Archives for October 2023

Happy Friday! We hope you’ve had a great week. Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead! 😎

In This Issue: How do you handle maintenance? | HP Aruba 2530 Series Switch | FAQ – Simplex vs Duplex Fiber Cables | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – How do you handle maintenance?

Happy Friday, folks! I was recently driving home from work down a 2-lane road. It was a beautiful day outside; the windows were down, and the sunroof was open! Then my car decided it wanted to show me EVERY warning light in its system. This image isn’t from my actual car, but this is what it felt like! 😱

There are some maintenance tasks that I enjoy doing. This was not one of those times. I don’t own the equipment needed to diagnose codes, and I was about to leave town for a few days, so I didn’t have the time to do anything myself. Fortunately, I knew my local shop would have the equipment and know-how to do it.

Why am I sharing this? We know that managing a network takes a ton of resources. Sometimes, you have the resources to handle everything in house, and other times, you need just a little extra help. So, we recently started offering CK Care: Third Party Maintenance. CK Care can give you the coverage you need on the terms you need.

Check out our CK Care. We’d love to chat with you about your maintenance needs. 😀

Have a great weekend!

Chris

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Aruba 2530 Series of switches was designed to offer cost-effective, reliable, and secure access layer connectivity for a wide range of uses from enterprise, to branch offices and small to mid-sized businesses. These easy-to-deploy switches feature an energy-efficient design which lowers power consumption for greater energy savings.

---

Learning Center Article – FAQ – Simplex vs Duplex Fiber Cables

When you’re choosing cables for fiber optics, you have to get a few things right. You might be tempted to look for the cheapest cables you can find. After all, saving money is important.

But, price differences usually exist for a reason, and if your cheap cables aren’t designed for the network you have in mind, you’ll run into trouble.

To avoid that, you have to learn a few essentials, and one of the best places to start is with duplex and simplex cables.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The NFL announced in a statement on Wednesday that Roger Goodell’s contract was extended for three years through March 2027.
• The Las Vegas Aces became the first WNBA team to win back-to-back championships in more than two decades.
• Have you checked out all of the new features available on Instagram lately? Over the last several months the Meta-owned platform has released several changes. Check them all out here.
• CVS is voluntarily removing some of the most common cough and cold medicines from its store shelves and will no longer sell them. The company’s decision comes a month after a panel of advisors to the FDA unanimously determined that the main ingredient used in many popular over-the-counter cold and allergy medications doesn’t actually work to clear up congested noses when taken orally.

Happy Thursday & Happy National Get to Know Your Customers Day – that’s YOU! Tell us all about you. What do you love to do? Any upcoming weekend plans? We’d love to hear from you. 😀

In This Issue: Another Fall Wedding | 12U Mounting Rail Kit for LINIER Wall Mount Cabinets | Cisco Stacking Options Explained – StackWise to StackWise-1T | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Another Fall Wedding

Happy Thursday,

Last weekend I too had the opportunity to attend a wedding. It was breathtaking. After all of the gloomy days last week, Saturday was absolutely beautiful and the perfect day for an outdoor wedding. The bride was astonishing! She was so graceful. It was such a joy to watch her down the aisle.

The atmosphere was filled with immense love and happiness. As the couple exchanged their vows, I couldn’t help but shed a tear. It was truly heartwarming! The couple’s vows were inspirational. It was a reminder that even in challenging times, love has the power to uplift us all. Witnessing their commitment to one another brought joy to my heart.

After the wonderful ceremony, the reception was an absolute blast! It was a perfect blend of heartfelt speeches and great music. It reminded me of the importance of family, friendships, and love. I haven’t had the opportunity to attend many weddings but I will be looking forward to my next one.

Joi

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

A kit of two mounting rails for LINIER wall mount cabinets. When two of these rails are mounted in the back, they will turn a two-post into a four-post cabinet.

---

Learning Center Article – Cisco Stacking Options Explained – StackWise to StackWise-1T

When you have a large, fast network to support, you need more than just high-end switches. You need the ability to link switches together, and stacking technology is the primary way to accomplish this goal.

Within the Cisco ecosystem, Stackwise is the longstanding, thoroughly proven technology that allows you to stack a wide range of switches. Whether you’re looking to minimize costs, maximize performance, or optimize in any other way, you’ll be working with some version of Stackwise.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• United Airlines said in an internal memo that it will board economy passengers with window seats before those with middle and aisle seats beginning Oct. 26.
• The Food and Drug Administration is proposing a ban on using formaldehyde as an ingredient in hair relaxers, a huge step in raising awareness about the potential harms such products create.
• President Joe Biden will deliver a prime-time foreign policy speech to the country on Thursday night.
• Pfizer will price a five-day course of its Covid antiviral drug Paxlovid at $1,390 when the company starts to sell it on the commercial market.

Happy Wednesday & Happy National Chocolate Cupcake Day! Did you know cupcakes can be traced back to 1796 and used to be called patty cakes? What’s your favorite kind of chocolate cupcake to enjoy?

In This Issue: Swiftie Update, Weddings & Dancing Fruit | Dell Lithium-Ion Battery | What Does ETL or UL Listed Mean? | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Swiftie Update, Weddings & Dancing Fruit

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

I hope you’ve had a great week. I’m happy to report that the Taylor Swift Eras Tour film was incredible! I enjoyed being able to relive my experience at the concert but in a different way. As I was watching the film, I just kept thinking about all it took to make this tour happen – and it’s not even over! From set-up to tear-down, there’s quite a bit that goes into it. I can only imagine the number of people behind the scenes for this tour or any tour for that matter.

Overall, this weekend was great! We attended our first wedding in a while and it was a blast. Last year, my husband and I were in the season of attending weddings every weekend in the fall. It’s nice to have a break from that this year, but the one from this past weekend was beautiful. It was in the mountains of North Carolina and the weather couldn’t have been better! We took our little guy with us to the wedding and he did wonderfully.

Lately, our little man has been growing like a weed! He’s 11 weeks old today and I just can not believe where the time has gone. He’s so smiley lately and boy does it make our hearts swell when he does. Recently, he’s been pretty into Hey Bear. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a video channel on YouTube that has little dancing fruits and vegetables on a black background. He could care less about most of the fruits and vegetables, but there are little radishes that come on the screen and he is obsessed. It’s quite comical.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great week ahead!

Ashley

---

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. Sometimes, servers need to have a little backup. This is where a controller battery comes into play. This is a brand-new backup battery for specific Dell servers.

---

Learning Center Article – What Does ETL or UL Listed Mean?

When you’re trying to run cables to make a network function, you don’t always have the luxury of thinking about the specific metrics and design elements behind the cables you’re using. You just need to get them from one port to the next, however you can.

The problem is that not all Ethernet cables are equal, and when you run them through walls or attics or other shortcuts, you could unwittingly create a fire risk.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for a brief but crucial trip meant to demonstrate U.S. solidarity with Israel ahead of an expected ground assault against Hamas and concerns about humanitarian aid in Gaza.
• Mortgage rates last week rose for the sixth straight week, causing demand for home loans to drop to the lowest level since 1995. Total application volume fell 6.9% compared with the previous week.
• General Motors is delaying the production of all-electric trucks at Orion Assembly in suburban Detroit until late 2025.
• Walmart is banking on its third-party online marketplace to boost holiday sales. Online sales for Walmart U.S. rose sharply recently, while other major retailers such as Macy’s and Target reported declines.

Happy Tuesday! If you haven’t shared your favorite fall recipe with us yet, please do. We’d love to add your favorite meals to our CK Kitchen recipe book. 🧑‍🍳

In This Issue: Making Memories in Hilton Head | Cisco Console Adapter | Solid Copper vs. Copper Clad Aluminum (CCA) Ethernet Cables | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Making Memories in Hilton Head

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone’s having a great week so far! I’m back from our family vacation to Hilton Head and am trying to get back into a normal routine.

This year’s vacation was a bit different than most years as my nephew and two nieces (ages 9, almost 7, and 3) joined us! My nephew has come for the last several years but this was the first time for the girls! While having 3 kids on the trip certainly makes it less of a “vacation” and more of a “trip,” we had the best time!

Few things bring out more joy in kids than getting to dip their toes in the ocean and play in the sand! They loved their time on the beach, and they even got a little pool time too! We also visited a really fun and unique playground on the island at Lowcountry Celebration Park. The playground looks like a giant ship and there are even cannons that the kids can shoot mist out of. Super cool!

Aside from that we ate lots of good food, did a little shopping, rode bikes, went for walks, saw lots of alligators, and just enjoyed spending time together! Thankful for the time we had and the memories made… but I definitely feel like I need a vacation now! 😉

Rebecca

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

Working in IT, you know how important it is to have flexible solutions to everyday problems. That includes using modular adapters as a cost-effective solution for completing complex connections. This Cisco adapter is a straight-through DB9 Female to RJ45 Female, perfect for connecting desktop terminals back to a central patch panel.

---

Learning Center Article – Solid Copper vs. Copper Clad Aluminum (CCA) Ethernet Cables

Networking is expensive, and as a network grows, you can easily spend a fortune just on cables, much less everything else.

It’s normal to look for ways to save money, and one option that is growing in popularity is to use CCA cables for Ethernet connections. These cables are cheaper than traditional Ethernet cables, but they come with a catch.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Disney officially turned 100 on Monday. Walt Disney was a fledgling filmmaker in LA when he signed a distribution deal for a series of live-action/animated comedy shorts about a girl in a cartoon world based on “Alice in Wonderland,” and the company was born.
• A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 22 Starlink internet satellites to orbit this evening (Oct. 17).
• American Airlines introduced AAdvantage Business, a loyalty program aimed at businesses. The program allows companies and their employees to earn miles and loyalty points for booking business trips directly through American Airlines.
• Several Western leaders announced plans to travel to Israel this week in a show of support for the country ahead of an expected ground offensive, and to plead for humanitarian relief for the Gaza Strip.

Happy Monday! We hope you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the cool weather that is starting to sneak in. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

In This Issue: Cool Weather Camping | Cisco USC B200 M5 Server Blade | What is LLDP? | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Cool Weather Camping

Happy Monday!

I am writing this CK daily on a perfectly chilly fall Sunday morning at my campsite in front of a toasty fire. Our sleeping bags kept us warm at night and we all woke up ready to take on the day. I couldn’t have asked for better weather.

The campsites here at Stone Mountain, GA are a little closer than I’d expected and there were some lively campers blasting some tunes late into the night, luckily there are quiet hours so that we could get some sleep, although it was a challenge to get the little ones asleep. The best part of this campsite is access to a small lake with a beautiful view and, this may be a first, but curbside trash pick-up! I wish all campsites had that service, it’s so convenient!

One of my favorite camping tools for this cool weather camping trip is the Mr. Buddy propane heater. Perfect for warming you up while you build your campfire (haha, this sounds like a commercial, but I promise I’m not sponsored!).

I hope you all have a great week and get a chance to enjoy some fall weather!

Cris

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

Looking for a blade server that gives you all the traditional benefits such as space efficiency and improved power and cooling efficiency, as well as all the power and performance you need for your network? Take a look at the Cisco B200M5 USC Blade Server! This cutting-edge server will help to revolutionize your network with innovative features that help it deliver performance that can’t be beat!

---

Learning Center Article – What is LLDP?

Everything runs on your network, but have you ever wondered how devices communicate with each other? How do they even find each other in the first place?

This question has an answer that is both simple and complicated.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Drugstore chain Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It also appointed Jeffrey Stein as its new CEO to steer the company through its restructuring plan.
• Halloween is the biggest day of the year for candy makers such as Mars. The National Retail Federation predicts consumers will spend $3.6 billion on Halloween candy this year.
• The water level at a major river port in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest hit its lowest point in at least 121 years.
• Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film tallied between $95 million to $97 million during its opening weekend.

Happy Friday & Happy Birthday to the United States Navy! Thank you to all who have served and continue to serve. We are grateful for your service!

In This Issue: Share Your Favorite Fall Recipes! | Cisco Meraki MX64 Security Appliance | What Is OSPF in Routing? | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Fall Recipes!

Hello CK Family!

Happy Friday! We hope you’ve had a great week and are looking forward to the weekend.

So many of our recent blurbs have been focused on the welcoming of the fall season and all the fun things that come with it – cool air, corn mazes, football, soups, and more!

We’d like to compile a simple recipe book to share with you all to contribute to making this fall season just that much sweeter. We’ve asked our team to share their favorite recipes and want to ask you as well. So send those our way!

We’ll put it all together and share it far and wide for all to enjoy.

Happy fall, y’all!

-CK Team

---

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.

---

Learning Center Article – What Is OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) in Routing?

As networking design grows more complicated and the scale of your network increases, you need better ways to manage traffic. One tool at your disposal is the routing protocol.

There are many routing protocols in the world, but a handful are dramatically more popular than the rest, and for good reason. One of the leading protocols is OSPF.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Nineteen months after agreeing to the company’s largest purchase ever, Microsoft has closed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
• Guangzhou-based Ehang said it received an airworthiness “type certificate” from the Civil Aviation Administration of China for its fully autonomous drone, the EH216-S AAV, that carries two human passengers.
• Canon, the Japanese firm best known for its printers and cameras, launched a critical tool that can help manufacture the most advanced semiconductors around.
• Google execs and Mountain View city leaders opened the doors to it’s long-awaited “Visitor Experience” center this week. The new center features community event spaces, a retail store, and a public cafe.