Bahrain was supposed to experience Cisco Live! from April 10th to April 13^th, the event has been postponed until further notice, according to a statement from Cisco.

Cisco released a statement saying: “Due to the current uncertainty, the Government of Bahrain and Cisco have decided to postpone the Cisco Live! Bahrain 2011 event scheduled for 10^th -13^th April 2011 – with new dates will be defined at a later stage. Cisco understands and supports the mutual decision to postpone the Cisco Live 2011 Bahrain event.  The company remains committed to their customers and partners in Bahrain and across the region, and look forward to inviting you to a rescheduled Cisco Live! event at a later stage

Unfortunately I did all planning and postponed my vacation as well to attend the most awaited Cisco Live in this part of the World, hope Cisco will not cancel the event as F1 association did with the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Cisco Systems will be issuing a full refund of any registration fees paid.  In Case you have any questions you can reach the Cisco Live team at their UK Call Centre, +44 (0)207 022 8993, and also at an email support@ciscoliveemergingmarkets.com

Cisco also announced the winner of the 2nd I-Prize competition,an open, global innovation contest developed to encourage collaboration among entrepreneurs and help identify new potential billion-dollar business ideas for Cisco . A team of five university students from Mexico submitted the winning idea of a ‘Life Account’ that gathers information about users through connected devices in the physical world and online data available in the virtual world. The winners receive a cash prize of $250,000!

As we all know the biggest event of the year for Cisco Systems has already started at Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. Most of the Cisco Experts are already there enjoying the biggest Technical party. Just for your info Cisco Live 2010 comes in two flavors

 -Cisco Live , which will be in Mandalay Bay Hotel  in Las Vegas
-Cisco Live  virtual, – June 29 to July 1st -which offers an opportunity to visit the Cisco booth, including the Data Center of the Future demo (see below) and attend on line numerous speaking sessions

Pic Courtesy: Cisco Systems

The theme of this year is “Knowledge is Power” , which perfectly reflects the main purpose of the show – Thousands of visitors will attend hundreds of informative sessions, delivered by Cisco trainers and partners designed to educate them on new concepts and new solutions . In addition, Labs and demos (World of Exhibitions) will give an opportunity to go deeper.

Tuesday  June 29th  
10:00-11:30am  John Chambers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cisco
11:45 -12:15 pm  Executive chat session with Carlos Dominguez Senior Vice-President, Office of the Chairman and CEO, Cisco
12:30-2:20 pm   Bridging in the Data Center, with or without Spanning Tree
2:45 -3:45 pm  Understanding of Application Performance and Network Usage in the Data Center – Ward Cobleigh, Business and Partnership Development Director, Fluke Networks
Wednesday June 30th
10:30-11:30 am  Padmasree Warrior, Chief Technology Officer, Cisco
11:45- 12:15 pm   Executive Chat Session with Padmasree
12:30 – 2:30 pm   Cisco Announcing New Innovations for Breakthrough Data Center 3.0 Architecture
2:45 -3:45 pm  Video: What Next? – Featuring Marthin De Beer, Senior Vice President, Emerging Technologies Group, Cisco
Thursday July 1st
10:30-11:30 am   Ben Mezrich,author  ”The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal;”
 12:30 -2:30 pm  Planning the Migration to Cisco Unified Computing System or
12:30 -2:00 pm  Data Center Customer Panel: Insights on Data Center, Computing, and Virtualization  

Since I am in other part of the Globe I will be attending Cisco Live virtual and I will try to keep you all updated on the sessions and activities. Don’t miss this opportunity as the theme of the event “Knowledge is Power” is more than enough to experience some new concepts and new solutions. You still have a chance to be part of this event virtually.

Did you miss the much talked Cisco Live 2009? No worries Cisco Live Virtual is here, by registering you can have chance to access more than 200 technical training and educational sessions with a membership to Cisco Live Virtual. Browse the unique 3D virtual environment using full access and view more than a dozen complimentary sessions online now.

The Cisco Live Virtual is available in two flavors Cisco Live Virtual Pass: Free and Cisco Live Virtual Premier Pass:Full Access for $395 or 5 Cisco Learning Credits .

The Cisco Live Virtual Pass: Free provides you an access to on-demand technical training sessions, keynotes and Super Sessions in the auditorium as well as access to the Cisco customer community. Register for Cisco Live Virtual and see for yourself all that this community has to offer.

Whereas the Cisco Live Virtual Premier Pass: provides you an access to on-demand technical training sessions, keynotes and Super Sessions in the auditorium as well as access to the Cisco customer community. Register for Cisco Live Virtual and see for yourself all that this community has to offer.

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 Last week, I have received the newsletter from Cisco Systems about announcement of four new Cisco certifications.

“In response to the growing demand for IT professionals who can design, manage, and maintain converged technologies across global network infrastructures, Cisco announced the release of four new certifications at the Cisco Live! show, held this week in San Francisco, CA.

Cisco Certified Architect, CCNP Wireless, and two new Cisco Datacenter Unified Computing Specialists reinforce Cisco’s commitment developing state of the art, technology driven, role based certifications that meet the demands of today’s network professional.”

• Cisco Certified Architect (Available January, 2010): Cisco Certified Architect is highest level of accreditation achievable within the Cisco Career Certification program. It is the pinnacle for individuals wishing to show their formal validation of both design and IT skills in Cisco technologies and infrastructure.
• CCNP Wireless (Available July 24th, 2009): Built on the growing need for professionals responsible for the design, implementation, security, and operation of wireless networks and mobility infrastructures, CCNP Wireless certification recognizes the critical importance of professionals who support and manage Cisco wireless LANs and networks.
• DC Unified Computing Design Specialist: It is designed to test students knowledge of the fundamentals of the Cisco Unified Compute System and their ability to implement a virtualized Data Center environment. In addition the student also tested on how to implement the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) in an enterprise data center routing and switching infrastructure with the next-generation Cisco Nexus product family.
• DC Unified Computing Support Specialist: It validates an engineer’s ability to design scalable, reliable, and intelligent Data Center Virtualization solutions based on the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) along with other Cisco Data Center products, server virtualization software, and server operating systems.

References:

https://cisco.hosted.jivesoftware.com/community/certifications/cisco_certified_architect

https://cisco.hosted.jivesoftware.com/community/certifications/ccnp_wireless

https://cisco.hosted.jivesoftware.com/community/certifications/data_center/unified_computing_support

https://cisco.hosted.jivesoftware.com/community/certifications/data_center/unified_computing_design

It seems that everyone is busy this time making their trip to San Francisco to be physically there at Cisco-Live, 2009 which starts at 27^th of June. It’s amazing to be there but for the folks who cannot be there physically don’t panic, the technology helps you out to be there virtually. You can experience the Cisco Live Virtual in multiple ways.

Cisco Live Virtual offers you the opportunity to gain knowledge in a powerful way. Whether you are planning to attend Cisco Live 2009 in person, or you will be participating as a virtual attendee, Cisco Live Virtual is a new and innovative way to experience Cisco Live from all angles – including session content, networking with your peers, and getting the latest information on technology solutions from Cisco and our partners. View a quick demo of Cisco Live Virtual.

There are multiple ways to experience Cisco Live Virtual:

• Cisco Live Virtual: Free
  Unable to join Cisco Live in San Francisco for Cisco Live? Register for the complimentary Cisco Live Virtual and get two days of live and on-demand technical training sessions in parallel with the onsite event in San Francisco giving you access to the Cisco customer community, Keynotes, Super Sessions, and the Virtual World of Solutions. Register for Cisco Live Virtual and see for yourself all that this community has to offer.
• Cisco Live Virtual Premier: Full Access for $395.
  In addition to the benefits of the 2-Day Cisco Live Virtual pass the Premier pass will give you a wider array of live virtual programming taking place in parallel with the onsite event in San Francisco, PLUS you’ll also receive an annual subscription to Cisco Live Virtual, where you can access over 300 technical sessions and interact with a community of thousands of Cisco customers year-round. Register today for your Cisco Live Virtual Premier pass and start experiencing the power of knowledge for yourself.
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