Ivan’s recent very interesting post on LAN Data Link addressing takes me back. Specifically, footnote #1, referring to “ThickNet” Ethernet: “The coaxial cable had to be bright yellow”. In the US, at least, we also used to call the stuff “Frozen Yellow Garden Hose”, for obvious reasons. The original Ethernet physical medium was rather interesting. […]
Cisco Live, again and again
It’s funny that I remember a time when Cisco Live used to be a privilege, before it became a chore. I’ve been to every Cisco Live US and every Cisco Live Europe since I started here in 2015. I enjoy the show primarily because I enjoy meeting with fellow network engineers, and there is still […]
Ancient Internet
The first company where I worked as a “systems administrator” had no Internet connectivity at all when I started. By the time I left, I had installed an analog phone line which was shared amongst several users with modems for dial-up service. The connectivity options in 1995 were limited, and very expensive. Our company operated […]
Elon Musk and remote work
In a recent article (paywall), Elon Musk has once again turned his wrath to remote workers. Elon has a lot of good ideas, but also many bad ones, such as naming his child “X AE A-XII”. This is certainly proof that we don’t need to take everything he says seriously. Elon has said that those […]
Finally, a use for generative AI?
I asked our ChatGPT to create a dialog between two network engineers in the style of the absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco, author of The Bald Soprano. It’s not even close to the original, but I do think it captures our existence quite nicely. “We are the clowns of the digital realm” is perhaps my favorite line: […]
ChatGPT and the problem of authority
I’ve been reluctant to comment on the latest fad in our industry, generative AI, simply because everybody has weighed in on it. I do also try to avoid commenting on subjects outside of my scope of authority. Increasingly, though, people are coming to me at work and asking how we can incorporate this technology into our […]
Layer 1 Friday
My readership is limited, so consider a post to be “viral” if I get more than 2 thumbs up at the bottom of a page. (Incidentally, I’ve only ever gotten one thumbs down, for this post, but I don’t know why.) My 2021 post For the Love of Wiring got 3 thumbs up (!) but […]
Some thoughts on “digital twins”
As I mentioned in my last post, I like modeling networks using tools like Cisco Modeling Labs or GNS3. I recalled how, back in TAC, I had access to a Cisco-internal (at the time) tool called IOS on Unix, or IOU. This enabled me to recreate customer environments in minutes, with no need to hunt […]
Back in the lab
We all have to make a decision, at some point in our career, about whether or not we get into the management track. At Cisco, there is a very strong path for individual contributors (IC). You can be come a principal (director-level), a distinguished (senior director-level), and a fellow (VP-level) as an IC, never having […]
Goodbye, Building K
I haven’t written anything for a while, because of the simple fact that I had nothing to say. The problem with being a writer is that sometimes you have nothing to write. I also have a day job, and sometimes it can keep me quite busy. Finally, an afternoon drive provided some inspiration. There’s a […]