Cisco Live 2017 is about to begin, and I’m very excited to be able to go again this year. I have been fortunate in the past to be able to visit Cisco Live for several years. This will be my 5th Cisco Live and I’m happy to be a NetVet. There are many great blog post on why you should go and what to do when you get there, so I would like to talk a bit about why I think it’s a great event to be at.I was introduced to Cisco Live by my former Network manager at a different job at higher Ed. My first Live was in 2012 in San Diego and boy was I overwhelmed. It was 3 of us, me and 2 other colleagues, both who had attended Live back when it was still called Networkers.
I don’t recall my first session I attended, only the feeling of being surrounded by so many smart people that know sooo much more about networking than I do. (Oh, by the way I still have that feeling every time I attend.) The other thing I remember vividly was this feeling of energy; It is hard to describe, for me it’s like you passion for IT is being re-charged by just being there.
One of the best parts about Live is World of Solutions, where you get to talk to all kinds of vendors. Veeam, VMware, Cisco of course, Splunk to name a few. Plus you get to talk to engineers, so you can really ask them some tough questions and get into deep discussions.
Another great opportunity is to meet the experts. You can schedule to meet a Cisco SME and discuss real world problems, throw them on a whiteboard and take it from there. It’s also quite impressive to talk to a guy who is about 30 years old and has 3 CCIEs.
So, not to be too nostalgic, here are a few take-aways from Cisco Live:
- Bring comfortable shoes! You will walk, a lot! I think someone last year said on average 6 miles at the conference center alone, and I believe it.
- Socialize. When I first got there I was very overwhelmed and a bit reserved. There are some great people you can meet, and keep in contact long after. We are all in the same boat.
- You have to go to the customer appreciation event on Wednesdays! Even if you are so tired and exhausted it is worth it. Cisco always puts on a good show, last year it was Maroon 5, this year it will be Bruno Mars. Plus free drinks and food. (Personal Highlight was Aerosmith 2015 in San Diego). And don’t forget, we are IT guys, so after a concert we can still make DNS changes for a new website event if it is 2:00am, right?
- Chargers. I know my cell phone is always almost dead by the end of the day. I charge my phone any chance I get.
- One of my favorite sessions is Cisco Live Network and NOC: Panel Discussion [PNLNMS-1035]. These are the guys who run Live, so we can all enjoy Wifi (and much more). It’s a very interesting panel, and I learned a lot from them.
- Lastly have fun. For me Cisco Live is a privilege, a lot of hard work and great fun. It always takes me a few days afterwards to come back to normal
So, it you want to hang out some, have a chat, or a drink, just hit me up on twitter. I’ll be there!