Ciscolive know before you go

These are my tips for CiscoLive newbie, These have been learned from my mistake and previous experience at the conference.

Have an orientation tour of the facilities after registering

The conference center are usually huge, I recommend that you walk around after your registration to locate, where the meals will be served, the World of Solution, if you are taking a test, locate the test center etc.

There is also conference hosts that wear the same t-shirt, they are there to help you find where you need to go, don’t be afraid to ask direction, they might save you a lot of walking and being late at session.

I also like to walk and try to avoid the shuttle as much as possible, so I always try to find the shortest and easiest path to my hotel. This gives me extra minutes of sleep.

TIP: Do not be afraid to ask direction to get where you need to go

Registration

Get you conference pass as soon as possible and try to avoid the Monday morning rush. The registration process is easy and fast, You will get your conference pass that will allow you to attend the breakout session, keynote, access to World of solution, meal and party. Always check to see if you have it, before leaving your hotel room, and try not to loose it as it can be replacing with fees.

Registration
June 9

3:00 PM

7:00 PM
June 10

7:00 AM

5:00 PM
June 11

7:00 AM

7:30 PM
June 12

7:00 AM

7:00 PM

 

TIP: Check the lanyard clips, some are loose and I had to replace the lanyard a couple of time because the pass did not stayed attached properly.

Breakout session

This is the reason that you told your boss and wife to attend CiscoLive (while we all know it is for the party), You scheduled them and now that you are in the session you realize that you know the stuff, don’t like the presentation, I suggests that you make the best of your time and look for another session of interest and go, they will let you in if there is still place in the room.

TIP: Make the most of your time and attend session of interest

You can ask question to during the presentation, but please if you are trying to solve whatever issue you have at work, wait at the end of the presentation and take it offline with the presenter

You can bring you laptop, tablet and mobile phone to follow the presentation deck and take note. There are some power bars so you can plug your equipment in. Last year I only had my tablet and it was enough to cover my needs for the conference.

If you find the session boring and feel like watching a movie, update your Facebook status or need to work, please go outside the conference room (Refer to tips below) , this is again simple courtesy to your fellow attendee, keyboard noise are annoying and unless the movie is great, I’d rather listen the presentation.

TIP: Please be considerate of your fellow attendees

Also, beware, if you fall asleep, there will be some one to take a picture and post it on the #clus feed and also please do not snore…


Laptop, tablet and mobile phone

Please make sure that all your mobile device and laptop are on mute and/or vibration, this is just courtesy for the presenter and your fellow attendees. We are not interested in hearing your latest LMFAO ringtone.

Also, if you think there might be a possibility that you will receive a call and that not answering it will make the western empire as we know it collapse, please take a seat at the end of a row or even better and the back of the room. We are not interested in learning that your core has just melt down and please answer your call as quietly as possible.

TIP: Please make sure your devices are on mute and vibration.

Wifi coverage

There is wifi coverage in the conference area and I must say that for the last 2 years the coverage was good. I notice that the 5 ghz band was less used and therefore my tablet could always connect while my phone could not. Except for the World of solution and the keynote, I was able to connect to the wifi and have access to the internet

Dress code

There is no dress code. Dress to be comfortable and remember that you might see customers, partner and coworker. So try not to be remember as the one who got the tramp stamp…

Also, the room are air conditioned and sometime I find that it is cold in the room especially in the morning and early afternoon.

Netvet

You will notice that some attendees have a red or orange lanyard, there are Netvet, they have been to at least 3 Cisco live events in the 5 years so if you have any question, do not be afraid to ask, we may not have the answer but might know who to tweet to get it.

Do not be offended if I do not understand you at first

As you most likely notice english is not my first language, so for me Ciscolive is an exhausting week as my brain need to be in gear to attend the session and understand what is going on around me. So sometime I just shut my brain off and wander around. So if you talk to me I need to reboot and will ask for a retransmit… Also I have to be attentive to the different english accents and I have a very strong one

See you at Ciscolive and hope to meet you

Related Blog Post

From my friends John Herbert and Jeff Fry

http://lamejournal.com/2011/05/10/surviving-cisco-live-2011/

http://lamejournal.com/2011/06/20/cisco-live-las-vegas-last-minute-tips/

http://lamejournal.com/2012/03/15/busting-some-networking-myths/

http://lamejournal.com/2012/04/23/cisco-live-2012-san-diego-cae-bands-exclusive/

http://www.fryguy.net/2012/04/23/cisco-live-scoop-cae-band-revealed-cover-band-announcement-and-the-bag/

http://www.fryguy.net/2011/06/21/cisco-live-attendee-expectations/

http://www.fryguy.net/2012/04/06/cisco-live-2012-reasons-to-attend/

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my 10 reasons to attend Ciscolive

Apr 1

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1. Technical break out session

Technical break out session are a 2 to 3 hours session about a technology topic. The presentations are divided in 3 level, introduction, intermediate and expert. They are also divided in different field of interest ie routing and switching, security, collaboration etc.

These session explain the technology, how to deploy and configure it and also how to troubleshoot. The presentation slide are available to download and I strongly recommend that you to bring them at the session so you can take personal notes for future reference.

The presenters are always knowledgeable of the topic presented and always have good to great presentation skill.

2. Meeting directly with Cisco engineer

Let’s face it, it’s not every day that you can whiteboard a problem or validate a design idea with a Cisco engineer face to face. You have this opportunity at Cisco Live with meet the engineer and in the Cisco booth at the World of Solution. You can also ask question to the presenter at the end of a session, if he can’t answer you on the spot, you will be able to get his contact info and hopefully get an answer.

3. Meeting with peer

Cisco Live is also the opportunity to meet with your industry peer that do the same work as you and exchange experience, problem and solution. There are many social events that help break the ice and meet fellow network engineer. I know that I have met a lot of people from my home town at the various Cisco Live that I would not have met otherwise.

4. World of solution

A part from the usual swag grabbing frenzy that come with going to a trade show, there is the opportunity to see demonstration and get information about Cisco’s partner solution, often you will get an evaluation of the product. The only downside is the mail and call you get after the show.

5. The keynotes

Opening keynote with John Chamber, that is always entertaining, informational and let face it, mr Chamber is a good presenter, there is also always a technology demo that is impressive.

Closing keynote with various guest, last year, the guest was William Shatner, this year they will be Adam and Jamie from Mythbusters. Carlos Dominguez the host always find an entertaining way to get the guess to share about their various experience and how they thinks outside the box

6. Being a CCIE and a netvet, the opportunity to meet in a close group with John Chamber

Netvet CCIE and CCDE have a meet “John Chamber happy hour”. This is an opportunity to meet Cisco’s CEO, in a close group of around 100 participant. Mr Chamber will have an open question session where he answer the question asked by the group. He is always joined by top Cisco executive.

I’m always impress and please that Mr Chamber take the time to meet us and how open are the answers from our questions, and believe me they are not always nice comments about their products.

7. Meeting with my Cisco Live buddies and make new one

We exchange on twitter, blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook. We all listened to the same podcast, and we have a chance to meet in person. Over the year, I have met with what I call my Cisco Live buddy. We exchange over twitter during the year but for one week, we finally meet in person and what even better, and I meet new Cisco Live buddies that grows my network. one direct benefit of this. When I have a question about a problem or solution, I know that there is a good chance that I have a Cisco Live buddy that know the answer and then twitter is my best friend.

8. Full week of technical training and learning

I’m a private contractor so I need to stay current on technology and it is not easy to take 2-3 week of training on different technology during a year when you are under contract. For me, Cisco Live is a week of drinking knowledge from the fire hydrant. I can in a week, have sessions on data center, routing and switching, security and collaboration and with the Cisco Live virtual have access to all session and can listened to them during the year.

9. Customers appreciation event

On the Wednesday night, we have the customers appreciation events, this is the party of the week, with a lot to eat and drink, live music and other entertainment. Each year, there is a different theme and we get a funny hat as a souvenir. Last year CAE was great, amazing location, entertainment and a very good feature band.

My 2 cents, do not miss it and schedule a light session on thursday morning.

10. Opportunity to travel across the US and visit new places

As I’m not living in the USA, Cisco Live is an opportunity to visit the host city. This allowed me to visit Anaheim, Orlando, San Francisco, Las Vegas and this year it will be San Diego. I always reserve sometime to take a city tour of the place where Cisco Live is.

Posted in Cisco Live, networking

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My cisco live 2012 schedule

Mar 29

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Posted in networking

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