Archives for July 2022

Today we celebrate a summertime staple on a bun – it’s National Hot Dog Day! I think the biggest question asked is – is it a sandwich or not?

In This Issue: Cheers to moving! | HP BL460c Generation 8 | PoE vs PoE+ vs UPoE: What’s the best switch to meet your network needs? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Cheers to moving!

Happy Wednesday CK Family!

Today is a big, long-awaited day for my husband and I – we are finally closing on our house! As you know the housing market has been nuts – but we managed! We feel so grateful that God has led us to end up in the house we found. We moved from Ohio back in March for my husband’s job and it’s been quite the journey since then. But – I’m looking forward to the memories we will make in this new home.

Cheers to a weekend of painting and moving!

Ashley

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Blade servers are specifically designed to pack a lot of power in a small space. Blade servers can be used as a dedicated servers 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 BL460c G8 is equipped with two small form factor (SFF) hot-plug drive bays, SD card slot, two (2) PCIe 3.0 mezzanine I/O expansion slots, and sixteen memory slots. The BL460c G8 has the ability to hold more ram and higher performance processors than the previous generations. The BL460c G8 blade server has a maximum memory of 512GB of ram.

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Learning Center Article – How to Choose the Right Dell PowerEdge Server

If you’re new to networking, you might be wondering what in the world is the difference between PoE, PoE+ and UPoE switches. And, why should I care?

With numerous variations of series, port counts, sizes, and types of switches out there, it’s challenging for the non-technical elite to make sense of it all. So, we’ve rounded up some knowledge and insights to help you understand what a PoE switch is and how the three main versions differ. By the time you finish this post, you’ll be mentally sparring with the best CTO’s out there.

Use this guide to help you determine which one best meets your needs.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Astronomers have spotted in a galaxy adjacent to our Milky Way what they are calling a cosmic “needle in a haystack” – a black hole that not only is classified as dormant but appears to have been born without the explosion of a dying star.
• A judge ruled that Twitter’s lawsuit against Elon Musk over their $44 billion acquisition agreement should go to a five-day trial in October.
• Netflix only lost around 970,000 subscribers during the second quarter, a smaller loss than the 2 million it had projected last quarter. The company aims to unveil its lower-cost, ad-supported tier in early 2023.
• As historic temperatures bake Europe, with readings as high as 115 degrees in Portugal, it’s been just as scorchingly hot stateside. Sixty million Americans could experience triple-digit temperatures over the next several days, with the Plains hitting highs of 115 degrees and heat index values pushing past 120 degrees.

Happy National Words with Friends Day! This game recognizes friendly competitions and smart wordplay. Are you a fan of Words with Friends?

In This Issue: Get out and hike! | LINIER 6U 19″ Wall Mount Cabinet with Glass Door | How to Choose the Right Dell PowerEdge Server | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Get out and hike!

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is having a great start to the week!

I’ve mentioned in the past that hiking is a hobby of mine, but this year it has been hard to find the time to get outside and go for a lot of hikes. Luckily on Saturday I had the chance to do my absolute favorite summer hike, Emery Creek Falls Trail near Chatsworth, GA. It’s a 6 mile hike that includes quite a few creek crossings and the highlight is a gorgeous 60 foot cascading waterfall! It was so nice to get away from a computer screen and out into nature and fresh air! At the falls we saw TONS of butterflies and, as we were walking out, we came upon a baby Eastern (Red-Spotted) Newt (a salamander that’s native to the Eastern half of the United States). We’ve been hoping to spot one of these for a while so it was fun to have finally found one!

Every time I get outside for a hike it sets a great tone for the rest of the week. There’s just something about slowing down and moving at the pace of nature that feels refreshing! If you’re feeling a bit burned out, I highly recommend getting outside and going for a hike!

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

This 6U 19″ cabinet with locking front glass door. Complimented with a shatterproof glass door this wall mount cabinet is perfect for wireless routers, switches, patch panels, DVR and recording devices, and more. Cutouts for an optional fan assembly and removable cable slots add versatility to this wall mount cabinet. The cabinet comes with removable locking side panels, one set of fully adjustable rails, and a maximum weight capacity of 150 pounds.

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Learning Center Article – How to Choose the Right Dell PowerEdge Server

Choosing the right server requires a lot of homework. There are just so many options and finding the right server to fit your needs can be a bit confusing. In an effort to help you narrow down some options quickly, here’s a simple comparison guide for several Dell PowerEdge server series. We will highlight the primary hardware differences between R600, R700 and R800 series and help you narrow down a few of your seemingly endless options.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Once left for dead, Toys “R” Us is making a major comeback. The toy store brand will be just about everywhere for the holidays. Toys “R” Us will be in every US Macy’s (M) in the next few months, part of an expanded partnership with the toy retailer’s parent company, WHP Global. The toy stores will range in size from 1,000 square feet in smaller locations to up to 10,000 square feet in flagship Macy’s.
• A deadly heat wave in Western Europe has triggered intense wildfires, disrupted transportation and displaced thousands of people as the continent grapples with the impact of climate change. The heat is forecast to grow more severe this week and has prompted concerns over infrastructure problems such as melting roads, widespread power outages and warped train tracks.
• A nuclear power plant in Switzerland is lowering its output in order to prevent the river that cools it from hitting temperature levels dangerous to marine life.
• Employees of the Sea Turtle Museum of Kumejima rushed to the beaches of Kumejima island after residents reported dozens of green sea turtles found with stab wounds to their necks and flippers.

Happy National Sour Candy Day! Do you enjoy the lip-puckering, eye-watering flavors that sour candy brings? There are hundreds of sour candies to choose from – which are your favorites?

In This Issue: Images from NASA | Cisco 2921 Integrated Services Router | Do I need the latest server? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Images from NASA

Happy Monday!

I’m actually writing this a little before Monday as I will be out of town on vacation (more on that next week!). I’m wondering if anyone else saw the reveal of the James Web Space Telescope last week. If you haven’t seen the images you can view them on nasa.gov.

The images were amazing, but the reveal was wrought with technical difficulties and in my opinion a bit lackluster. I think they could’ve spent more time giving us the scale and comparison of the images. Well, fear not for a Redditor who created a post that walks you through the “cosmic cliffs” photo and compares the detail from photos taken on Earth against the Hubble and the JSWT.

This Reddit post kind of give you the scale and the detail and it’s just spectacular. It’s like going from standard definition to 4K. It’s amazing how technology is progressing, and I can’t wait to see the other images that the JSWT will reveal in the coming years. It just goes to show you how vast God has made the universe, it’s beyond comprehension!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco 2921 Integrated Services Router (ISR) delivers highly secure data, voice, video, and application services for small offices. The cisco 2921 router is future-enabled with multi-core CPUs, support for high-capacity Digital Signal Processors, Gigabit Ethernet switching, and energy monitoring and control capabilities. This Cisco router offers a great total cost of ownership savings and network agility.

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Learning Center Article – Do I need the latest server?

Data centers aren’t cheap. Just the cost of power requirements for keeping your equipment running can be staggering. Adding the cost of new servers can often feel like too much. If you have high demands and a tight budget, you need a way to get more power and performance for every dollar spent. For most applications, the easiest way to do this is to look at refurbished servers and parts.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• As Apple seeks to bolster its subscription service to compete with Spotify, the company is adding exclusive performances from artists, who will be able to use Apple’s studios to cover classics and recreate their own hits.
• Amazon shoppers bought more than 300 million items during this year’s Prime Day sale, up from roughly 250 million in 2021, making it the biggest Prime Day event in Amazon’s history.
• Five days ago, a giant sunspot and filaments on the solar surface had astronomers worried about possible Earth-directed solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that could lead to blackouts.
• Delta Air Lines is buying 100 Boeing 737 Max 10 planes, its first major order for new aircraft from the U.S. manufacturer in more than a decade.

Raise your hand if you are a gummi candy lover 🙋‍♀️ Today is National Gummi Worm Day and I think the biggest question of all time is – what color combination is the best?

In This Issue: We’re Hiring! | MTP® Cable 12-Strand Corning ClearCurve® | All Wireless Standards are NOT Created Equal | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – We’re Hiring!

Happy Friday, folks! We have some exciting news from our end! We are looking to add a couple of high-performing team members to our team. We’re hiring for roles on our Shipping team and a Supply Chain Manager. Both teams are critical to our success! The ideal candidate for the Shipping team would need to be close to Buford, GA. The ideal candidate for the Supply Chain Manager role would need to be in Georgia.

Last but not least, here is our About Us, which gives an excellent overview, you guessed it, about us! 😀

Are you interested in joining our team, or do you know someone with whom you could share our hiring needs? Just reply to this email, or you can reach me at [email protected].

Have a great weekend!

Chris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Our MTP Elite® line of fiber cables feature high-performance US Conec MTP Elite® connectors for the ultimate in functionality and reliability. This highly versatile line of cables are made with Corning ClearCurve® glass and removable housings which allow users to change the gender of the cable in the field. Additionally, they feature a floating ferrule design which helps to improve mechanical performance by allowing two mated ferrules to maintain physical contact even while under an applied load.

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Learning Center Article – All Wireless Standards are NOT Created Equal

Everything is wireless these days so upgrading your Wi-Fi hardware is critical to future-proofing your network. When the time for new components is at hand, it is important to select the products that fully support your communication and data transfer needs. From fiber cabling to Wi-Fi routers, the choices abound and each one can have a direct impact on your overall network performance. Despite very similar nomenclature, the varying forms of 802.11 are all quite different.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Hasbro and The New York Times announced Thursday that Wordle, the massively popular online word game, is getting a physical board game edition. Wordle: The Party Game will be available to purchase in North America in October and is available to pre-order today via the game’s official website.
• More home sellers are dropping their asking prices as rising mortgage interest rates and inflation have eased competition in the housing market. Some cities are seeing more price cuts than others. Check them out here.
• Ivana Trump, the first wife of former President Donald Trump and the mother of his three eldest children, has passed away at the age of 73.
• A recent study shared that the brain of a woodpecker experiences a seemingly catastrophic impact every time beak meets wood.

One of the classic comfort foods is taking the spotlight today – it’s National Mac & Cheese Day!

In This Issue: Making Lists | Cisco Catalyst 9300 4x Gigabit Expansion Module | Choosing the Right Switch for your Crypto Mining Network | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Making Lists

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I hope you have had a fantastic week. It has been a very busy but productive week for me. This week I got back to doing something that I haven’t done in a while…making a list. I have tried different methods of keeping up with tasks and things that I need to get done, both personally and professionally, but I just can’t get away from using a written list. I guess it is the action of forcing myself to think about I, actually writing down what needs to be done and having it in front of me constantly instead of on a screen or in an app. Maybe I am just weird like that. haha!

It was kinda crazy when I started writing stuff down again and seeing things that I have thought about doing and saying I have needed to do for a while, it inspired me to immediately knock a few things out. I guess it was an “out of sight, out of mind” thing. Hopefully, this will continue to help me be more productive and knock things out instead of just talking about them and thinking about them.

Are you a list person? If not, how do you handle keeping up with tasks and stuff that needs to be done?

Have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Jason

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The C9300-NM-4G network expansion module is an optional modular uplink that is compatible with Cisco Catalyst 9300 series switches. This plug-in module features four Gigabit Ethernet SFP uplinks. As with all products from CablesAndKits, this module comes with a Lifetime Advance Replacement Warranty.

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Learning Center Article – Choosing the Right Switch for your Crypto Mining Network

Crypto mining is a popular way to try to make money. In its simplest form, miners use simple setups that make a few extra bucks here and there. In extreme cases, miners dedicate entire warehouses of hardware to mining, and when they are efficient enough, they can make big money.

Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, mining can only work when your devices reliably connect to the internet. So, you need the appropriate networking hardware to get the most out of your efforts. In that light, we can look at some of the traits that will prove the most valuable for a crypto mining network switch.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• An Oklahoma man confessed to killing a fellow fisherman out of fear he’d be left alone in the wilderness to be eaten by Bigfoot. Read more here.
• Several animal rescue organizations across the U.S. are racing against the clock to rehome approximately 4,000 beagles from a research facility in Virginia. The Humane Society of the United States is working with the U.S. Justice Department in spearheading the effort to transfer these dogs from their current home to shelters in a matter of weeks.
• Molson Coors Beverage will return to the Super Bowl next year, making its first appearance during the big game in more than 30 years.
• Netflix has named Microsoft as its partner for its ad-supported service. Netflix said in April that it was planning on rolling out an ad-supported tier after years of resisting the move.

It’s Hump Day! We are halfway through the week – we’re wishing you a successful week and full coffee pots to finish the rest of the week!

In This Issue: Playing Catch-Up | Yealink SIPT57W IP Desk Phone | Best Practices for Data Center Security in 2022 | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Playing Catch-Up

Good morning CK Family!

Last week I spent lots of time with family and enjoyed every second of it. It was the first year that we’ve had our entire family join us on vacation in a while – it was such a delight!

This week has been lots of playing catch-up. How do you navigate coming back from vacation? It feels difficult at times to come back from such a fruitful vacation and dive back into the business that awaits.

Have a great week!

Ashley

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Equipped with an adjustable and flexible 7-inch multi-point touch screen for much comfortable viewing according to the needs, this Yealink SIP-T57W is perfect for all busy business professionals. The Yealink SIP-T57W boasts built-in Bluetooth 4.2 and the built-in dual-band 2.4G/5G Wi-Fi, the SIP-T57W IP Phone ensures you to keep up with modern wireless technology. Its built-in USB 2.0 port allows for USB recording or a direct wired/wireless USB headset or up to three Yealink EXP50 expansion modules connection. Benefitting from these features, the Yealink SIP-T57W is a powerful and expandable office phone that delivers optimum desktop efficiency and productivity.

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Learning Center Article – Best Practices for Data Center Security in 2022

If you looked at data center security best practices only a few years ago, the leading trends and advice would be dramatically different from the leading areas of focus today. Everyone in IT knows that things change fast, but it feels like change has accelerated.

Here’s an example. Network security was the most important thing as recently as 2019. While it’s still paramount, security threats have shifted away from direct attacks. Social engineering and grid stability are actually more important today.

With all of that in mind, there are four up-to-date best practices that can help you think about how things have changed and what you can do to keep up.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Scientists have released the first highly-anticipated, full-color, scientific images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful such instrument ever built. The colossal telescope orbits around 1 million miles from Earth, and is positioned to peer at some of the earliest galaxies and stars ever born.
• Summer nights just got a whole lot brighter this week thanks to a supermoon illuminating the skies. The moon gets the “super” prefix when a full moon is at its closest to Earth — or perigee — in its 27-day orbit. The moon will reach perigee at 5:06 a.m. EDT Wednesday, and will officially be a full moon at 2:38 p.m. EDT, but will shine bright for much of the week, according to NASA.
• The official N64 controller for the Nintendo Switch has just been restocked at the Nintendo eShop.
• A US Navy destroyer sailed near a disputed South China Sea island chain on Wednesday, challenging the restrictions imposed by China and others on transit through the area. Learn more here.