track him down.
• Are you ready for the football hyped and million-dollar advertising as we approach the February 13th kickoff? Despite some rocky years in the automotive industry, automakers are some of the biggest players in ad spending for this year’s Superbowl. Check out the commercials we know about so far.

Did you know the first organized mail service in America was established in 1175 and postage stamps were invented in 1847? In 1860 the Pony Express took off, and in 1963 we started using zip codes. We’ve come a long way and today we send a big shoutout to all of the Mail Carriers who work long hard hours to deliver our mail to us each day! Happy National thank a Mail Carrier Day!

In This Issue: Meet Christine! | Cisco 2960-X Series | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Meet Christine!

Hello everyone! My name is Christine B. I am a Filipino currently residing in Dubai, UAE.

My customer service journey started back home in Manila. The majority of this experience was with Australian and New Zealand companies and a little bit with US companies too.

I started with a telecommunications account as a customer service agent and because of my excellent performance, was moved to support right after my intro period. My superiors referred me to other companies and lead positions.

I moved to UAE 8 years ago and started working in the trade industry dealing with import/export, logistics, and administration. But I always believe that customer service is involved in everything that we do. My hobbies revolve around dancing, playing the ukulele, studying the stock market, and trading. Oh! I love singing too, but singing doesn’t love me back. 🤪

Christine

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Cisco has always done an amazing job with catering to small and medium businesses. The Cisco 2960-X series is another generation to the already popular 2960 series that will enable the typical small to medium business to function at an enterprise level without the enterprise budget.

The 2960-X series switches offer a fixed configuration of Ethernet switches that are not only Gigabit, but also stackable. The 2960-X was specifically designed for easy deployment and operational efficiency. These switches are also energy cautious and have a large range of IOS software features.

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Learning Center Article – Autonomous vs Lightweight Access Points

When you design a wireless network, you need to have all of your options available from the beginning. When you know what choices exist, you can select from them and make the best network possible.

In that spirit, it can help to understand the primary difference in types of access points. This article will go over the main distinctions between access points and how they can be advantageous or disadvantageous, depending on your network’s design and purpose.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Google has put together a solution to the green bubble messages when using iMessage. Read more about it here.
• An Australian museum says it has found the wreck of Captain Cook’s ship after a 22-year search. But U.S. researchers who collaborated on the project are disputing it.
• Amazon has announced that they are increasing the cost of their Prime membership.
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced a new album Unlimited Love that will release on April 1st.

Welp, for those of us wishing springtime, would come a little sooner – we’re going to have to wait. The Groundhog saw his shadow yesterday, so 6 more weeks of winter here we come!

In This Issue: The Ring Road Challenge | MPO Essentials Fiber Cable | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Ring Road Challenge

Good morning! Last week I mentioned getting backing into running and a few of us in the neighborhood started a running club. That is going very well and it has been great getting back into it full blast. I can already tell a difference in a lot of ways.

One very cool thing coming out of this is doing something I never would have thought about doing. When covid happened, a lot of race organizers created virtual races to help runners still feel connected and still be able to do races. Well, I have signed up for my first virtual race but this one, since it is virtual, has allowed me to do one that is a bit different. The race is called “The Ring Road Iceland Challenge,” and is an 828-mile race. I have 35 weeks to complete it but I am pushing towards completing it in under 25 weeks. The medal and t-shirt look pretty cool, which is always a perk of a race. With the app, I get to see where all of my competitors are in their progress and I get virtual postcards of different locations in Iceland. For every 20% of the race that I complete, they will plant a tree. (They have planted over 5 million trees all over the world so far.)

It’s pretty cool as an overall experience, but it is also something different I never would have thought about doing before. To make it a little bit more competitive, a buddy from the running club is doing it as well. I like the adrenaline rush of doing something radically different and something that extremely challenges me at the same time.

Wish me luck…that I don’t pass out from all the running!

Have a great Thursday!

Jason

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Our MPO Essentials line of fiber cables feature high-quality, precision-built connectors that ensure secure connections for stable transmission with minimal optical loss. This female-to-female cable features 12 strands of laser-optimized cable that allows you to drastically increase your network bandwidth. Additionally, this cable is made with a durable, Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) jacket. As with all of our products, these cables come with a Lifetime Advanced Replacement Warranty meaning that you can purchase risk-free knowing your satisfaction is guaranteed!

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Learning Center Article – How to Recycle IT Equipment and Why We Should

IT networking equipment can be a source of a lot of trouble. It’s expensive to purchase and sometimes challenging to set up. It requires constant maintenance and babysitting, and despite all of your effort and dedication, some of it can still have a short lifespan.

You can take electronics to a lot of landfills but that’s not an optimal idea. Instead, it would probably help if you could recycle your equipment.

With that in mind, here are some thoughts on recycling that are worth contemplating. Why should you recycle, really? Assuming you want to recycle, how can you actually do it? Who even takes old IT equipment for recycling?

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Meta, the parent company of Facebook, during its transition, reported they lost $3.3 billion last quarter.
• The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the total National Debt is more than 30 trillion.
• More than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities reported bomb threats, forcing campuses to close. The FBI is now investigating.
• President Biden will send 3,000 American troops to reinforce NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Today is the day! It’s the weather holiday many look forward to year after year. It’s Groundhog Day! More cold mornings or will the spring come sooner? We shall see!

In This Issue: CK Giving | Dell PowerEdge M620 | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – CK Giving to Frankie and Andy’s Place

Happy Wednesday! Shanyce is going to be out for a bit, so you may see some new names over the next few weeks but I’m going to kick it off! I’m Sue and I’ve been with CK for quite some time. I enjoyed our CK Giving efforts and love that we get to be a part of this each year.

I chose to give my CK Giving donation to Frankie and Andy’s Place. I volunteer weekly here and believe in what they do and how they do it. They rescue senior dogs that have been abandoned by their owners and give them a forever home at their senior dog sanctuary, saving them from a near-certain death sentence at animal control. Most are 13+ and have health issues. The dogs live out the time they have left in doggie luxury. 🙂 FAAP believes that dogs, like people, need a “purpose” so they do community visits to nearby schools, assisted living facilities, and adult daycare centers.

Sue

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Servers are the workhorse of your network. They store your data, act as a web server, house your entire email library, run your applications, and occasionally act as your print server. When your computer dies and you lose all of your files, who is there? Your file server is there to save the day.

Blade servers are specifically designed to pack a lot of power in a small space. Blade servers can be used as a dedicated server or added to a virtual environment. The user is able to condense their server footprint and easily manage multiple servers from one point. Since they are smaller in nature, they have a better overall power consumption. The Dell M620 offers scalability along with an energy-efficient server that will give you a low cost of ownership over its lifetime.

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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. Here is a quick review of the top five benefits of blade servers in data centers that makes their value clear.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Google parent Alphabet has announced a 20-for-2 stock split.
• More than 100 million people are under winter weather alerts as a mix of snow and ice makes its way across the states.
• Google Messages is starting to roll out iMessage reactions in beta for Android users.
• Pfizer has asked the FDA to expand use of the Covid vaccine to kids under 5.