CablesAndKits

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.

Happy Tuesday & Happy National Drive-In Movie Day! Did you know that the first drive-in theater opened in 1933?! Do you have a local drive-in theater near you?

In This Issue: Summer Plans | Cisco 8821 Unified Color Wireless VOIP Phone | All About Meraki 390 Switches | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – Summer Plans

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday! I’m finally back feeling pretty good after having a rough time with strep throat last week! I always thought of strep as something that clears up quite quickly after getting antibiotics in your system, but it took a long time and an upgraded strength of antibiotics for me to finally kick it! Glad that’s over with and hoping for a healthy rest of the summer!

I can’t say that I have any big summer plans this year, although I’m hoping to get away to the mountains at some point and maybe even the beach! Any trips will be pretty last minute, but sometimes those are the best kind!

What are your summer plans this year?!

Rebecca

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco CP-8821-K9 Unified Color Wireless VOIP Phone is a game changer for businesses seeking to simplify their communication systems. Its advanced features, reliability, and functionality provide a comprehensive solution for voice and data communication.

Learning Center Article – All About Meraki 390 Switches

In the world of enterprise networking, manufacturers are at war to produce the best tools. Cisco has been an industry leader for decades and for good reason. Among the best switches available from Cisco is the Meraki 390 series.

They are switches built for enterprise applications, WiFi 6 integration, easy management, and rapid deployment. With a range of options, they can form the backbone of any high-speed Ethernet system.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• General Motors plans to invest more than $1 billion in two Michigan plants for the production of next-generation heavy-duty trucks. Despite GM’s commitment to exclusively offer all-electric vehicles by 2035, the company continues to invest in traditional vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickups.
• Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is adding another chicken sandwich to its menu for the first time since it kicked off the craze four years ago, a blackened sandwich. Customers can also pay extra to add bacon and Havarti cheese to any of the chain’s chicken sandwiches.
• Apple officially debuted iOS 17 and the slew of updates it will bring to iPhones everywhere this fall. The company unveiled changes to how incoming calls appear, new in-app messaging features and even a “standby” mode.
• Disney is partnering with Apple to bring its streaming service Disney+ to the tech giant’s new Vision Pro augmented reality headset. The Vision Pro will allow users to interact with digital content in mixed reality and will retail for $3,499.

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

In This Issue: Learning to Finish Strong | Cisco Meraki Cloud Managed Switch | Do I need the latest server? | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – Learning to Finish Strong

Happy Monday!

It was a very busy weekend for us. We went to a kid’s birthday party at a splash pad and that was a hit for the kids. The adults kind of just milled about at the edges of the splashpad keeping a keen eye on their little ones. There was sort of an unspoken camaraderie amongst the parents as the children played and I found it amusing to people watch. It reminded me of a herd of buffalo surrounding their calves to protect them against predators.

Later that day my daughter had her second ever piano recital and performed quite well. Oddly enough, she wasn’t nervous about her performance, but about the applause afterwards. She says people praising her makes her feel embarrassed, I’m not quite sure how to process that yet, but it’s definitely something unique to her personality. What I tried to get my daughter to pay attention to most were the performances where there were technical glitches or mistakes and how every single performer continued and finished their pieces and didn’t give up. I think what was more important in these situations is that the kids didn’t give up, or run off stage, and finished confidently. It takes a lot of courage to recover from these mishaps and I wanted to show my daughter it was ok not to be perfect, the most important thing I wanted her to learn is to finish strong. I think we all need to be reminded of that from time to time.

I hope you have a great week and hope that the first full week of June brings you success!

Cris

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Meraki MS225-48FP is a cloud-managed access layer switch that features (48) 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet ports as well as (4) 10G SFP+ uplinks. This switch supports both virtual stacking and physical stacking (compatible with MS210 series switches). Each switch includes dual stacking interfaces with up to 80 Gbps of stacking bandwidth. As with all Meraki switches, this switch allows for simple management, and zero-touch provisioning, and features various security enhancements.

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.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” opened to $120.5 million at the domestic box office this weekend. It was the second-biggest opening of 2023, just behind Universal’s “Super Mario Bros. Movie.” The film also marks the third-best opening weekend for any Spider-Man film, animated or live-action.
• Buy Buy Baby is drawing interest from at least two bidders as its parent company, Bed Bath & Beyond, works to auction off its assets and keep some form of its business alive.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given Qilu Pharmaceutical permission to ship cisplatin to the United States to ease a national cancer drug shortage.
• US authorities scrambled fighter jets to intercept an unresponsive light aircraft that violated the airspace over the Washington DC area and later crashed into mountainous terrain in south-west Virginia.

Happy Friday & Happy National Donut Day! It doesn’t get much better than being able to head into the weekend snagging free donuts from Krispy Kreme, Dunkin’, and more! Enjoy! 🍩

In This Issue: Core Value: Be A Model | Yealink MP56-TEAMS Teams Edition Phone | All about Cisco 4500-X Series Switches | News to Start Your Day

The CK Daily – Core Value: Be A Model

Happy Friday, folks! This CK Daily post is the final installment of our core values! I appreciate you staying with us through to the end!

Before I cover the fifth core value, why five core values? Why not three or eight? We originally started with several more; this is our third revision over ten years. You may need more or less. The importance is not the number of core values but the meaning behind each. Then repeat them in your organization to be sure everyone knows them!

Our fifth core value is Be A Model. Our definition is: By incorporating the first four core values in our daily activities, we desire to run our business in such a way that we inspire other businesses to be the best version of themselves and continually grow, improve, and operate in excellence and integrity.

Are you interested in setting core values for your business? Here is an article on creating core values from MasterClass.

How do you find ways to live out or share your core values?

Have a great weekend!

Chris

Product Spotlights & Updates

The MP56 Teams Edition phone is based on an Android 9 OS and features a bright and beautiful 7″ capacitative touch screen with a Teams-tailored user interface for a rich visual presentation and easy to navigate menu. It also features Yealink Optima HD voice, a dedicated Teams button, and Bluetooth connectivity.

Learning Center Article – All about Cisco 4500-X Series Switches

When you’re looking for powerful switches to run a large network, you have to sift through a lot of options. The easiest way to do that is to learn about each popular series at a time.

To help you with that, you will find a complete breakdown of Cisco 4500-X series switches below. These switches have been around for a while, and they power a lot of large networks. Take a minute to see what they can do and when and where they might be the right option for you.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Boeing is further delaying the first crewed launch of its Starliner spacecraft after discovering additional issues with the capsule. The Starliner crew flight test was most recently scheduled for July 21 and was due to carry a pair of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
• The Pentagon has agreed to purchase Starlink satellite internet terminals from Elon Musk’s SpaceX for use in Ukraine.
• Inflation has strained some household budgets, yet consumers continue to shell out on vacations. Domestic airfare has moderated but international flights are up sharply from 2019 and last year. International travel has been especially strong since the end of pandemic-entry restrictions.
• The Senate passed a bill to suspend the debt ceiling. The final vote was 63 to 36, with 46 Democrats and 17 Republicans supporting the bill while five Democrats and 31 Republicans opposed. Sixty votes were needed to pass the bill.