Not too much to say about. We all know that Cisco is investing a lot into it’s image on the market and sometimes we are dissapointed that what marketing is showing is different from the final product, but the next video worth every penny. At least is funny and can bring a smile on your network engineer face.
Enjoy!
Usually big companies with large network have a dedicated department which deals with all the network configuration. The problem that I have in mind is when this department is splitted over large geographical areas (e.g. some colleagues in Europe, some in Asia and some in America) it may happen that more than one colleague is working on the same device at the time.
This can cause overlapping configuration or other problems, due to the fact that more than one config is applied at the time causing conflicts.
There is one simple solution to avoid this problem by enabling single-user (exclusive) access functionality for the Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI). Configuration of this feature is very simple:
1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. configuration mode exclusive {auto | manual}
4. end
As you can see mode exclusive has two options auto or manual:
I would recommend using the default auto mode, but if for some reason you need manual mode, then you need to perform some additional tasks:
1. enable
2. configure terminal lock
3. Configure the system by entering your changes to the running configuration.
4. end
The manual method allow you to be able to lock the configuration mode only when you really need it to be lock. Compared to this, the auto mode, is locking the configuration all the time, so it’s considered more safe.
When you are in configuration mode excluside (no matter if auto or manual), you are configuring something through CLI and another user connected to that device is issuing the configuration terminal command, the following message will be displayed:
Configuration mode locked exclusively by user ‘unknown’ process ’88’ from terminal ‘0’. Please try later.Rollback confirmed change timer is cancelled due to configuration lock error.
This is just an example. In your case the user, process or terminal may be different. The message is useful as the second user trying to configure the device knows what’s going on and the engineer is not left in the fog without any clue.
I know, it’s not technical or related to Cisco, but it has everything to do with the industry in which we are network engineers are working. I found this great article by Justin James about the top 10 excuses a boss does not want to hear and I think it’s a good opportunity to share if with you. So look here what he’s saying:
“There are lots of reasons why a project might not be going well or may even fail. When your boss wants to know why, there is a world of difference between offering an excuse and providing a legitimate reason. In truth, most excuses only make your manager more upset and put the blame on you. Here are 10 common excuses that employees give their managers — and how you can turn them from weak excuses into a way of getting your supervisor to help you resolve the problems before your project is jeopardized.
Not every boss has great communication skills. And yes, having a manager who is not good at explaining what needs to be done makes life difficult. At the same time, using your boss’ inability to explain things as an excuse for not doing them just does not fly. If an assignment does not make sense, it’s your responsibility to find out what really has to happen. And if you find yourself in this situation more than once, it is a sign that you need to be extra careful when working with this particular person to get things fully understood.
We all know this situation: A manager hands you an assignment with a deadline attached to it. You tell the manager that the deadline can’t be met and you’re told, “I don’t care; make it happen.” When the deadline is missed, you say, “But I told you the deadline was impossible!” and the boss is still angry. The disconnect here is that simply saying that the deadline is not possible is not good enough. As soon as the boss tells you to do it and you passively accept the ridiculous deadline, you make it your responsibility to meet it.
Your best defense is to negotiate a better deadline, and to do that, you need a project plan. The fact is, you always should be able to paint a picture of what a project will entail with some broad strokes anyway, and it is fairly easy to assign some rough estimates of the time to make each step happen. When you show your supervisor that even the most optimistic rough draft of a plan that omits a million minor details shows that it will take three months and they are demanding three weeks, guess what? It is now your manager’s responsibility to deal with the deadline issue. You have turned an opponent into an ally, and no sane boss can hold you accountable for the bad deadline anymore.”
It seems to me that Cisco want to compete with Apple on the touch screen devices market. The Cisco Cius product confirm this.
OK, skipping the funny part of this story, honestly I believe that Cisco is making efforts to take the (still) open part of the tablet devices market that is not so developed in this moment, and by this I mean the touch screen devices for professional use.
While companies like Apple focus their efforts to develop home use friendly devices, Cisco want to apply the same success recipe for the business sector. The launch of the iPad was enough to make Cisco think that Apple’s platform can be adapted for business use and in this idea they developed Cius.
The Cius will sport a a 7-inch screen, making it smaller and lighter than the iPad. Some highlights of the Cius technology are:
Cisco is also negotiating with six phone companies around the world to procure their services for Cius. The tablet5 device from Cisco will feature the ability to connect to Wi-Fi hot spots and cellular broadband networks.
The Cius is expected to be sold for less than a $1,000 and if Cisco is able to make a dent in the sales of iPads by attracting customers, then I’m sure that other companies will jump on this “train” developing similar products.
Below, I you can enjoy 2 videos of the Cisco Cius product. One is the designed for the marketing purpose, but the second one has an interesting “hands on” demo.
Today I’ve received an e-mail with the following content:
Dear Cisco Certified Colleague,
CCIE certifications are as popular as ever. A recent publication has listed both the CCIE and the CCIE Voice certifications in their top 10 IT networking list* and has cited both as highly sought-after by employers. If that’s not enough motivation to keep moving up the certification ladder, the Global Knowledge 2010 IT Skills and Salary Survey identifies the CCIE credential as the highest paid networking certification!
The Cisco 360 Learning Program can help you obtain the knowledge and skills you need to pass the rigorous CCIE certification lab exam. As the only Cisco developed and approved CCIE training program available, the blended learning curriculum contains over 350 hours of practical, hands-on lab configurations that have been proven to accelerate development.
Now, Cisco has enhanced its expert-level training program to offer additional value and training assurance to help you work your way towards a Cisco CCIE® certification. Beginning June 22, 2010, you will be given more time to practice expert-level skills using the Cisco 360 Learning Program components. The subscription period for all components that are accessed through LMS will be extended from 12 months to 18 months.
The following benefits** will also be available to qualified Cisco 360 Learning Program students:
| Benefits: | Qualifications to be met by June 30, 2011: |
| Free graded Preassessment Lab (value of $289 USD) |
When you purchase at least one instructor-led workshop for CCIE Routing and Switching or CCIE Voice and the Preassessment Lab will be made available for free through your Cisco 360 Learning Management System (LMS) account. |
| Priority scheduling of CCIE Mobile Lab Event | When you purchase and complete at least one instructor-led workshop for CCIE Routing and Switching or CCIE Voice and all classroom assessments, then contact your Cisco Learning Partner for scheduling assistance. |
| Cisco Lab Safe: Free retake on CCIE Lab Exam, which is valid for 18 months from the day it is issued (value of $1400 USD) |
You must complete at least one of the following two qualifications:
In both scenarios, you must first make one paid attempt at the lab, and then contact Learning Partner to request free voucher code from Cisco by December 31, 2011. Free retake is limited to one per track |
It seems that Cisco is trying to attract more audience to it’s program. The benefits are great, what can I say, but in this time also a change in the price system would be welcomed.
