If you’re not a network engineer and my generation or older, “ATM” means Automatic Teller Machine. If you’re younger, you don’t know what that means because you’ve never paid for anything in cash. If you’re a network engineer of a certain age, ATM means something else: Asynchronous Transfer Mode. ATM was a potential god technology […]
Tag: ccie
Dial-up Blues
I haven’t posted in a long time, partly because work has had me busy, partly because I haven’t been sure what to write. I have multiple drafts sitting unfinished for various reasons. The best way to get unstuck is to tell some old stories, as I like to do, and I was thinking this morning […]
Why I am not an FBI Agent
Some years back I wrote a post poking fun at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based on an experience I had at a briefing in their office. The funny thing is–and this did not color my article– there was a point in my life when I badly wanted to be an FBI agent. Back in […]
The War on Expertise
Like many network engineers, I quickly fell in love with my field and worked hard to master it. I got into networking when I was working in desktop support. The behind-the-scenes stuff was way more interesting to me than the front lines. Back in the late nineties, I bought a library of books to learn […]
On being a VOIP guy (not)
Well, the blog has been languishing for a while, as I’ve been extraordinarily busy with a new EVP, a round of layoffs, and many personal distractions. Here’s a little Netstalgia piece, not really technical, for your enjoyment. I’ve told a few stories about my years at the Cisco Gold Partner, where I did both pre- […]
Back to Cisco Live
I haven’t posted in a while, for the simple reason that writing a blog is a challenge. What the heck am I going to write about? Sometimes ideas come easily, sometimes not. Of course, I have a day job, and part of that day job involves Cisco Live, which is next week, in person, for […]
Memories of Cisco Live
The last Cisco Live I attended was in Barcelona in January 2020. As I was in the airport heading home, I was reading news of a new virus emerging from China. I looked with bemusement at a troop of high-school-age girls who all had surgical masks on. Various authorities told us not to wear masks, […]
CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure
There were quite a few big announcements at Cisco Live this year. One of the big ones was the overhaul of the certification program. A number of new certifications were introduced (such as the DevNet CCNA/CCNP), and the existing ones were overhauled. I wanted to do a post about this because I was involved with […]
Cisco Live is over! Long Live Cisco Live!
I think it’s fair to say that all technical marketing engineers are excited for Cisco Live, and happy when it’s over. Cisco Live is always a lot of fun–I heard one person say “it’s like a family reunion except I like everyone!” It’s a great chance to see a lot of folks you don’t get […]
Interviewing #1: How I got my first networking job
I’ve wanted to kick off a series for a while now on technical interviewing. Let me begin with a story. My first job interview for a full network engineering role was at the San Francisco Chronicle in 2000. I had been working for five years in IT, mostly doing desktop and end-user support. I then […]