Cisco

The ABC’s of Cyber Security

Did you know that October was the Nation Cyber Security Awareness Month, as declared by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)? In fact, this was the 6th year annual Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Cisco has put together some great articles and videos covering Cyber Security on the Cisco Security Blog. You can also checkout the DHS National Cyber Security Awareness Month homepage with articles and videos.

Here is a great Cyber Security video from Cisco’s blog:

Cisco Integrated 890 Series Router delivers completely

All I can say is “Wow”. This integrated router offers endless options including secure broadband with Metro Enternet capabilities for the small business world, eToken credentials and two 2.0 USB ports for security, 1000 Based T Gig and 10/100 Based T Fast Internet for WAN. The 890 Series router is incrediability versatile. It has Wan/Lan access with a built in Cisco web-based management tool for ease in set up. Additionally, it has enhanced firewall security options for control of email. I have not even scratched the surface on this router’s capabilities.

Looking fo a new Cisco router? Take a look at the Cisco 890

Cisco Nexus 1000V - 3 free videos

Have you seen my 3 free videos on how to download, install, and use the Cisco Nexus 1000V distributed virtual switch? I was one of the judges that selected this as the the best new technology of VMworld in 2008. If you aren’t familiar with the Nexus 1000V (or N1KV), it is a software switch that integrates into your VMware vSphere virtual infrastructure.

To watch the 3 free videos, checkout: VMwareVideos.com - Cisco Nexus 1000V Videos

Cisco reaches 1 Million certified, CCIE R&S Program Update, and NEW CCNA Voice Option

1. Cisco recently announced that, to date, they have certified over 1 Million individuals and over 20,000 people with CCIE certifications. WOW - can you believe that there are over 1 million people in the world who are Cisco certified? Pretty amazing!

When I achieved my CCIE, there were about 5,000 CCIEs. Now, 7 years later, there are 20,000.

2. Cisco announced changes changes to the CCIE Routing and Switching written certification test. In the latest revision, dubbed “4.0″, the new test will have hands-on troubleshooting and will now cover MPLS and VPN. This new version will come on line October 18, 2009.

To me, personally, this is critical news as I will have to take this test to keep my CCIE. I have to do this prior to May 2010 so stay tuned for news about this test as I will be following it closely.

3. Cisco has announced changes to the CCNA Voice certification. There will now be two options available for candidates wishing to achieve their CCNA Voice certification: A commercial option and an enterprise option.

Cisco Live is this week!

Will you be at Cisco Live 2009 (aka Cisco Networkers)?

I blogged about Cisco Live back in May because I was even excited about it then. Now that it is here, I am even more excited about it. Even though I won’t be there this year (I opted to go to VMworld instead of Cisco Live), I will be following the conference through Twitter (Follow me on Twitter) and through the Cisco Live conference website (Cisco Live!).

Here are some important facts about Cisco Live in 2009:

• The conference runs from June 27 to July 2 in San Francisco
• You can still just “show up” and register onsite
• This marks the 20th anniversary of Cisco Networkers / Live
• If you are like me and you can’t make it to the event, you still need to register for Cisco Live Virtual. The standard version of this allows you 2 days of ondemand technical training classes and the Premier level (for $395) gives you additional access to virtual programming and 1 year to check it all out.
• And, you don’t want to miss what John Chambers has to say at the Keynote!

For more information, checkout Cisco Live 2009!

Introduction to Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances

In this article from the Petri IT Knowledgebase, Tom Finnis covers the Cisco ASA 5500 series appliances - what models are available and what they offer you. All the key features like Firewall, SSL, IPSec VPN, Intrusion Prevention (IPS), and Content Security are covered.

To read the full article, take a look at:

Introduction to Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances

Cisco’s John Chambers answers questions from Twitter

During Cisco Live 2009, @CiscoSystems Twitter followers submitted questions for John Chambers the CEO of Cisco. Their questions regarding the companys overall strategy, Flip, video, and smart grid technology are answered in this video.

Prevent Network Attacks on your Cisco Network including the ping of death

Over at TrainSignalTraining, they recently published towCisco Security articles that I found to be very helpful if you have any remote interest in preventing networks attacks. The articles are:

• How to Prevent Threats and Attacks on Your Cisco Network
• The PING of Death and Other Network Attacks

Cisco IOS How-To Tips and Tricks

I have published over 20 different Cisco IOS tip and trick articles over at the Petri IT Knowledgebase. In these Cisco tips, I cover things like setting up a Cisco switch, VLAN configuration, DDNS, ACLs, and selecting the right router for your CCNA studies.

Of these 20+ Cisco tips, here are 5 of the most popular:

• Cellular Data to your Cisco Router
• Cisco 800 series Routers - the best routers to practice for your CCNA exam and learn the IOS
• Configuring Dynamic DNS (DDNS) in the Cisco IOS
• How to Recover a Lost Password on a Cisco Switch
• How to Setup VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) on Cisco Switches

I hope you will check them out!

Will you be at Cisco Live 2009 (aka Cisco Networkers)?

I attended Cisco Live/Networkers 2007 in Las Vegas and it was a blast! While I may always call it “Networkers” instead of Live - its still the best networking conference in the world. Besides John Chambers big keynote, tons of Cisco Education, lots of vendors, and big This year, Cisco Live will in in San Francisco, California from June 27 to July 2. While I won’t be able to make it to Live this year (because I will be at VMworld in San Francisco at the end of July), I highly recommend that you go if you can make it.

And if you can’t make it to California this year, you still have the option to attend “virtually”, over the Internet with the new Cisco Live Virtual.

For full conference information checkout the Cisco Live! 09′ website!