Archives for June 2023

It’s Hump Day—the magical midweek oasis that signals the weekend is inching closer. You’ve made it halfway through the week, and the finish line is just around the corner. Hang in there and conquer the challenges to come!

In This Issue: The Impact of Community | Rack Mount Kit | How do I enable PoE on a Cisco switch? | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – The Impact of Community

Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a great week.

Sometimes when I’m writing for our CK Daily, I go through the motions of writing and check it off my list. Yesterday, Rebecca shared such a personal struggle she’s facing and requested prayers and so many of you responded with your support and prayers for her cousin, family, and her. It was incredible. The CK Daily community is one of a kind and we are so grateful for each and every one of you.

Community is a constant reminder that we are all interconnected. Our actions and choices have a ripple effect, shaping the lives of those around us. By supporting each other, we create a domino effect of kindness, compassion, and positivity that spreads far beyond our immediate surroundings.

I hope that we can continue to cherish and nurture the community that we have in the CK Daily. That we can continue to foster a sense of togetherness, empathy, and unity. Because in the end, it is through our shared experiences and collective efforts that we can truly thrive and create a world where everyone feels valued and supported.

I say all this to say, thank you for being a big part of our community, our company, and who we are. We are grateful for you and your love of the CK Daily! Any suggestions you have, we’d love to hear them and we’d also love to learn more about you. Send us a reply and tell us a little bit about you and what you love about the CK Daily community. We look forward to reading your responses!

Ashley

Product Spotlights & Updates

Perfect for mounting that pesky compact switch into your lovely 19″ rack, this rackmount kit will close any unnecessary gaps and will allow your unit to sit flush with the rest of your equipment. Heavy duty and backed by our lifetime warranty, these brackets won’t fail you.

Learning Center Article – How do I enable PoE on a Cisco switch?

Cisco switches are often designed to make life easy, but some of the options that come with them require configuration. If you don’t know how to manage the switch, you won’t be able to utilize everything it can do.

Today’s News to Start Your Day

• Online retailer Overstock.com has placed a $21.5 million bid for some of Bed Bath & Beyond’s assets, including its intellectual property.
• Toronto-based billionaire Michael Andlauer has reached a deal to acquire the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. The deal, which is reportedly valued at nearly $1 billion, sets a record as the highest price paid for a NHL team.
• “The Flash” arrives in theaters at a time of significant change at DC Studios and amid a string of legal controversies for its star Ezra Miller. The movie is expected to generate between $75 million to $85 million domestically during its opening weekend.
• Fanatics held its second investor meeting Tuesday with 400 existing and prospective investors. The company has been preparing to go public.

Happy Tuesday & Happy National Weed Your Garden Day! Today serves as a reminder to all gardeners to take an extra 5 or 10 minutes today to weed your garden. 🏡

In This Issue: A Request for Prayers | Velcro One-Wrap Straps | Wired vs Wireless Networks: Which is better? | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – A Request for Prayers

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

I wish I had something more upbeat to write about, but right now I’m having a hard time thinking about much of anything other than an unfortunate situation we are dealing with in my family. Out of respect for his privacy, I won’t go into details, but I have a cousin who was in a head-on collision a couple of days ago. He has severe injuries from the accident and had to undergo emergency surgery. He’s in the hospital and there’s a lot of uncertainty about what his recovery is going to look like, but we are so thankful that he’s alert and we are praying hard for a full recovery for him! We would certainly appreciate any additional prayers for his recovery!

Rebecca

Product Spotlights & Updates

Managing cables of any kind has never been easier. No more looking for the right size strap, cutting and replacing zip ties or relying on more expensive proprietary solutions to make sure your cables are in order. Replacing, changing and troubleshooting copper, fiber and power cable runs is a snap when they are organized using these VELCRO® Brand Qwik Tie Die Cut Straps. These black 3/4″ x 8″ VELCRO®Brand hook and cable management straps are a staple of network administrators and installers everywhere.

Learning Center Article – Wired vs Wireless Networks: Which is better?

When it comes to designing your network, you have to make one basic decision before you get to anything else. Do you want wireless connectivity? The truth is that wired and wireless networks offer significant pros and cons when compared to each other. It’s important to have a good appreciation of those pros and cons before committing to your network design or plan.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• General Motors announced plans to invest $632 million for production of its next-generation full-size pickup trucks at a plant in Indiana.
• Amazon is testing the use of artificial intelligence to generate summaries of reviews left on some products.
• STAT Health on Tuesday announced its new 24/7 in-ear wearable, called STAT, which measures blood flow to the head. When users stand up, the earpiece automatically tracks changes in their heart rate, blood pressure trend, and blood flow. It has also proven to predict fainting minutes before it happens.
• Dick Clark Productions, alongside asset management company Eldridge, has acquired all the assets, rights and properties of the Golden Globes from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Happy Monday! We hope you had a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to a great week ahead. If we can be praying for you, please let us know!

In This Issue: Navigating New Technology and Relationships | Dell PowerEdge R640 Rackmount Server | 6 Questions to Ask Before You Purchase a Networking Switch | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – Navigating New Technology and Relationships

Happy Monday!

If you’ve been following Chris’s Friday CK Daily’s about our core values, then you know one of them is Make it about relationship. This week I’ve been reflecting on a whole new take on that.

Ever since I saw the Apple Vision Pro release last week; I’ve been wondering about the future of work and what’s in store for us and the next generation. The release totally reminded me of “Ready Player One” (both the book and the film) and I’m amazed at how far technology has come. I know VR and AR aren’t necessarily new concepts and I even know someone who has business meetings in a VR environment with his coworkers, but the features of this new Apple headset seem to be something quite different and a step above. I imagine this will be the opening of another metaverse (hopefully a positive one), but thinking about it more, I feel like we’re creating technologies to help us connect more in a virtual space, and perhaps unintentionally losing technologies that help us connect in “real life”.

If the pandemic taught me one thing, it’s that social isolation definitely has negative effects on our society, or children, and our families. Is this emerging technology going to be a tool that will help society or a tax that will unintentionally burden society? I’m not quite sure yet, but I do know the feeling I get from seeing a good friend I hadn’t seen in over 3 years, and that’s overwhelmingly positive. Call it fate, but the same week Apple released this device that very friend and former coworker made a visit to our office from China, and though we’ve had zoom calls, and have messaged each other, talking to my friend in person was definitely 1000 times better. I hope I don’t lose that feeling as I adopt and wander into new technologies. I’m not sure it’s possible to replicate it, but it certainly has made me appreciate my relationships and friendships.

I hope you have a great week and find ways to make it about relationship!

Cris

Product Spotlights & Updates

Dell PowerEdge R640 rackmount servers strike the ideal balance between density and scalability. These powerful, 2-socket servers combine scalable computing and enhanced storage into a compact 1RU form factor to deliver performance and scalability for the toughest workloads.
Learning Center Article – 6 Questions to Ask Before You Purchase a Networking Switch

Learning Center Article – 6 Questions to Ask Before You Purchase a Networking Switch

You have a network plan. You know how you’re going to set everything up to make everything work. It’s time to do some purchasing.

Before you fill out your credit card information, take a minute to make sure you’re getting exactly what you need. By asking just six questions, you can avoid purchasing mistakes that limit networking capabilities or send you way over budget.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Netflix has seen its four biggest days of subscriber additions in the four-and-a-half years that data provider Antenna has been tracking the service. The boost comes soon after Netflix began rolling out its password sharing crackdown in the U.S.
• Secondary ticket sales for Inter Miami FC have increased 28 times since Lionel Messi announced his move to Major League Soccer.
• Binance’s native coin tumbled this week along with several other cryptocurrencies after SEC Chair Gary Gensler made clear he’s deepening his crackdown on the industry.
• After struggling mightily last year at Sonoma Raceway in the debut season for NASCAR’s Next Gen car, Martin Truex Jr. pulled off a dominating 180-degree turnaround in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. Overcoming an inopportune caution and leading a race-high 51 of 110 laps, Truex scored his second victory of the season and his fourth at the 1.99-mile road course.

Happy Thursday & Happy National Best Friends Day! What a sweet day it is to honor those closest and so dear to us. Those who often withstand distance, storms, and silence. Be sure to give your best friend a call today!

In This Issue: Learning to Stay Consistent | HP BL460c Server | Understanding Wavelengths | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – Learning to Stay Consistent

Good Morning Everyone!

This week, I have been focusing on consistency. Being consistent is something that I have struggled with for most of my life. I love coming up with new ideas and starting new projects but sometimes, I just don’t finish.

This week I decided to start with my health. I took up a challenge to eat clean and exercise every day this week. I have been drinking tea and smoothies every day and going to the gym every morning. It has been tough and today, I knew I wouldn’t make it to the gym. So, I went for a run around my neighborhood. It made me feel great knowing that I didn’t quit. I am trying to hold on to that feeling of accomplishment and remember it whenever I feel like giving up. I hope to continue with this for a few more weeks and monitor my progress.

I would love to hear from you. Have you ever struggled with being consistent? Do you have any tips that have helped you?

Joi

Product Spotlights & Updates

Blade servers are specifically designed to pack a lot of power in a small space. Blade servers can be used as dedicated servers or added to a virtual environment. The BL460c G8 is equipped with two small form factor (SFF) hot-plug drive bays, an 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.

Learning Center Article – Understanding Wavelengths

No one ever accused fiber optics of being simple technology. Instead, we tend to acknowledge that this powerful technology is difficult to design and complicated in its application. Mastering those complications is often worth it because it enables us to build better networks and do a better job with those networks. In that endeavor, we can tackle a brief tutorial on wavelengths and how they impact fiber optic designs.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Smoke from wildfires in Canada delayed flights at Northeast airports as haze blanketed the region. The FAA slowed flights in New York, Newark, and Philadelphia.
• Wilson Aerospace, a family-run tools company based in Colorado, is suing Boeing for a wide range of claims concerning stolen intellectual property.
• Taco Bell is testing a Vegan Crunchwrap made using a beef substitute and cheese alternatives.
• WhatsApp Channels will let people and organizations send messages and updates to followers that are separate from the kinds of interpersonal communications that occur between WhatsApp users.

Happy Wednesday & Happy National VCR Day! VCRs are the device that revolutionized the home movie-watching experience. What was your favorite cassette to pop-in and watch growing up?!

In This Issue: Cheers to 3 years! | Cisco Compatible DB9 to RJ45 Console Cable | Wiring Ethernet Patch Panels | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – Cheers to 3 years!

Good morning CK Family!

They say time flies when you’re having fun and that’s exactly how yesterday felt as my husband and I celebrated our 3-year anniversary. We got married at the height of COVID at such an unknown time. We often think back to the plan we had to have a big wedding and what our day would have looked like but are so grateful for the small intimate ceremony and the day we had celebrating with our closest family.

To be honest, I hated the wedding planning season (the experience still haunts me to this day, haha). It was overwhelming and there were always so many choices to make. As someone who’s likely considered “type A” I thought I’d love being able to plan everything and make sure things were ready to go, but I did not. Truthfully, when we had to cancel everything…I was beyond relieved. Additionally, it lead to such a sweet experience with my mom and dad. We spent two full months together turning our home and land into a mini wedding venue. It had all the little things I wanted and envisioned at my wedding and were all done with so much love and thought. I remember telling my dad I wanted to be able to walk up a set of stairs to be announced as husband and wife, so we built stairs. I wanted a little bit of an untraditional arch to stand under, and my mom made it happen. I dreamed of greenery galore, so we made a bulk order of flowers at Sam’s Club. It was truly such a special day that I love to look back on.

As we head into another year of marriage, I am thrilled to see how we grow. We’re welcoming a sweet baby boy into the world this year and who knows what other adventures God may throw our way. I’m just grateful I’ll get to experience all of these new things hand in hand with my sweet husband. Cheers to many years ahead!

Have a great week!

Ashley

Product Spotlights & Updates

Check out the new USB to RJ45 Console Cable, our 6-foot, Cisco compatible Blue RJ45 to DB9 Rollover Console Cables are null modem cables that allow users the ability to communicate and configure a networking device.

Learning Center Article – Wiring Ethernet Patch Panels

When you’re building a network, it’s often ideal to use a patch panel to direct cables and organize long Ethernet runs — especially if they go through walls, floors, and/or ceilings. Patch panels make cable management and network organization very easy over long periods of time, but you’ll need to wire the panels in order to put them into your network.

Not to worry, this guide will walk you through the whole process.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Millions of people in the eastern United States faced unhealthy air quality conditions on Tuesday, as smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada wafts over much of the country.
• The PGA Tour has agreed to merge with rival LIV Golf.
• Boeing warned about a new defect on its 787 Dreamliner planes and that it will delay deliveries of the wide-body aircraft.
• Starting June 9th American Airlines is making some minor changes to how complimentary upgrades work that most AAdvantage status members are going to like. Upgrades when traveling on an award ticket will now be available to all status members and will come with higher priority than before.