CablesAndKits

Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway through the week. Do you have a big goal or a to-do list you are working to accomplish this week? We hope you enjoy the rest of the week – if we can pray for you in any way, let us know!

In This Issue: Meet Jean! | Cisco 2911/2921/2951 19″ Rack Mount Kit | What is Switch Stacking & Why is it Important? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Meet Jean!

Hello CK Fam! My name is Jean and I’m from the Philippines. I’ve been in the customer service industry for almost 5 years. Working in customer service has taught me a lot, and I have always enjoyed it since I loved talking to different people. I am passionate ad eager to learn new things and I know I can do it with help from my colleagues.

I love to cook food for my family, bond with my kids, and watch Netflix movies during my free time. I have 3 kids and they are all girls and they are my motivation why I need to work. So when I heard that CK is looking for a rep to be part of their CS team, I immediately sent my application, and I must say it was worth the wait and an answered prayer. Thank you so much, CK Fam, for the warm welcome. I am excited to meet and work with you all.

Jean

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Product Spotlights & Updates

This rack mount kit is used to mount a Cisco 2911, 2921, or 2951 Router into a standard 19″ equipment rack. Includes 2 brackets and all screws necessary to attach brackets to the router.

We carry a full line of rack-mount brackets and other accessories for Cisco equipment.

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Learning Center Article – What is Switch Stacking & Why is it Important?

There are countless ways to design a network and meet the criteria it needs to follow. Not all of these methods will be as efficient or affordable as others. That’s why network administrators are constantly learning new concepts.

Switch stacking is commonly used in high-end networking, but many small and medium businesses are missing out on the technique. Taking a minute to learn more about it could reveal a better way to run your network that saves time and money while improving network functionality.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Chipotle’s culinary and technology teams are working with Miso Robotics to customize its latest robotic solution, Chippy, to cook and season the restaurant chain’s tortilla chips.
• More than three weeks ago, a popular Twitter account named “Anonymous” declared that the shadowy activist group was waging a “cyber war” against Russia. Since then, the account has claimed responsibility for disabling prominent Russian government, news and corporate websites and leaking data from entities such as Roskomnadzor, the federal agency responsible for censoring Russian media.
• Amazon on Tuesday launched “AWS Cloud Quest,” an online role-playing game that aims to help people build cloud-computing skills.
• Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is retiring, and former chief Howard Schultz will take his old job back in an interim role.

Okay, Super Bowl commercials are still the talk of the town! The real question is – did you fall for the CoinBase commercial and scan the QR code? The QR code got 20 million hits alone in the one minute of the ad airing – I guess curiosity really did kill the cat!

In This Issue: Small Town Life | 5ft Blue CAT6 Ethernet Patch Cables | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Small Town Life

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is off to a strong start this week! I’ve mentioned before that I live in a fairly small-ish town (although it is growing by the day!) and I absolutely love it. There’s nothing like small-town life. The people are friendly, the traffic is manageable, and the sense of community is incredibly strong. It has a lot going for it, but one downside of living here has been the lack of a grocery store. The Piggly Wiggly closed down years ago and, since then, we have had to drive to nearby towns for grocery shopping.

Good news, though – this all changed a week or so ago when our BRAND NEW Publix grocery store finally opened! As you can imagine, it has been quite busy since its grand opening but even with the crowds, it’s a true pleasure shopping there! The store is massive (over 48,000 square feet) and, my friend recently advised me that it’s actually the first newly constructed Publix to debut a new store design that they are moving towards. The store features a full bakery, a pharmacy with a drive-thru, a deli island with some self-serve food bars, an upstairs dining area, and lots of space inside and out dedicated to online orders. It’s an exciting time for our town just to get a grocery store, but it’s even better that it’s a brand new design!

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Our Cat6 Easyboot Ethernet cables make it simple for you to manage your Ethernet cabling with a tabbed boot which makes it easy to connect or disconnect the cable in hard to reach, tight, high-density situations, unlike the older style Half-moon boot cables – UTP, Pure Copper Wire, Lifetime Warranty – Backwards compatible with all Cat5e applications.

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Learning Center Article – Benefits of Cisco 9000 Series Switches

So, when you look at something like a Cisco 9000 series switch, you’re facing down a powerful networking tool. It can certainly boost some of the metrics related to your network, but it also comes at a clear financial cost. Is it the right switch for the job?

The best way to answer that question is to take a deeper look at the 9000 series and the clear benefits that it offers. Read more here!

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Virgin Galactic ticket prices start at $450,000 for a single seat.
• Hasbro and Mattel have different ideas about the future of the toy industry. Only one of them expects continued robust growth.
• PlayStation’s Horizon Forbidden West is getting an official Lego set. The set will release on May 22nd and will have 76,989 pieces.
• Intel is purchasing Tower Semiconductor for $5.4 billion. This will give Intel a stronger foothold in specialty technologies.

Happy Monday & Happy Pi Day! What a weekend. Tom Brady came out of retirement, the time changed, NCAA brackets are set, and St. Patrick’s Day is on the horizon. Raise your hand if you need another weekend after this crazy one! 🙋‍♀️

In This Issue: Preparation | Cisco Catalyst 3560 Series | 5 Tips for Choosing a Transceiver | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Preparation

Happy Pi Day! Today reminds me of the day that we were served delicious pies from Southern baked Pie Company at our company celebration! Their buttermilk pie is out of this world. Today is also a day I dread because it’s the first workday after the time change. That first Monday (probably even the first week) is the roughest. Every year I rail against the time change…I know it’s coming, but I willingly choose to ignore it and I never prepare for the inevitable loss of sleep.

I hear rumors of legislation that could be passed to abolish any time change…but I’ve been hearing that for years… I hope it passes in my lifetime!

Other than losing a bit of sleep, the weekend was very chill, both figuratively and literally (we had a bit of a cold snap, a very stark difference from last week). We mostly stayed indoors, but we did make a trip to my Sister-in-law’s house to meet my new niece that was born last Wednesday! I forgot how small newborns could be… my 2-year-old looks like a giant standing next to the baby (and my 2-year-old is small, relatively speaking).

Anyways how do you all prepare for the time change? Do you prepare at all? For those of you who are in parts of Arizona and Hawaii… consider yourself very fortunate you don’t have to deal with this anachronistic nonsense!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The WS-C3560G-24PS-S and WS-C3560G-48PS-S switches are part of the Cisco Catalyst 3560G family of switches. This fixed-configuration, Gigabit Ethernet switches are an excellent and scalable option for small enterprise LAN access or branch-office environments. These PoE switches feature (24) or (48) Gigabit Ethernet ports as well as (4) additional SFP ports.

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Learning Center Article – How to Choose the Right Transceiver for Your Network

When you’re designing or expanding a fiber optics network, there are many things to consider. The networks grow in complication very quickly, and any miscalculation can prove expensive, if not disastrous.

So, if you’re looking for the right transceivers for your network, you have to consider all of the angles. Thankfully, that’s a lot easier if you have a quick checklist that can keep you honest. Really, you can break all of this down into five categories to remember as you browse transceivers.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Samsung has started sending out invites for its second event of the year, which is set to air online on Thursday, March 17th, 2022 at 10AM ET. It’s called the Awesome Galaxy A Event on the invite, and it’s dedicated to the phone maker’s midrange A-series devices.
• The popular Vanced YouTube app is being discontinued, after a legal threat from Google. The creators of Vanced have revealed the project will be shut down in the coming days, with download links set to be removed.
• Tom Brady reversed his decision from last month to retire and will play at least one additional season.
• The men’s NCAA tournament will kick-off on Thursday! Is your bracket ready?

Happy Friday! What a week. We hope that you all had a wonderful week and crossed everything off your to-do list! Do you have any big weekend plans? We’d love to hear about them!

In This Issue: Growth through adversity | Cisco Catalyst WS-C3750X-48PF-S | Wired vs Wireless Networks: Which is better? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Growth through adversity

Happy Friday folks! We woke up yesterday morning to find our water heater decided it no longer wanted to hold water. It leaked through three rooms in our basement, and one of the rooms is carpeted. That’s when you know that day will not be a typical day! 😊

As we dealt with the insurance company and the clean-up team, I thought that while I prefer a “normal” day, growth seems to happen on “non-normal” days. What I mean by that is growth occurs when we face adversity. I was in a situation I had not experienced before and had to lean on others to help me through the situation. Working through this adverse situation allowed me to grow.

Where have you grown recently?

I hope you have a great weekend!

Chris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco Catalyst WS-C3750X-48PF-S switch is an enterprise-class managed switch that offers 48 Gigabit Ethernet PoE+ ports as well as stacking capabilities. This unit includes one 1100W power supply, dual redundant modular fans, Cisco EnergyWise, StackPower, and StackWise technologies, 256 MB of RAM, and 64 MB of Flash memory.

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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.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Super Nintendo World is opening in 2023 at Universal Studios Hollywood!
• Amazon stock has its second-best day of 2022 after the company announced plans to split its stock for the first time since 1999.
• MLB owners and players have reached a deal on a new labor pact. The season is now slated to start April 7th.
• Amazon grocery-picking gig workers are being offered jobs as Whole Foods store staff. They are streamlining parts of their sprawling grocery business in an effort to meet the growing demand for online orders.

You know him, you love him, and you love to help him save Princess Peach – it’s National Mario Day! What’s your favorite game, that features Mario, to play? Bonus points if you can name the first game “Mario” appeared in.

In This Issue: Disconnecting | Dell PowerEdge M620 | LACP vs PAGP | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Disconnecting

Happy Thursday!

Well, today is my Friday. I decided to take some time off and have a long weekend. I have mentioned before that I usually take a trip down to Savannah at least a few times a year. It is like a second home to me since I know the city so well and have been traveling down there for years.

It is also enjoyable for me to take new people down there that have never been before. Between the activities, restaurants, and scenery, it is an awesome place to visit and there are tons of things to do. It is fun getting to experience the city and area through new eyes and I usually find somewhere new down there that I hadn’t noticed before when I take new people. My biggest concern is the gas prices heading down and coming back, but that is all part of the trip budgeting process.

I’m looking forward to disconnecting for a few days and a change of scenery. It always does my mind and body good to get out of the normal routine of work and life and mix things up. I tend to come back refreshed and with a renewed focus on what needs to be done.

Do you have a place, like Savannah is to me, that it is just always refreshing to get away to ever so often?

I hope everyone has a great Thursday and week/weekend!

Jason

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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 server 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 Dell M620 offers scalability along with an energy-efficient server that will give you a low cost of ownership over its lifetime.

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Learning Center Article – LACP vs PAGP

When it comes to network design, there are usually multiple avenues to arrive at the same result. Any number of arrays can ultimately provide the network coverage you need, and there are always different protocols for managing and controlling networks.

A common technique that is used to increase throughput for Ethernet systems is link aggregation. This technique can increase effective transmission speeds while making a network more robust. There are a few ways to aggregate links, and two of the leading protocols are LACP and PAGP.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday calling on the government to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies. The measures focus on six key areas: consumer protection, financial stability, illicit activity, U.S. competitiveness, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation.
• Amazon has approved a 20-for-1 stock split. It’s the first split since 1999 and the fourth since Amazon’s IPO in 1997. The company also said its board has authorized Amazon to buy back up to $10 billion worth of shares.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill announced they are launching pollo asado as its latest limited-time menu item in the U.S. and Canada.
• Major League Baseball said the league has canceled more games, pushing Opening Day to April 14.

Happy Wednesday! As conference tournaments are well on their way, who’s counting down to Sunday when brackets are released for who’s in and who’s out in the NCAA Tournament? Who are you rooting for?

In This Issue: CK Giving | MPO-MPO, 12-Strand, OM4 | Navigating Power Cord Attributes and Terminology | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – CK Giving

We had so many incredible moments of giving and today we’re going to share Avain’s story of why she chose the Siargio Relief Fund.

Avain shared, “Siargao is one of the most beautiful islands in the Philippines. It is known as the “Surfing Capital of the Philippines” and is also on my bucket list. Locals live a very simple life on this island. It breaks my heart to hear that almost 95% of all homes and structures were completely destroyed by the Typhoon just a few days before Christmas.”

Want to learn more about our giving efforts? Read more here.

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Our MPO Essentials line of fiber cables feature high-quality, precision-built connectors that ensure secure connections for stable transmission with minimal optical loss. This female-to-female cable features 12 strands of laser-optimized cable that allows you to drastically increase your network bandwidth. Additionally, this cable is made with a durable, Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) jacket. As with all of our products, these cables come with a Lifetime Advanced Replacement Warranty meaning that you can purchase risk-free knowing your satisfaction is guaranteed.

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Learning Center Article – Navigating Power Cord Attributes and Terminology

Navigating the jungle of terminology, acronyms, and part numbers can be daunting in the field of telecommunications. With power cables, using the wrong type can cause physical failures such as fires and electrical shock. The stakes are higher. Luckily the abundance of documentation and regulation assure that anyone seeking direction to deploy the correct cord can find the information they need to choose the right cord and avoid common pitfalls, damage, and injury that comes with electrical failure.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• American drivers are now paying the most they’ve ever doled out for gasoline, with the national average reaching an all-time record of $4.17 per gallon.
• Aaron Rogers has made it official that he is coming back to the Green Bay Packers.
• Apple wrapped up its first product event of the year. They announced a new affordable iPhone, an update to the iPad Air, a new powerful Mac chip, and a new Mac Studio computer.
• PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Starbucks are suspending business in Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.