Archives for September 2022

Happy National Linguine Day, Cheese Toast, and Double Cheeseburger Day! Sounds like the perfect day to enjoy some pasta, cheese toast, and a cheeseburger to top it off. Enjoy!!

In This Issue: Chili Weather (Almost) | Cisco Catalyst 2960S Series FlexStack Module | How Fast Does Email Travel? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Chili Weather (Almost)

Happy Thursday!

I hope your week has been going great. We are almost to Friday, so that is always a plus!

Y’all are probably tired of us all talking about Fall. I get it. Not sure why I am looking forward to Fall so much this year…I mean football is more than enough but it just seems different this year. Maybe it is because we had such a hot summer and the cooler (hopefully) weather will be nice.

This week we had a small touch of Fall in the weather…it has been a little cooler but the humidity has been non-existent. I figured it would be a good time to make chili this week. I am a chili nut and I like experimenting with different ingredients and making different types. I made a 3-Bean Taco Chili with vegetables. The vegetables and seasonings were the things I tried differently this time around and it seemed to be a hit with the neighbors I had over to watch football Monday night. That recipe is a keeper now!

As I said, I am always up for trying new chili recipes and types, do you have any ideas or recipes you would be willing to share with me? (I know most chili recipes are supposed to be kept secret, but I promise not to tell anyone. Haha!)

Have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Jason

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Cisco FlexStack Module provides a true stacking solution with all Catalyst 2960S Series switches in a FlexStack stack acting as a single switching unit when the module is installed in all switches. FlexStack provides a unified data plane, and single configuration for a group of stacked Cisco Catalyst 2960-S switches.

A single FlexStack connection between two members is a full duplex 10Gbps connection. Each Cisco Catalyst 2960-S member supports two FlexStack connections. Each FlexStack member can simultaneously send and receive Ethernet traffic over both stack links at a line rate, effectively giving 20Gbps of stack bandwidth per member. Up to four switches can be stacked together using FlexStack to form a single logical switch.

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Learning Center Article – How Fast Does Email Travel?

We all know that email is fast. You can send important documents through the virtual systems, and you more or less expect them to arrive instantaneously. Yet, whenever we’re waiting for important emails, it seems like things move a lot slower.

That brings up an important question. How fast does email actually travel? How long does it take to get to a recipient, and why is it always slower when it matters more?

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Jim Beam bourbon while cutting back on its greenhouse-gas emissions. The company, which is owned by Japanese parent Suntory, said it would invest $400 million in renewable energy systems while boosting bourbon production at its largest Kentucky distillery. The process will use a high-quality, low-cost fertilizer, which will also be made available to local farmers, according to the company.
• Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, his spouse and two adult children are giving away their ownership in the apparel maker he started some 50 years ago, dedicating all profits from the company to projects and organizations that will protect wild land and biodiversity and fight the climate crisis.
• Adobe announced they will acquire design software firm Figma in a deal worth about $20 billion in cash and stock.
• Amazon is paring back its warehouse footprint across the country after it aggressively added more buildings to its network to meet a pandemic-driven surge in e-commerce demand. The retail giant has closed or canceled 44 facilities and delayed the opening of 25 sites as of this week.

Happy National Cream-Filled Donut Day! Are you a boston cream, bavarian cream, lemon cream, custard or a different type of filling fan?

In This Issue: Reuniting with old friends! | Cisco 3750 Series 24 Port PoE Switch | Active vs Passive PoE Switches | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Reuniting with old friends!

Happy Wednesday! This past weekend I spent some time rekindling with some old friends from grad school and what a sweet time it was. We spent the day in Charlotte, NC on Saturday enjoying various parts of the city, reflecting on our experiences together, and making new memories. We spent a majority of the day at Optimist Hall playing games and enjoying snacks from the various restaurants they have – highly recommend this if you are in the area!

Friendship is such a sweet gift. I think my favorite part of friendship as I get older is those moments of reuniting and celebrating all that they’ve done.

What do you love most about reuniting with old friends?

Ashley

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series switches are an innovative product line that improves LAN operating efficiency by combining industry-leading ease of use and the highest resiliency available for stackable switches. This product series represents the next generation in desktop switches, and features Cisco StackWise™ technology, a 32-Gbps stack interconnect that allows customers to build a unified, highly resilient switching system—one switch at a time. The Cisco Catalyst 3750-24PS-S switch has 24 Ethernet ports and two Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) uplinks.

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Learning Center Article – Active vs Passive PoE Switches

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is one of the most useful and convenient mechanisms in modern networking. Devices that require an Ethernet connection can also draw power through Ethernet lines, as long as they’re connected to a PoE ecosystem. This saves time, money, and hassle on running power lines or designing around available outlets.

So, if you are considering working PoE into a network, then there are a few things you’ll need to learn. One such lesson is the distinction between active and passive PoE. Both exist, but they are not universally swappable options. Take a minute to learn more about each type of PoE, and you’ll be able to make the right choice for your network.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The James Webb space telescope has once more gazed into the bowels of the universe to produce one of the most mesmerizing images the world has ever seen. This time, the newly minted space telescope took a gander at the Orion Nebula. The result is a fantastic picture full of twinkling stars and vast wispy clouds.
• The William S. Paley Foundation will auction off at least $70 million in art masterpieces this fall to expand the digital footprint of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and possibly acquire the museum’s first NFTs.
• Millions of miles away on Mars, in a barren crater just north of the equator, a rover is wandering around, carrying a gold-coated gadget the size of a toaster. The machine inhales the Martian air and strips away contaminants. It splits the atmospheric gas into constituent parts, takes what it needs, and then reassembles that blend to create something that is in very short supply on Mars: oxygen.
• Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is set to move in a silent procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall in central London on Wednesday, where it will lie in state until her funeral. Prince William and Prince Harry will join King Charles III and other members of the royal family in walking behind the coffin as it makes its way along the procession. The coffin will be carried on a gun carriage, and once it arrives, a short service will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Happy Tuesday & Happy Day of the Programmer! Today honors the innovators who continue to change the world, one program at a time.

In This Issue: Fall is coming! | CAT5e Ethernet Patch Cable – 50% off! | Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber Cables | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Fall is coming!

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday!

Around here the sun is out, the birds are chirping, and there’s a crisp coolness in the air which can only mean one thing…. Fall is coming! It’s an exciting time and I’m totally here for it! I’m so thankful to live in a place where we get to experience the changing of seasons (even if some of them feel super short!). If you live in Georgia then you know that Fall and Spring can feel like they go by in an instant, while Summer seems to last forever!

That said, I’ve been looking forward to it feeling like Fall because I’m eager to get out my Fall decorations! It just hasn’t felt “right” yet for decorating, but now I’m feeling inspired! I know it’s controversial, but in recent years I’ve become one of “those people” who starts decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving, which now means I feel the time crunch to get the Fall decorations out early so I can enjoy them for as long as possible before the Christmas stuff comes out!

What about you? Have you started pulling out the pumpkins and Fall décor yet?

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Our Snagless CAT5e Ethernet cables are made with the highest quality copper wire construction to support networking Gigabit Ethernet speeds (up to 1000 Mbps) over short distances. This makes these patch cables perfect for general use, and are the most popular network cable for home or office networking.

The molded half-moon boots, referred to as “Standard boots”, on our CAT5e cables are specifically designed to prevent catching when being manipulated in hard-to-reach areas. Our new EASYboot, Ferrari-style patch cables have all the same benefits of the standard half-moon boot cables, but make it easier to connect and disconnect your ethernet cables.

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Learning Center Article – Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber Cables

Fiber optics are essential for building the most capable networks, but when making design choices, there are plenty of options that serve fiber optics in general. One of the primary choices available to any network engineer exists between single-mode fiber and multimode fiber.

These are physically different approaches to fiber optics communication, and as such, they offer different strengths and weaknesses. To effectively choose the right design for your network, it helps to have a better understanding of what separates these types of cables.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• NASA announced the date it plans to attempt to launch its Artemis 1 SLS rocket from the Kennedy Space Center for the third time. Officials are aiming for Sept. 27 for the next launch.
• Flights for the holidays will be the most expensive in five years, fare-tracker Hopper said Monday. Strong demand and limited capacity will keep fares aloft. Travel experts recommend flexibility and traveling outside of the busiest travel days.
• Starbucks is expected to unveil a reinvention plan Tuesday as the coffee giant grapples with changing consumer behavior in the wake of the pandemic. The strategy is the brainchild of outgoing interim CEO Howard Schultz, who will stick around to help implement it. The plan is expected to address efficiency at its cafes and to improve employee turnover rates.
• Ukraine has recaptured more than 6,000 square kilometers (2,300 sq miles) of Russian-occupied territory. Ukraine’s forces have been able to recapture dozens of towns and villages in the northeast of the country over the last few days, including the strategically important towns of Izyum and Kupiansk.

Happy Monday & Happy National Day of Encouragement! Today is dedicated to uplifting people around us and making a positive impact. Here’s our challenge to you: send a note to someone encouraging them as they take on the week!

In This Issue: A week of Tributes & Remembrances | Cisco Aironet 2700 Series Access Point – 25% off! | Managed vs Unmanaged Switches: Which do you need? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – A week of Tributes & Remembrances

Happy Monday!

I don’t have much to share this week, it was a pretty reflective and somber week as I watched tributes and remembrances of 9/11 and Queen Elizabeth. I can’t believe it has been 21 years, it certainly doesn’t feel that long ago. My 8-year-old asked why people were reading off names on the television. I told her what had happened, and I don’t think she quite grasped what I was explaining to her, she sort of shrugged it off and moved on to something else. I don’t think she’s quite ready for the full explanation yet, I hope to take her to the memorial site one day (I haven’t been myself but would like to visit).

Anyways, four-day work weeks always throw me off (even though I do enjoy the three-day weekend). I’m hoping to start a fresh with a full week and look forward to what it brings.

Thanks,

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco 2700 series of access points are ideal for mission-critical high-density environments. The 2700 series was designed for office environments. The sleek design and internal antennas (some units) create a seamless look. The 2700 series access points have the ability to reach 450-Mbps data rates and are backed by 802.11ac or Wave 1 technology. This connection is theoretically able to have a connection rate of 1.3 Gbps. With 802.11n and MIMO technology, the 2600 series access points deliver the speed and expandability that you expect.

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Learning Center Article – Managed vs Unmanaged Switches: Which do you need?

Switches are one of the core pieces of almost any major network. They manage traffic routing for Ethernet-connected devices. As such, they provide stable, fast means of communication for any device across the network.

If you run a business network, you’ll need some kind of switch, and when you look into it, you’ll find that there are two competing types of switches: managed and unmanaged.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Russian troops have withdrawn from the eastern Ukrainian village of Zaliznychne after a counteroffensive by Kyiv’s forces. Police are now investigating possible war crimes committed by Russia’s military in the area. It is one of several locations recaptured by Ukrainian troops since an operation to push back military personnel began in early September. Villagers in Zaliznychne have found a sense of relief but are still without access to power.
• Ford Motor is expanding the availability of its hands-free highway driving system to Lincoln’s entry-level Corsair crossover. The 2023 Corsair, starting at about $40,000, will be the lowest-priced vehicle in the company to offer the technology.
• The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, will become the new owners of Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved corgis following her death.
• NASA engineers replaced leaky seals on two fuel lines of the Artemis 1 moon rocket over the weekend, setting the stage for a fueling test to see if the repairs worked.

Happy Friday! We hope you made it through this short work week feeling accomplished and checked off all the boxes on your to-do list! Enjoy the weekend!

In This Issue: First Experiences | Cisco 8851 Five-line Color Display IP Phone – 25% off! | “S-Class” Transceivers vs Non “S-Class” Transceivers | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – First Experiences

Happy Friday, folks! I hope you had a productive short week! It flew by for me. However, I’ve felt behind all week. I’m guessing that is due to being off Monday. I am convinced that all federal holidays that occur on a Monday should be on Friday instead, but that’s a topic for another day. 😀

I’m excited about this weekend! I’m taking my oldest daughter to her first college football game, and I think she may be even more excited than I am. It’s a ton of fun to share new experiences with kids. Their anticipation & excitement builds as you get closer to the day of the event. Even when I’ve done something many times, there is still anticipation and excitement when I can share an experience with someone close to me.

What are your favorite experiences that you’ve shared with someone?

Have a great weekend!

Chris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco 8851 offers a high-resolution VGA backlit color display. The 8851 is a business-calls collaboration endpoint that delivers high-fidelity, reliable and secure communications fro small to large businesses. Supports a built-in Gigabit Ethernet switch for your PC connections. The 8851 series also deliver advanced IP features and crystal clear wideband audio performance.

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Learning Center Article – “S-Class” Transceivers vs Non “S-Class” Transceivers

When designing high-speed connections, 10G and 40G transceivers have to be carefully selected. Optimizing modules can improve performance and will absolutely impact cost-efficiency. That is why it is so important to distinguish between the various transceiver options. In this case, we can take a close look at the difference between S-Class and non-S-Class Cisco modules.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Queen Elizabeth II passed away yesterday at Balmoral Castle, her estate in the Scottish Highlands. She was 96.
• The Queen’s funeral has been planned in detail, in secret. Learn more about the details of the 10 day session here.
• Ukraine appears to have surprised Russia with a series of counterattacks in the northeast of the country with military strategists saying Kyiv is likely to have taken advantage of a recent redeployment of Russian troops to defend against a counteroffensive in the south.
• Apple announced the iPhone 14 lineup, consisting of the base iPhone 14, the slightly bigger iPhone 14 Plus, and the faster, more capable iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. Learn more here.

Put on your best smile – today is National School Picture Day! School pictures date back generations and mark so many significant times in our lives. Send us the best school photo you’ve got!

In This Issue: Online Shopping Habits | CAT6A Shielded (STP) Ethernet Patch Cables – 54% Off | Tips for Maintaining Your Server | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Online Shopping Habits

Happy Thursday!

I hope your week is going great and has been productive for you.

We have been in a deep discussion around here about how people shop on all websites. Does the navigation bar usually at the top of the site matter, or do most people go to a website and just use the search bar to find what they want? For instance, on Amazon, how would you ever find anything without using the search bar? Do people shop by brand first or do they shop by product and then find the brand they are looking for?

Yesterday, I needed a new mouse for my laptop and, of course, I hopped over to Amazon and immediately searched for “trackball mouse” then I looked for the brand I usually use. BUT…when I go to Target’s website, I usually go to the category I want first in the navigation and then narrow it down from there. Maybe it depends on what I am shopping for that determines how I shop. This has really rocked my world in how I interact with different websites. Haha!

So, I am curious, how do you shop when you go to a website (even our website)? Do you just immediately use the search bar or do you browse the navigation menus to narrow it down and find what you want? Just curious for additional feedback from a larger group of people.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Jason

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Product Spotlights & Updates

We just saved you a ton of time and made managing your network cabling a whole lot easier! Introducing our EASYboot ethernet patch cables. These snagless Cat6a patch cords have skinnier cable boots to make it easier to connect and disconnect the cable, as well as to prevent the cable from catching when pulled through tight spaces. Built to last, our high-quality Ethernet cables are pure copper for maximum throughput and reliability. Individually bagged and labeled in retail packaging, these Cat6 cables are easy to store and the length and type are easily identifiable.

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Learning Center Article – Tips for Maintaining Your Server

Servers are powerful in every sense of the word, in fact, they can hum for 24 hours a day, seven days a week without having any issues. However, their efficiency can be reduced drastically or even cut short completely if they are deprived of proper maintenance. You can avert server failure or a major disaster by simply having a regular check-up on them. Hiring a server management solution is the easiest and worry-free way to go.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• UPS announced Wednesday it is looking to hire more than 100,000 workers for the coming holiday shopping season, with pay rising to as much as $30 an hour for certain positions and locations.
• Everything changed for 7-year-old Tariq when he slapped some butter on an ear of corn. He knew it tasted good, but butter made it better. His passion for produce landed him a sweet gig last Saturday as South Dakota’s official Corn-bassador.
• Frances Tiafoe became the first American man to reach the U.S. Open semifinals since 2006 by beating Andrey Rublev 7-6 (3), 7-6 (0), 6-4.
• The 31,000-year-old skeleton of a young adult found in a cave in Indonesia that is missing its left foot and part of its left leg reveal the oldest known evidence of an amputation.