Cisco Networkers 2006 @ Las Vegas
I have just returned from the yearly Cisco Networkers convention, which was in Las Vegas for the second year in a row. This was the biggest Networkers yet, with over 10,000 network professionals in attendance. I had a good time and attended several excellent training sessions. There was the standard keynote address by Cisco CEO John Chambers, which I thought was mediocre. Mr. Chambers didn't say anything interesting or new, and the humor was so predictable it was annoying. Mo Rocca also gave a speech, which was both interesting and sufficiently humorous.
I enjoyed talking directly with the engineers that write official Cisco documentation and books. Networkers is a great opportunity to catch up on all the new developments in Cisco products and their recommended best practices. One of the more interesting new products is the ACE (Application Control Engine) module for Catalyst 6500 switches. The ACE module can perform load-balancing, SSL termination, and basic security firewalling at very high speeds (16 Gbps). Before ACE, it required 3 modules to perform all these functions and those modules did not match the performance of the ACE.
There were some interesting changes in Cisco best practice recommendations as well. One of them was that Cisco is now recommending that people seriously consider adding Layer 3 routing to the access layer. This was discussed as a possibility last year, but now it is a recommendation. Do you think this so that Cisco can sell more high-end switches? Maybe, but there are several technical advantages to this strategy including extremely fast convergence, and simplification of spanning-tree and elimination of HSRP/GLBP.
The disadvantages of this implementation is that each access layer switch requires unique IP networks, which can be difficult to implement, depending on your environment. In the future, I will be writing more about Cisco recommended campus network design and my variations to these designs.
On a side note, I rode an elevator with Kenny G. I was riding a nearly-full elevator from the first floor up to my room on the 26th floor. On the 7th floor, a man asked if we were going up, and then got on the elevator. He had long curly hair and was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. As the man was getting on the elevator, an older gentleman whispered to his wife, "Kenny G". My initial reaction was of embarrasment, because the older man whispered loud enough for the long-haired man to hear. I didn't think it was nice to call a person "Kenny G" just because he had long curly hair.
A few seconds later I realized that Kenny G was performing at my hotel that night, and that this man really WAS Kenny G! I tried to act normal and not stare, which I believe is the appropriate behaviour. The elevator dropped everyone off except for Kenny G and myself. I made some stupid comment like, "I guess my floor is next!" Kenny G smiled and said, "Yup". Oddly enough, the elevator PASSED my 26th floor and proceeded to drop Kenny G off on the 28th floor. We both looked surprised and Kenny G apologetically told me that the elevator would probably drop me off next. It did and I ran into my room to tell my wife about the events that just occured.
Speaking of which, my wife also saw Alan Thicke, who played Dr. Jason Seaver in the 80's TV series "Growing Pains". Alan was hosting a game show called "The Second Honeymoon".
I enjoyed talking directly with the engineers that write official Cisco documentation and books. Networkers is a great opportunity to catch up on all the new developments in Cisco products and their recommended best practices. One of the more interesting new products is the ACE (Application Control Engine) module for Catalyst 6500 switches. The ACE module can perform load-balancing, SSL termination, and basic security firewalling at very high speeds (16 Gbps). Before ACE, it required 3 modules to perform all these functions and those modules did not match the performance of the ACE.
There were some interesting changes in Cisco best practice recommendations as well. One of them was that Cisco is now recommending that people seriously consider adding Layer 3 routing to the access layer. This was discussed as a possibility last year, but now it is a recommendation. Do you think this so that Cisco can sell more high-end switches? Maybe, but there are several technical advantages to this strategy including extremely fast convergence, and simplification of spanning-tree and elimination of HSRP/GLBP.
The disadvantages of this implementation is that each access layer switch requires unique IP networks, which can be difficult to implement, depending on your environment. In the future, I will be writing more about Cisco recommended campus network design and my variations to these designs.
On a side note, I rode an elevator with Kenny G. I was riding a nearly-full elevator from the first floor up to my room on the 26th floor. On the 7th floor, a man asked if we were going up, and then got on the elevator. He had long curly hair and was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. As the man was getting on the elevator, an older gentleman whispered to his wife, "Kenny G". My initial reaction was of embarrasment, because the older man whispered loud enough for the long-haired man to hear. I didn't think it was nice to call a person "Kenny G" just because he had long curly hair.
A few seconds later I realized that Kenny G was performing at my hotel that night, and that this man really WAS Kenny G! I tried to act normal and not stare, which I believe is the appropriate behaviour. The elevator dropped everyone off except for Kenny G and myself. I made some stupid comment like, "I guess my floor is next!" Kenny G smiled and said, "Yup". Oddly enough, the elevator PASSED my 26th floor and proceeded to drop Kenny G off on the 28th floor. We both looked surprised and Kenny G apologetically told me that the elevator would probably drop me off next. It did and I ran into my room to tell my wife about the events that just occured.
Speaking of which, my wife also saw Alan Thicke, who played Dr. Jason Seaver in the 80's TV series "Growing Pains". Alan was hosting a game show called "The Second Honeymoon".
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