CablesAndKits Blog

Happy Thursday! The countdown to Thanksgiving is on with 21 days until we are sitting around a table feasting. In preparation for your Thanksgiving festivities, what’s your favorite side to prepare and enjoy?

In This Issue: Being Thankful | Kendall Howard Desktop CPU Wall Mount Shelf | Best Way to Connect Multiple Switches | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Being Thankful

Happy Thursday!

It is amazing that at the stroke of midnight Monday night it switched from Halloween to Christmas everywhere. It started before then at a lot of places but now it is officially everywhere. I totally get it, but what about Thanksgiving? Haha!

So, we are in the month where we are all a bit more mindful of being thankful. Unfortunately for me, this is not something that I constantly do, but I know I should. It is so easy to let that slip our minds and take the things we have or the lives we have for granted. With it being a whole new month and the “month of being thankful,” before I get out of bed each morning, I am forcing myself to name one thing I am thankful for. This is just part of my goal for this month of shifting my perspective and being more intentional with my thoughts and outlook this month. I wrote down 11 things to remind myself of every day and have them sitting on my desk, so I constantly see them:

Be Thankful
Be Happy
Be Kind
Be Faithful
Be Gentle
Be Joyful
Be Peaceful
Be Disciplined
Be Generous
Be Focused
Be Positive

These are the attitudes and mindsets that I want to have each day and begin to intentionally ingrain into my actions, words, and thoughts. Seems like a good month to really start retooling some of my daily activities and habits around these, especially with the busyness of life and work here at the end of the year.

I hope everyone has an awesome rest of the week and weekend! Big football game this weekend for a lot of us in the South, especially in Georgia. So, with that said…Go Vols!

Jason

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

Kendall Howard’s Desktop/Tower Wall Mount CPU Brackets are designed to get the computer off the floor and the desktop. The brackets make it easy to secure and mount any desktop PC to the wall or side of the desk. The included velcro strap secures the PC to the bracket.

Everyone needs a CPU bracket to protect their PC. Computers located on the floor are in continual danger of being jostled and kicked, not to mention the difficulty in accessing the drives, ports, and card readers. Desktop computers and PCs that sit on a desk take up valuable work space, look cluttered and unorganized and run the risk of being damaged by a soda or coffee spill. The Kendall Howard Desktop CPU Wall Mount Bracket protects the PC and creates a more functional, organized workspace.

---

Learning Center Article – Best Way to Connect Multiple Switches

What is the purpose of connecting multiple switches? In most cases, the goal is to expand network access. When you connect switches, you get more ports that can be used, and that means more devices can utilize the network.

Depending on the configuration, connecting multiple switches can also increase the bandwidth of the network. This is important for any demanding network that is short on total bandwidth.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Nikolas Cruz, who murdered 17 students and staff with a semi-automatic rifle at a Florida high school, was formally sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after listening to hours of testimonies from survivors and victims’ relatives.
• For the first time in MLB postseason history, there has been a combined no-hitter. Houston Astros’ Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly combined to no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies in their 5-0 win in Game 4 of the World Series, tying the series at two.
• Toho, the Japanese studio that created Godzilla, will release a new film next year in Japan, its first since “Shin Godzilla” in 2016.
• Google recently announced a new feature in Gmail that lets you easily track packages for things you’ve ordered. Gmail will, in the coming weeks, provide a small green indicator in your inbox that shows when a package has shipped and when it’s expected to arrive.

Happy Wednesday! If there’s any way we can be praying for you this week, let us know. We hope the rest of your week proves to be fruitful!

In This Issue: Book Recommendations | Dell PowerEdge T710 Gold Series Tower Server | How to Repair Cut Fiber | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Book Reccomendations

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a great week and have recovered from the sugar high we kicked off the week with.

I’m on a mission to finish my book goal for the year, but need some book recommendations! I’m open to your suggestions. I find myself leaning toward historical fiction or any kind of mystery but also have enjoyed reading various self-help books.

I’m about to dive into Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller but want to prepare for my next read. So, please send any and all recommendations!

Have a great rest of the week!

Ashley

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Dell PowerEdge T710 servers were developed with purposeful design, energy-optimized technology, advanced virtualization capabilities, and simplified systems management. These servers provide awesome performance and are a perfect fit for enterprises, remote workgroups, and expanding businesses.

---

Learning Center Article – How to Repair Cut Fiber

As we all know, fiber optic lines are complicated, powerful, and delicate. They provide incredibly powerful communication signals with high bandwidths and great reliability. But, because they are so delicate, they can be damaged.

When damage occurs, you can either repair it or replace it, and the former option is much cheaper. Here are the steps to repair a cut fiber cable.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Tiger Woods’ and Rory McIlroy’s new sports startup is drawing some big-name investors. TMRW Sports announced a new investment group that includes basketball great Stephen Curry, race car driver Lewis Hamilton, women’s soccer player Alex Morgan, pro football’s Tony Romo and Josh Allen, Justin Timberlake, and Serena Williams, in addition to several professional team sports owners.
• Mortgage rates dropped for the first time in more than two months, but demand continued to weaken. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) decreased to 7.06% from 7.16%. Mortgage applications to buy a home fell 1% for the week and were 41% lower year over year.
• Former Yext CEO Howard Lerman has spent over a year creating Roam, a virtual office interface that allows employees to communicate less formally and more efficiently. Roam functions like an office building in the cloud, and a beta version of the platform launched Wednesday morning.
• The Biden administration is providing over $13 billion in aid to help low- and moderate-income Americans lower their energy costs, including grants to pay electric bills as well other incentives to make energy-efficient upgrades to their homes.

Happy National Calzone Day! Stuffed with cheese and all of your favorite toppings – this mouth-watering wonder is a dinner-time staple!

In This Issue: A Memory Filled Trip | Cisco 100GBASE CWDM4 Lite QSFP Transceiver | “S-Class” Transceivers vs Non “S-Class” Transceivers | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – A Memory Filled Trip

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday! BIG shout out to Ashley for writing for me last week! I took the week off for a vacation on Hilton Head Island. If you’ve been reading the CK Daily for a while, you know that’s pretty much my top destination if I’m out of town! We took a family trip there and brought along my 8-year-old nephew which made it even more special. He came with us for the first time last year and loved it, so we had to bring him back!

The week absolutely FLEW by… I guess it’s true that time flies when you’re having fun! The weather was perfect so we got to spend a lot of time outside riding bikes, walking, and of course, I got in quite a few miles running! We also did a TON of eating… the food down there is just irresistibly good and I basically told myself vacation calories don’t count, so I enjoyed every bite!

It truly was an ideal trip and I’m so glad for the time off and the memories made! Looking forward to being back in the swing of things this week, though!

Rebecca

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco QSFP-100G-SM-SR is a 100GBase-CWDM4 Lite QSFP transceiver module. It supports a link length of up to 2 km utilizing single-mode fiber (SMF). This transceiver features LC duplex connectors. It carries the 100G signal over 4 wavelengths, utilizing multiplexing and demultiplexing technology. This module is interoperable with the QSFP-100G-CWDM4-S.

---

Learning Center Article – “S-Class” Transceivers vs Non “S-Class” Transceivers

When designing high-speed connections, 10G and 40G transceivers have to be carefully selected. Optimizing modules can improve performance and will absolutely impact cost-efficiency. That is why it is so important to distinguish between the various transceiver options. In this case, we can take a close look at the difference between S-Class and non-S-Class Cisco modules.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• This year’s Halloween spirit was out of this world. Ahead of the costume and candy-filled celebration, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of the sun “smiling” – an image that acclaimed cosmologist compared to a “giant space pumpkin.”
• Taylor Swift has taken the top 10 sopts of the Billboard Hot 100 with songs from her album “Midnights.” Swift is the first artist to ever achieve the feat. She also announced the “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour,” her first major tour in nearly five years.
• Twitter’s new owner and CEO, Elon Musk, is thinking about bringing back Vine, the short-form video app that Twitter bought and abandoned long before TikTok made the format popular.
• A California man was charged today with assault and attempted kidnapping in violation of federal law in connection with the break-in at the residence of Nancy and Paul Pelosi in San Francisco on Friday.

Happy Friday! We hope you’ve had a great week. We wish you a safe and spooky weekend as many of you kick off your Halloween festivities. We hope you enjoy the smiles of all the trick-or-treaters that knock on your door!

In This Issue: CK Anniversary | Cisco XENPAK 10 Gigabit Transceiver Module | Layer 2 vs Layer 3 Switches: Which is best for your network? | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – CK Anniversary

Happy Friday, folks! CablesAndKits is officially an adult! What does this mean? I’m glad you asked. The parent company of CablesAndKits, Atlantech Resellers, started in October 2001, so the company is turning 21 years old this month.

What’s even more exciting is that over 150,000 customers, including YOU, have trusted us to supply IT-related equipment for your projects over this time. While it’s fun to celebrate, this celebration would not occur without YOU.

So while we’re turning 21 this year, we are more excited than ever to continue serving all of our customers who have trusted us over these years.

Have a great weekend!

Chris

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco 10GBASE-SR Module supports a link length of 300 meters on 50 or 62.5-micron OM3 multi-mode fiber or 400 meters on OM4. Hot-swappable input/output device plugs into an Ethernet XENPAK port of a Cisco switch or router to link the port with the network.

---

Learning Center Article – Layer 2 vs Layer 3 Switches: Which is best for your network?

When it comes to network switches, you have a lot of options. Finding the perfect switch for every occasion can be a monstrous task. Sometimes, the easiest way to find a good choice is to take a step back and learn more about the primary differences that exist between switches.

One major difference that you will see is the OSI connection layer. Most of the switches you will see will be labeled as either Layer 2 or Layer 3. When you take a deeper look at the key aspects of each layer, you can make an informed decision that ensures you have the right equipment for the job at hand.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The Houston Astros, the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs, will go into Friday’s Game 1 tipped by most to win the franchise’s second World Series crown. However, the Philadelphia Phillies have already upset the odds three times en route to the Fall Classic, entering the National League playoffs as the lowest seed of the six teams. The Astros, who have now reached the World Series for the fourth time in six years, are rightly considered favorites after going undefeated in the playoffs, sweeping the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees.
• Lego’s Mindstorms robotics kits have been on the market since 1998, born from a collaboration between Lego and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Now, Lego has announced it will be discontinuing Mindstorms at the end of the year and providing support for the mobile app for at least another two years beyond that.
• Andy Warhol may be best known for his pop art iconography of Marilyn Monroe, Chairman Mao and Campbell’s soup cans, but next month, a “haunting” silkscreen print of a mangled car crash will be up for sale at Sotheby’s in New York. On November 16 during the auction house’s marquee week, It is expected to sell for upwards of $80 million
• North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Friday in its first ballistic weapons launch in two weeks, as the U.S. military warned the North that the use of nuclear weapons.

Happy National Black Cat Day! Black cats are one of the least adopted animals due to the myth and mystery behind them. Do you have a black cat? Send us a photo!

In This Issue: A Bit Overwhelmed | Cisco 3560-X/3750-X Series NM Slot Cover | How to Choose the Right Fiber Connector: PC vs UPC vs APC | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – A Bit Overwhelmed

Happy Thursday!

I hope everyone’s week is going well for them. My week has been one of those weeks full of opportunities for growth and learning (aka…lots of unexpected issues, trials, and things not going as planned). Haha! I feel like every day I have had to reset my expectations of what needs to be done due to things going “bump in the night” the day before. I am usually pretty good at juggling things, managing tasks, and rolling with the punches when things don’t go right but this week has been so full of issues and things not going as planned. Some days (and weeks…maybe months…lol!) we are just going to feel overwhelmed and not know what to do when things keep going wrong. It is a crazy feeling when you feel like no matter what you do and how good at your job you are, you feel out of control.

Yesterday morning, I had to take a step back, take a deep breath, and tell myself, “It’s all good, everything will work out, and just focus on one thing at a time.” I was walking the dog, thinking about everything, and I remember whispering to myself, “Ok Lord, I need some help and guidance here cause I can’t keep up with all of this.” Things didn’t immediately change when I got back to my office, but my perspective had changed. I was reminded that I was not in this by myself, and things might not go as planned, but that was ok, and there was probably a better way to handle all the issues than I had originally planned. I just got to take it one step at a time and keep my mind and emotions in check with all of it.

Have you ever had one of those days, weeks, or months like that?

I hope everyone is having an amazing week and has a great weekend!

Jason

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco 3560-X/3750-X series network module blank is used to fill in the space left when a network module is removed. Covering all open slots on your switch makes the unit more attractive and improves airflow making your unit run better and last longer.

---

Learning Center Article – How to Choose the Right Fiber Connector: PC vs UPC vs APC

When joining fiber optic cables, connectors are everything. These highly sensitive networks live or die by how cleanly and efficiently the cables join inside of the connector. Because of that, there are many different connector designs, each catering to different uses and design philosophies.

One common philosophy is to focus on physical contact between the fibers. Doing so is difficult, as at least some air gap tends to exist inside the connector. To combat that and the signal disruption that comes with air gaps, three types of physical contact connectors are used in a wide range of systems. These are PC, UPC, and APC connectors.

If you are trying to determine which is best for your system, a quick comparison can help with your selection.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has paid a visit to Twitter’s headquarters before a Friday court-ordered deadline to close his $44bn deal for the United States-based social media giant. “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” said the caption of a video that Musk tweeted on Wednesday in which he was walking into the offices in San Francisco carrying a sink.
• There is no lucky ticket holder in Wednesday’s huge Powerball drawing, and the jackpot has grown to an estimated $800 million.
• Antarctica’s emperor penguin is officially at risk of extinction due to rising global temperatures and sea ice loss.
• Gross domestic product rose 2.6% in the third quarter versus the estimate of 2.3%.

Happy National Pumpkin Day! Pumpkins are used for so many different things. They are used as decor, for carving, eating, and much more! What do you enjoy doing with your pumpkins?

In This Issue: Gratefulness | Cisco 2960-X Series 24 Port 370W PoE+ | Polarity for MPO Cables | News to Start Your Day

---

The CK Daily – Gratefulness

Hello!

Ashley here – double time this week! Rebecca is out on vacation this week, so stay tuned to hear all about it next week.

In the meantime, I’ll share something that’s been on my heart lately.

A few weeks ago, I was challenged to write down one word each day that shares what I am grateful for until Thanksgiving. Somedays the word comes with no question but somedays it’s a challenge to think “What am I truly grateful for today?” I have so much to be grateful for in the season of life that I’m in, but yet I still struggle some days to put my finger on one thing that is truly meaningful.

Today I am grateful for true friendship. That I am able to spend this week with friends that I don’t get to see very often as we prepare to reunite with more of our friends on Friday to celebrate their marriage! Furthermore, that we are able to sit around the table and have authentic, joyful, and heartfelt conversations in person and not over FaceTime.

What are you grateful for today?

If you want to join me in the challenge, start today! Each day, write down one word that shares what you are thankful for. At the end of this challenge, I’ll challenge you to pray over each of those things. It’s such a joy each day that we get to be grateful for the things that He has given us.

Happy Wednesday!

Ashley

---

Product Spotlights & Updates

When you need enterprise-class access without the high price, the Cisco 2960-X series of fixed-configuration, stackable Gigabit Ethernet switches is a great solution. This model, WS-C2960X-24PS-L, is simple to configure and monitor, and it’s made for easy troubleshooting. With 370W of PoE power, it offers 12 PoE+ ports up to 30W or 24 PoE ports up to 15.4W, with flexible power allocation. The WS-C2960X-24PS-L switch includes 24 Gigabit Ethernet ports (10/100/1000) and 4 SFP uplink interfaces.

---

Learning Center Article – Polarity for MPO Cables

High-end fiber optics are important to modern networking, but they’re a lot more complicated than some of their older counterparts. If you need the power of fiber, you might be looking into MPO systems. They can hit some of the highest speeds on the market today, but utilizing them requires knowledge. One key piece of knowledge that can help with MPO systems is polarity. Without this knowledge, you won’t get a connection across any of your lines.

---

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• For the first time in New Zealand’s history, a majority of lawmakers are women.
• The number of Americans who do not have a bank account fell to a record low last year, as the proliferation of online-only banks and an improving economy is bringing more Americans into the traditional financial system. A new report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued Tuesday found that 4.5% of Americans were without a bank account in 2021. That’s the lowest level since the FDIC started tracking the data in 2009 and down from 5.4% of Americans in the 2019 survey data. Now reports show that a record number of Americans have a bank account.
• If you’re thinking of wiping down your kitchen with that bottle of Pine-Sol all-purpose cleaner under your sink — stop. It may contain bacteria that could cause serious illness in people with compromised immune systems. The Clorox Company has recalled its scented multi-surface cleaners and all-purpose cleaners. The recall doesn’t include its iconic original pine-scented Pine-Sol, which is its only product registered as a disinfectant.
• Apple will have to comply with a European Union law that mandates electronic devices have a common charging standard — known as USB-C.