Wow! NexGenT was excited to be there as Cisco Live celebrated its 30 year anniversary this year and they spared no expense. How big was Cisco Live 19? 28,000 attendees, 1.2 million online views, 45,000 unique devices connected and 75,000 TB of data passed through their network which was a new record. To say the event was big, would be an understatement. It definitely was the place to be in the IT industry!

There was no shortage of big announcements at Cisco Live 19, either. From the opening keynote by Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco, everyone knew Cisco is poised to move into the next decade with aggressive innovation that will lead the IT industry into the Internet of the Future. Then Cisco’s VPs took over and set the stage for the week and what Cisco would showcase. David Goeckler, EVP/GM, Network and Security, provide exciting insight into where Cisco is going as he announced the use of Software Defined Networking over Multi-domain architecture to provide the ability for the separate domains at the Access Layer, the WAN and in the Cloud to operate as one. With this technology the Network Engineer will be able to automate all the way from the user to the application across the entire network. Then Scott Harrell, SVP/GM, Enterprise Networking Solutions, introduced us to WIFI 6 and 5G and how Cisco is using those to expand the campus network. Sacha Gupta, SVP, Product Management, followed up Scott by showing us how Cisco DNA would be implementing AI and Machine Learning to help Network Engineers be able to quickly and accurately diagnose problems in the network and resolve them through the use of anomaly detection automatic packet capture to show what was happening when the user was experiencing issues. He proceeded to explain how in the coming months Cisco will provide the innovative capability of Machine Reasoning that will actually identify the anomalies in your network based on your specific setup and use case. The keynote went into how Cisco is preparing for a post Quantum computing world. Basically, the current encryption methods we use will be defeated easily by the quantum computer and it is imperative that we make our encryption stronger before the quantum computer is realized. The technology is getting so smart it is mind blowing!

Chuck Robbins finished up the opening keynote with probably the biggest announcement of all as he unveiled Cisco’s New Certification Suite. The current engineering suite is being completely restructured and they are adding an all new software suite known as the DevNet Certification. This certification will be for software developers in the area of DevOps.

NexGenT co-founder, Jacob Hess, was able to get a thorough break down of all of the changes to the Engineering Certifications from the Product Manager for Cisco Certifications, Greg Cote. Check it out the video at the link below.

We were also able to get an in depth interview with Ryan Rose, Cisco DevNet Certification Developer. Now, NexGenT can better understand what the DevNet Certification is and how to train people on it. C video coming soon that will provide the detailed information.

After the Opening Keynote NexGenT was able to get exclusive access to the World of Solutions at the Cisco Showcase. We got a private tour of the Network Operation Center by the Network Architect in charge of designing the entire Cisco Live 19 Network, David Hunt. He walked us through the network which spanned not only the San Diego Convention Center, but also reached to the surrounding hotels at the Marriott and Hyatt. He further explained how they had basically taken over the wireless access points in the convention center so they could provide a great network experience to all 28,000 attendees. Full video breakdown below.

After that we were able to walk the entire showcase floor all by ourselves. For us, it was like a kids in a candy store, as we really got to “Geek Out!”

We learned all about WiFi 6 and 5G. We found out that these two exciting new technologies are not necessarily competing, but are great compliments if used correctly. WiFi 6 will greatly increase wireless capabilities within buildings and the surrounding areas and 5G will give you increased functionality when you are on the go and don’t really have the ability to connect to a WiFi access point. Cisco is offering WiFi 6 capable access points today. We actually were able to get an interview with Cisco’s Product Manager for WiFi 6. Watch the video to learn more.

It was also really exciting to see how Cisco partners with other vendors to provide innovative solutions. Companies like Google, Dell, Pure Storage and Net App. We actually got up close and personal with two of the solutions. One other partnership we learned about is how Cisco partnered with the City of New Orleans. Using Cisco products like DNA center, routers, and cameras they worked with the city to help reduce crime. We found out that through this partnership crime has decreased to the lowest it has been since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city. We spoke with the account manager for this solution and she provided some passionate, inspired insights. You have to see this video!

Cisco Live 19 was a fantastic experience for NexGenT. We had a lot of fun and learned a whole lot! If you want to see where the industry is going Cisco Live is definitely the place to go. Next year they will be in Las Vegas and we cannot wait to see what new innovations they have to announce! Maybe NexGenT will see you there.