Understanding the Components of Cisco Secure Access

Last year my company bought Cisco Secure Access and at the same time one of my customers also bought Cisco Secure Access after having some issues with their current setup with Z-scaler. In that time I was exposed pretty intimately with the product and the different components that make up the Secure Access portfolio. Cisco … Continue reading Understanding the Components of Cisco Secure Access

What’s New With Wi-Fi 7

Wifi-7 (802.11be) was ratified last year and we have now started seeing vendors shipping APs based on these new standards. In this post lets discuss what is new with Wifi-7 and compare it to how it its an improvement over Wifi-6e. With Wifi-7 we see these new advanced features: 320 Mhz channel width: With Wifi-7 … Continue reading What’s New With Wi-Fi 7

Deploy Thousand Eyes Agent using Catalyst Center (DNAC)

Thanks to Cisco's push to deploy more Thousand Eyes agents, the Catalyst team has given us an easy button for deploying agents to the Catalyst 9300 and 9400 switches using Catalyst Center, formally DNA Center. The agent is deployed as a docker container using the App-hosing framework built natively into the 9300 and 9400 series … Continue reading Deploy Thousand Eyes Agent using Catalyst Center (DNAC)

Configuration Automation using Catalyst Center with Assurance

My latest project has been a switch refresh and a deployment of a Catalyst Center with Assurance only for a customer across off of their sites. Now the task I had at hand was how can I use Catalyst Center to automate as much configuration on the switches as possible. Because we were only licensed … Continue reading Configuration Automation using Catalyst Center with Assurance

Catalyst Monitoring on the Meraki Dashboard

You read that right! At Cisco Live this year they introduced the ability to add Catalyst switches to the Meraki dashboard. Finally a use for the unused DNA licenses! The switches are monitored in read-only mode, so you still need to manage the switches the old fashioned way, however Meraki's traffic analysis and troubleshooting tools … Continue reading Catalyst Monitoring on the Meraki Dashboard

Welcome to the Family: The Catalyst 9200 is Born

Three years ago Cisco introduced the Catalyst 9000 series switches as the next generation of campus switches.  Every Catalyst switch family had an equivalent 9K to replace it; the 3800s were replaced with the 9300, the 4500s were replaced with the 9500, and the long standing 6500 chassis switches were replaced with the 9400.  Cisco … Continue reading Welcome to the Family: The Catalyst 9200 is Born

Cisco Live 2019

This year Cisco Live was held in sunny San Diego. Between the breakout sessions, the walk-in labs, and an amazing performance by Weezer and the Foo Fighters, Cisco announced some new products and new certifications. Here is my list of some standout highlights from Cisco live: Certification Overhaul To those who have been tirelessly studying … Continue reading Cisco Live 2019

Deploying AMP for Endpoints

Recently I deployed Ciscoโ€™s AMP for Endpoints for a 50-user organization.  For the uninitiated, AMP for Endpoints is Ciscoโ€™s cloud based, enterprise grade, advanced malware protection software that is deployed to each end device in the network.  Each endpoint reports back to the central cloud controller and is managed by the controller.  Cisco integrated AMP … Continue reading Deploying AMP for Endpoints

2016 Brings New Additions to the Meraki Family

Cisco Meraki has been working hard to expand their portfolio of cloud controlled devices this year with VOIP phones and IP security cameras.  Customers who currently have a Meraki network will be glad to hear that both phones and security cameras are configured in the same dashboard we are all familiar with.  Both devices are … Continue reading 2016 Brings New Additions to the Meraki Family