CK Daily Updates

Happy Monday! We hope you had a wonderful weekend. We’re praying for you as you head into the week!

In This Issue: CK Certified | Cisco ISR 4000 Blank Faceplate | Importance of Fiber Optic Cleaning | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Harvesting Time!

Happy Monday! We’re giving our team some time off from writing for the CK Daily this week but have no fear! They’ll be back soon, hopefully feeling refreshed and ready to jump back in. Until then, we’re going to spend the week highlighting all things CablesAndKits that you may or may not know about. Today, we will kick it off with CK Certified.

Our Certified Pre-Owned Process is what gives customers the confidence to save 75%+ compared to buying new. Our customer service and expertise is what keeps them coming back. We ensure the highest quality IT equipment for you in 6 steps.

1) Physical Inspection: Physical inspection upon arrival that prevents any dings, dents or damage from acceptance.

2) Comprehensive Testing: Comprehensive component testing, ensuring quality of standard in all parts and functions.

3) Factory Reset: Upon passing test, a factory reset is enacted to software default.

4) Internal Inspection: Internal inspection for the proper functionality of all parts and accessories.

5) Thorough Cleaning: Disassemble and clean inside and out, returning the unit to factory finish with a fresh paint job.

6) Optimally Packaged: Optimally packaged and shipped to ensure you receive better than new equipment.

And if all of that isn’t enough, we include a free LIFETIME WARRANTY on all products, so you never have to worry about failure.

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Product Spotlights & Updates

This Cisco compatible ISR 4000 NIM slot faceplate is specifically constructed to cover the NIM slot in Cisco’s 4000 series integrated services routers. This allows your router to improve airflow and run better for a longer period of time. Not to mention, it makes your router look a little more attractive. This Cisco accessory is compatible with a variety of models.

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Learning Center Article – Importance of Fiber Optic Cleaning

Installing fiber optic systems is not easy. It requires multiple levels of expertise in design and application, and it’s why fiber optics experts are always in high demand.

As the name implies, fiber optic cleaning is the process of cleaning fiber connector end faces and components that are prone to contamination. Contamination can hurt fiber optic performance and even lead to test failures. Cleaning resolves one of the leading causes of these failures and produces a pristine fiber optic network that performs as expected.

To put it in simple terms, fiber optic cleaning is necessary to allow the components to perform as intended.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The NFL is launching its own streaming service for the first time, called NFL+. The $4.99 per month service will include all out-of-market preseason games.
• One of California’s biggest wildfires this year exploded to over 21 square miles Sunday, forcing thousands to flee remote mountain communities as the blaze near Yosemite National Park burned out of control amid sweltering temperatures and low humidity.
• A 73-year-old woman was stabbed by a 100-pound sailfish when it leapt out of the water as her friends reeled it into their boat.
• A chess-playing robot fractured the finger of its 7-year-old opponent during a tournament in Moscow.

Happy Friday! Who’s excited for the weekend? We hope it’s wonderful and don’t forget to stay hydrated if you’re out in the heat!

In This Issue: Harvesting Time! | Cisco ASA 5512-X Firewall Edition | What is Switch Stacking & Why is it Important? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Harvesting Time!

Happy Friday, folks! What runs around a garden but never moves?

A fence.

Now that I’ve gotten past the lousy gardening joke, I’ll share an update on our garden. We’re harvesting something from our garden daily! This is the time of year when all the hard work has come to fruition. It makes all the prep work, weed control, and keeping the deer out (I’m looking at you, Bambi!) worth it!

What are your favorite fresh veggies, and do you have a favorite recipe to share? One of my favorite fresh veggies is Okra, especially when cooked on a Blackstone grill. Tasty!

Also, I want to share that the CK Daily for next week will be a little different. We’re going to give our team of contributors a week off from contributing. The CK Daily will still deliver to your inbox daily, but we’ll change it up a bit for the week. Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend!

Chris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Cisco ASA5500-X series next-generation firewall is the new enterprise-class standard in security for the current and emerging security pressures that may threaten your network. The new firewall line will give you the added security that your network needs, but at a cost that will keep an IT budget in line. The ASA5500-X series will give you a comprehensive range of next-generation security services that include: granular visibility and control, web security over the cloud or onsite, protection from malware, and remote access. The ASA5500-X series is specifically designed for small to medium businesses that have one or more locations, service providers, and large enterprises.

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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:

• For the first time ever, an ex-Coinbase manager has been arrested for involvement in US crypto insider-trading.
• Amber Heard has filed to appeal the verdict in her defamation trial with Johnny Depp.
• A U.N.-backed deal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain could be signed on Friday, easing a global food crisis caused by the conflict in Eastern Europe.
• American and United airlines both reported their first operating profit since the start of the pandemic.

Today is all about you! It’s Get to Know Your Customers Day – so, with that, tell us about you!

In This Issue: Filling Your Own Cup | Surge Protector Power Strip | What Are Console Cables and What Are They Used For? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Filling Your Own Cup

Happy Thursday everyone!

This week was a case of “forced time-off” for me. I am extremely grateful that I work for a company (and have an awesome boss haha!) that looks out for its employees’ well-being – mentally, emotionally, and professionally – and provides the flexibility to do so. It has been an absolutely crazy couple of weeks for me and my family. After several trips to the ER (both parents), doctors’ visits, having friends in town and staying at my house from Germany, and just the normal day-to-day life activities, I was completely wiped out in every way possible, and Chris picked up on that and encouraged me to take some time off this week to handle family stuff and take care of myself.

As a person who wants to constantly help and take care of things for others a lot of times my/our own cups get empty, especially when life continues to move at full speed ahead in multiple directions all at the same time. We have to try and take care of ourselves and refill our cups to be able to be effective in our lives and to continue to help others. I don’t do a good job of paying attention to this in my own life. I always think that things will slow down eventually and that I will rest or do something for myself at that time. A lot of times that continues to get pushed off because…life continues to happen.

So, this week I ended up taking a PTO week to take care of some family stuff but to also try and recharge myself. (No worries…this email was written for you first thing Monday morning. lol!) Tomorrow, I am heading to Savannah (GA) for the weekend to get a way and do something for myself. I had this trip planned for a month but it is coming at just the right time and when I needed it most. Looking forward to getting away for a few days, relaxing, and to fill my cup back up.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week and an awesome weekend!

Jason

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Protecting your electronics from power surges is a crucial step to keep them alive and functioning for years to come. Power strips are not only a way to keep them safe, they are a convenient way to add additional outlets where plugs are at a premium.

This six-outlet, surge-protected power strip is perfect for both guarding electronic surges by adding additional NEMA 5-15R outlets near home entertainment systems or behind the family computer. With its LED power-on indicator, you will never have to guess if it’s on or off. The strip also houses a 15Amp circuit breaker. This device not only serves to protect and add convenience, but it also comes equipped with a 6-foot, heavy-duty extension cord bringing the outlets closer to the devices needing power.

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Learning Center Article – What Are Console Cables and What Are They Used For?

Console cables — also known as Cisco cables, rollover cables and management cables — are designed for a specific purpose. They connect Cisco networking devices to terminals or PCs for configuration. Typically, the Cisco end will connect via RJ45, and the terminal end will conclude in a serial connection.

What matters most about console cables is the specific nature of the connection. This is not an Ethernet or networking connection. It is a terminal connection, and its purpose is to enable the connected computer to configure the networking device. This is true for older Cisco equipment and brand-new devices. Configuration is performed through the serial connection.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The internet has been captivated by a viral Twitter thread about a French bulldog meetup on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Once a week, roughly two dozen French bulldogs meetup in Carl Schurz Park’s small dog park. There, the bulldogs — including Nacho Rosenblatt-King, this reporter’s pup — meet for roughly an hour, playing with one another as well as the other breeds who happen to be in the park that day. The Instagram account responsible for these weekly hour-long meetups, Frenchies of UES, started in August 2021.
• The pain in the mortgage market is only getting worse as higher interest rates and inflation hammer American consumers. Mortgage demand fell more than 6% last week compared with the previous week, hitting the lowest level since 2000
• A group that removed more than 400 pounds of garbage from a Texas park found something special among the trash — a message in a bottle launched 27 years earlier.
• The world’s oldest male giant panda in captivity has passed away this week following health problems at age 35.

Today we celebrate a summertime staple on a bun – it’s National Hot Dog Day! I think the biggest question asked is – is it a sandwich or not?

In This Issue: Cheers to moving! | HP BL460c Generation 8 | PoE vs PoE+ vs UPoE: What’s the best switch to meet your network needs? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Cheers to moving!

Happy Wednesday CK Family!

Today is a big, long-awaited day for my husband and I – we are finally closing on our house! As you know the housing market has been nuts – but we managed! We feel so grateful that God has led us to end up in the house we found. We moved from Ohio back in March for my husband’s job and it’s been quite the journey since then. But – I’m looking forward to the memories we will make in this new home.

Cheers to a weekend of painting and moving!

Ashley

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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 servers 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 BL460c G8 is equipped with two small form factor (SFF) hot-plug drive bays, 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.

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Learning Center Article – How to Choose the Right Dell PowerEdge Server

If you’re new to networking, you might be wondering what in the world is the difference between PoE, PoE+ and UPoE switches. And, why should I care?

With numerous variations of series, port counts, sizes, and types of switches out there, it’s challenging for the non-technical elite to make sense of it all. So, we’ve rounded up some knowledge and insights to help you understand what a PoE switch is and how the three main versions differ. By the time you finish this post, you’ll be mentally sparring with the best CTO’s out there.

Use this guide to help you determine which one best meets your needs.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Astronomers have spotted in a galaxy adjacent to our Milky Way what they are calling a cosmic “needle in a haystack” – a black hole that not only is classified as dormant but appears to have been born without the explosion of a dying star.
• A judge ruled that Twitter’s lawsuit against Elon Musk over their $44 billion acquisition agreement should go to a five-day trial in October.
• Netflix only lost around 970,000 subscribers during the second quarter, a smaller loss than the 2 million it had projected last quarter. The company aims to unveil its lower-cost, ad-supported tier in early 2023.
• As historic temperatures bake Europe, with readings as high as 115 degrees in Portugal, it’s been just as scorchingly hot stateside. Sixty million Americans could experience triple-digit temperatures over the next several days, with the Plains hitting highs of 115 degrees and heat index values pushing past 120 degrees.

Happy National Words with Friends Day! This game recognizes friendly competitions and smart wordplay. Are you a fan of Words with Friends?

In This Issue: Get out and hike! | LINIER 6U 19″ Wall Mount Cabinet with Glass Door | How to Choose the Right Dell PowerEdge Server | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Get out and hike!

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

I’ve mentioned in the past that hiking is a hobby of mine, but this year it has been hard to find the time to get outside and go for a lot of hikes. Luckily on Saturday I had the chance to do my absolute favorite summer hike, Emery Creek Falls Trail near Chatsworth, GA. It’s a 6 mile hike that includes quite a few creek crossings and the highlight is a gorgeous 60 foot cascading waterfall! It was so nice to get away from a computer screen and out into nature and fresh air! At the falls we saw TONS of butterflies and, as we were walking out, we came upon a baby Eastern (Red-Spotted) Newt (a salamander that’s native to the Eastern half of the United States). We’ve been hoping to spot one of these for a while so it was fun to have finally found one!

Every time I get outside for a hike it sets a great tone for the rest of the week. There’s just something about slowing down and moving at the pace of nature that feels refreshing! If you’re feeling a bit burned out, I highly recommend getting outside and going for a hike!

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

This 6U 19″ cabinet with locking front glass door. Complimented with a shatterproof glass door this wall mount cabinet is perfect for wireless routers, switches, patch panels, DVR and recording devices, and more. Cutouts for an optional fan assembly and removable cable slots add versatility to this wall mount cabinet. The cabinet comes with removable locking side panels, one set of fully adjustable rails, and a maximum weight capacity of 150 pounds.

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Learning Center Article – How to Choose the Right Dell PowerEdge Server

Choosing the right server requires a lot of homework. There are just so many options and finding the right server to fit your needs can be a bit confusing. In an effort to help you narrow down some options quickly, here’s a simple comparison guide for several Dell PowerEdge server series. We will highlight the primary hardware differences between R600, R700 and R800 series and help you narrow down a few of your seemingly endless options.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Once left for dead, Toys “R” Us is making a major comeback. The toy store brand will be just about everywhere for the holidays. Toys “R” Us will be in every US Macy’s (M) in the next few months, part of an expanded partnership with the toy retailer’s parent company, WHP Global. The toy stores will range in size from 1,000 square feet in smaller locations to up to 10,000 square feet in flagship Macy’s.
• A deadly heat wave in Western Europe has triggered intense wildfires, disrupted transportation and displaced thousands of people as the continent grapples with the impact of climate change. The heat is forecast to grow more severe this week and has prompted concerns over infrastructure problems such as melting roads, widespread power outages and warped train tracks.
• A nuclear power plant in Switzerland is lowering its output in order to prevent the river that cools it from hitting temperature levels dangerous to marine life.
• Employees of the Sea Turtle Museum of Kumejima rushed to the beaches of Kumejima island after residents reported dozens of green sea turtles found with stab wounds to their necks and flippers.

Happy National Sour Candy Day! Do you enjoy the lip-puckering, eye-watering flavors that sour candy brings? There are hundreds of sour candies to choose from – which are your favorites?

In This Issue: Images from NASA | Cisco 2921 Integrated Services Router | Do I need the latest server? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Images from NASA

Happy Monday!

I’m actually writing this a little before Monday as I will be out of town on vacation (more on that next week!). I’m wondering if anyone else saw the reveal of the James Web Space Telescope last week. If you haven’t seen the images you can view them on nasa.gov.

The images were amazing, but the reveal was wrought with technical difficulties and in my opinion a bit lackluster. I think they could’ve spent more time giving us the scale and comparison of the images. Well, fear not for a Redditor who created a post that walks you through the “cosmic cliffs” photo and compares the detail from photos taken on Earth against the Hubble and the JSWT.

This Reddit post kind of give you the scale and the detail and it’s just spectacular. It’s like going from standard definition to 4K. It’s amazing how technology is progressing, and I can’t wait to see the other images that the JSWT will reveal in the coming years. It just goes to show you how vast God has made the universe, it’s beyond comprehension!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco 2921 Integrated Services Router (ISR) delivers highly secure data, voice, video, and application services for small offices. The cisco 2921 router is future-enabled with multi-core CPUs, support for high-capacity Digital Signal Processors, Gigabit Ethernet switching, and energy monitoring and control capabilities. This Cisco router offers a great total cost of ownership savings and network agility.

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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.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• As Apple seeks to bolster its subscription service to compete with Spotify, the company is adding exclusive performances from artists, who will be able to use Apple’s studios to cover classics and recreate their own hits.
• Amazon shoppers bought more than 300 million items during this year’s Prime Day sale, up from roughly 250 million in 2021, making it the biggest Prime Day event in Amazon’s history.
• Five days ago, a giant sunspot and filaments on the solar surface had astronomers worried about possible Earth-directed solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that could lead to blackouts.
• Delta Air Lines is buying 100 Boeing 737 Max 10 planes, its first major order for new aircraft from the U.S. manufacturer in more than a decade.