CK Daily Updates

Today brings a festive celebration around the world. St. Patrick’s Day honors Irish heritage and traditions, with many people wearing green, decorating with shamrocks, and enjoying classic Irish fare. Are you wearing green today?

In This Issue: Celebrating Friendship and Making Time for What Matters | Deal of the Day | Cisco Switch Bundle | The Power of Network Servers | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Celebrating Friendship and Making Time for What Matters

Good morning & happy Tuesday! Hope everyone’s having a great start to the week and staying warm! We’re in the middle of an arctic blast and it’s making me miss the Spring weather from a few days ago!

My weekend was super special as I went to Highlands, NC with a group of other women to celebrate my best friend, Jami’s, birthday! We stayed at a cute cabin that was very convenient to the downtown area! We kept Friday relaxed by hanging out at the cabin and ordering pizza. On Saturday, we ventured into town for a day of coffee, shopping, and eating! There are so many unique shops in Highlands and we enjoyed exploring them! We went out on Saturday night for a nice dinner at a local steakhouse, and headed back on Sunday!

The trip was such a nice reminder of how special good friends are, and how important it is to make intentional time for friendships! Jami and I have been friends for 25 years and, the older I get, the more I realize what a blessing true friendship is! Life can get busy and it can be hard to find time, but investing in genuine friendships is so important!

Rebecca

---

Deal of the Day

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

This Cisco Catalyst 9200L deployment kit provides enterprise-grade performance and scalability for modern networks. It includes (1) C9200L-48P-4X-E 48-port PoE+ switch, (4) SFP-10G-SR 10G transceiver modules, and (1) C9200L-STACK-KIT for streamlined stacking and network expansion, making it ideal for high-performance access-layer deployments.

---

Learning Center Article – Ready for Peak Performance? Unleash the Power of Network Servers in Your IT Strategy!

In today’s fast-paced business world, having a reliable and efficient IT infrastructure is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. At the core of every strong IT system lies the network server, a powerful tool designed to manage your data, streamline operations, and support your business growth. Whether you’re hosting critical applications or managing network resources, the right server can make all the difference in optimizing your IT performance.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day

• ​Amazon launches 1-hour shipping in US cities to challenge Walmart.​ 
• ​Encyclopedia Britannica sues OpenAI over AI training.
• ​Nvidia unveils plans to bring AI to space-based data centers.

Starting the week with a quick hello. We hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable weekend, whether you spent it catching up on rest, running errands, or spending time with family and friends. How was your weekend?

In This Issue: From Taco Trucks to Tournament Wins | Deal of the Day | Cisco WIC Slot Blank/Cover | Cisco’s QSA Network Adapter | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – From Taco Trucks to Tournament Wins

Happy Monday!

This weekend was pretty busy, but a lot of fun. On Friday we went to the Spring Festival at our kids’ elementary school. There were crafts, games, and activities all over the place, and they even had a taco truck. I took full advantage of that and enjoyed some really great tacos. Later that evening I headed out to a midnight pre-release event for a brand new Pokémon set that had just come out. It was a great event and I managed to pull some pretty nice cards.

Saturday was busy as well. I competed in another Pokémon Cup tournament. In the last tournament I played I did terribly, so I wasn’t expecting much this time around. I actually lost my first round and thought that was a bad sign, but somehow things turned around. I ended up winning 10 out of the 12 matches I played and managed to take the cup victory. I even tied into the top 8 before finishing strong. I walked away with a nice playmat and some championship points. Honestly, I was a little bit in shock.

Sunday started off great with church, and then I began the exciting process of working on my taxes. I like to get a head start on them when I can. There’s that saying that nothing is certain except death and taxes, and whoever said that definitely wasn’t joking.

I hope you have a great day and a wonderful week!

Cris

---

Deal of the Day

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco WIC-BLANK-PANEL is designed to cover unused WIC slots on compatible Cisco routers, helping maintain proper airflow and system performance. By filling empty slots, it also improves the unit’s appearance and protects internal components.

---

Learning Center Article – Dealing with Lagging Connections? Cisco’s QSA Network Adapter Can Help

In an increasingly connected world, the need for fast, reliable network communication has become essential for businesses, homes, and data centers alike. At the core of this connectivity are network adapters, which serve as the bridge between devices, enabling them to transmit data efficiently across networks. Whether it’s for wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections, network adapters play a pivotal role in maintaining smooth and stable communication.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Severe weather, tornado risk forecast for East Coast ahead of potent storms. 
• Nebius, Meta agree to $27 billion AI infrastructure pact.
• ​Alibaba forms new business unit to focus on AI services.

We are ending the week with a sweet celebration. National Coconut Torte Day highlights the rich and decadent dessert loved by coconut fans everywhere. Are you a fan of coconut desserts?

In This Issue: Grace in the Ordinary | Deal of the Day | Expandable Media Box | BGP vs OSPF | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Grace in the Ordinary

Happy Friday, everyone!

This week felt a little like a quiet sermon, not in a church pew, but in the ordinary moments of everyday life.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about reflection and how God shows Himself not just in the obvious sacred places, but in the messy, loud, imperfect corners of life. There’s a strange and beautiful truth in realizing that sometimes you find something holy in places that first look anything but holy. The chaos, the noise, the sweat, the exhaustion. Somehow, that’s often where grace quietly slips in.

Another weekend is coming, and I’ll be watching my two daughters continue to discover pieces of themselves through the sports they love. There’s something special about seeing confidence grow where doubt once lived and watching determination take shape in real time. As a father, you realize those sidelines are more than fields and courts. They’re classrooms for courage, resilience, and identity.

In between games and practices, there were the usual living-room wrestling matches with my boys. The kind that start with laughter and end with someone declaring victory while everyone’s out of breath. Those moments are loud and chaotic, but somewhere in that pile of limbs and laughter I’m reminded how quickly these seasons pass. Strength is being built there too, not just in muscles, but in bonds.

And through it all, I find myself looking across the room at the woman who walks through life beside me. My best friend, my wife. The quiet anchor in the middle of the whirlwind. Watching the way she loves our family and steadies me when life pulls in too many directions reminds me how much grace God places right in front of us.

When life gets noisy, I keep coming back to His Word. Scripture has a way of cutting through the confusion and reminding me what really matters. Faith isn’t just something practiced in quiet moments. It’s something lived out in the middle of everyday life.

Maybe that’s the lesson of weeks like this. The holy isn’t always found in silence or solitude. Sometimes it’s hiding on the sidelines of a game, in the laughter of kids wrestling on the floor, or in the steady presence of the person God chose to walk beside you.

Grace has a way of showing up in ordinary places if we’re willing to look for it.

And this week, I saw plenty of it.

Matthew

---

Deal of the Day

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Expandable Media Box with Duplex Receptacle/Duplex Surge Suppressor is designed to streamline power and cable management behind your HDTV. The expandable portion of the Media Box allows for maximum storage hidden behind your TV, while still allowing your TV mount to be flush to the wall.

---

Learning Center Article – BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) vs OSPF (Open Shortest Path First)

The internet is arguably the most useful bit of technology we have, but when you get into the nuts and bolts of how it actually works, it can be a lot.

The best way to master potentially challenging networking concepts is one idea at a time. With that in mind, we can focus today on two common connection protocols: BGP and OSPF.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Wild weather sweeps the US, with more storms and heat in the forecast. 
• NASA targets April 1 to launch astronauts around the moon.
• ​Amazon hiring humans to fix the AI that got them fired after widespread outages.

As the week continues, today is a good moment for a quick check-in. Whether your days have been busy or steady, we hope things are going smoothly on your end. How has your week been going so far?

In This Issue: Soaking up the Sunshine | Deal of the Day | Snap-on Bridle Ring Data-Cable Saddle | Switching Bandwidth and Packet Forwarding Rate | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Soaking up the Sunshine

Happy Thursday!

This week surely has flown by! I started my spring break by heading back home, and it’s been fun-filled every day since. One of the highlights has been getting to watch two of Alex’s brother’s tennis matches, and we have one more later today to wrap up the week. He lost the first one and won the next, so we’re hoping he can pull out one more win to finish strong!

The weather here has been beautiful all week. It’s been a little hot sitting at the matches, but I’ve been soaking it up by going on walks and enjoying the fresh air while I can before my allergies inevitably catch up with me.
It’s also been really nice slowing things down a bit. I’ve had time to do some crafting, work from a few new spots, and just enjoy each day as it comes. I may only have a couple days of break left, but I’m really grateful for how I’ve spent this week and feel ready heading into the second half of the semester.

I hope you were able to enjoy some nice weather wherever you are this week too. Here’s hoping for many more sunny days ahead, no matter what those groundhogs said!

Rachel

---

Deal of the Day

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

Effortlessly enhance your cable management with this Snap-on Bridle Ring Data-Cable Saddle, designed for 2-inch bridle rings. These saddles provide additional support and protection, making them ideal for organizing and routing low-voltage data cables in residential, commercial, or industrial settings.

---

Learning Center Article – Switching Bandwidth and Packet Forwarding Rate Explained

The simplest way to think of switching bandwidth is that it’s the total amount of data a switch can send and receive each second. Highly technical definitions might discuss the transmission of data through the switching plane or packets and connected devices. All of that is true, but it’s not necessary to complicate the concept.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Microsoft’s new AI health tool can read your medical records and give advice. 
• ​Uber and Lyft prices to LAX are going up to battle congestion.
• ​Nvidia is making a massive $26 billion bet on the future of artificial intelligence (AI).

Midweek calls for a tasty breakfast idea. National Oatmeal Nut Waffles Day celebrates a heartier twist on the classic waffle, made with whole grain oats and crunchy nuts. What waffle combo would you choose today?

In This Issue: A Week of Changes and a Weekend of Flowers | Deal of the Day | Cisco Meraki 40G Stacking Cable | Distribution Layer Switches | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – A Week of Changes and a Weekend of Flowers

Yey, it’s Wednesday! How’s everyone doing? How was the start of DST for you? As for me, I’m still adjusting.

Aside from the change in time, many things here in my country have been changing rapidly due to the sudden increase in oil prices. Office workdays have been reduced to four days, and some private businesses are also planning to follow a work-from-home setup. Transport fares are expected to increase, and the sad thing I recently heard in the news is that some public vehicle drivers are considering stopping their operations because they are afraid there will be little to no income left after paying for fuel. It made me wonder, what if we all just went back to the old days when people rode bicycles to work? No need to worry about gas, oil, or kerosene. Less pollution, and everyone would probably be fitter too.

On the brighter side, last weekend I had the chance to visit the city where my older brother and I grew up to celebrate another festival called Panagbenga, also known as the Flower Festival. I haven’t visited this place since we moved back to our hometown, so seeing it again, especially during the festival, made my heart burst with happiness. There were many food stalls, bazaars, thrift shops, and more, but the main highlight of the event is the beautiful floats made of flowers and the colorful street dance parade from different schools and organizations. It brought back a core memory for me, remembering when I performed in this festival in grade school as one of the flag dancers.

The event concluded with a fireworks display. Tourists and locals were all in awe, but unfortunately an incident happened that night when one of the fireworks malfunctioned and went toward the audience. Sadly, seven people were injured in the incident.

Anyway, here’s a collage photo from the festival. I hope you like it.

Kat

---

Deal of the Day

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

Cisco Stackwise-480 stacking cables can connect a combination of Catalyst 3850 stackable switches to form a single switching unit. Our Cisco data cables are specifically intended to work with Gigabit Ethernet, while also making it easy to allow switch additions, deletions and redeployment without interruption.

---

Learning Center Article – What Are Distribution Layer Switches?

In order to understand distribution layer switches, we first have to tackle the distribution layer. Cisco has a three-layer hierarchy that makes up robust high-end, expansive networks. Many Cisco switches are designed around this three-tier idea, so it helps to understand those tiers.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• ​Uber launches new feature that matches women riders and drivers. 
• ​Amazon launches Health AI agent on Amazon website and app with free 24/7 access to virtual care for Prime members.
• ​Bank of America poaches four top tech bankers to boost tech dealmaking, memos show.

Today is a great excuse to refresh your lunch routine. National Pack Your Lunch Day encourages everyone to bring a homemade meal to work, school, or wherever the day takes you. Do you usually pack your lunch or prefer to eat out?

In This Issue: The Wedding Planning Begins! | Deal of the Day | Kendall Howard 1U Vented Base Light Duty Rack Shelf | When to Replace Routers | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – The Wedding Planning Begins!

Good morning & Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start!

Last week I announced my engagement, and I must say that it feels like life is absolutely FLYING by right now! We have already hopped into wedding planning and, wow, there is so much to think about! It seems like there are a million options for every decision that needs to be made which definitely makes it a challenge for someone like me who appreciates simplicity!

Thankfully I have some great friends who have been down the wedding planning road before and they’re offering lots of help and guidance! I’ve also done everything I can think of to get (and stay) super organized as we plan. I didn’t grow up dreaming of my wedding day, so fortunately that helps me be a bit more on the laid back side as far as brides go! Hopefully everything will come together beautifully!

Rebecca

---

Deal of the Day

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Kendall Howard LDRS1U12V is a 1U light-duty rack shelf designed to support non-rackmount equipment in standard server racks. Its 12-inch depth and vented base promote proper airflow while providing reliable support for lightweight devices in network and IT environments.

---

Learning Center Article – When to Replace Routers for Enhanced Internet Performance?

When your router is working optimally, you can enjoy uninterrupted browsing, smooth video streaming, and fast downloads. But when it starts lagging, it can negatively impact your productivity and entertainment. By addressing these issues promptly, you can avoid unnecessary frustrations and boost your internet performance.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• FAA opens up real world testing for air taxi startups. 
• ​Clams, oysters recalled for possibly containing norovirus.
• ​Hyperscale Power is the latest startup to challenge 140-year-old transformer tech.