I've been interested in technology for as long as I can remember. From my early beginnings of learning how to navigate the DOS command line interface on my dad's computer while he was off at work, to building my first PC (with 8Mb of RAM!). I've always had an interest and a knack for this stuff.

Over the past decade, my interest in networking technology has grown significantly. In 2001, I earned my CCNA while working at Cisco (on contract) and a few years later installed my first 6509 in a global financial company. Several certifications followed down the road including the CCNP and CCAI. I now teach Cisco curriculum part time while working as a Senior Network Engineer for a mid-size enterprise. My drive to learn has never stopped, in fact it just keeps growing the more I am exposed to this stuff.

The time has come to take it to the next level.

Several months ago I made the decision, after some serious research and discussions with my wife, to begin studying for the CCIE Routing & Switching Exam. I started by researching and reading everything I could find regarding the exam - Cisco's official exam page, other blogs that detail how they approached the exam, podcasts talking about the exam, etc. I spent a good month reviewing my options before I finally made the decision that absolutely, without a doubt I am going to go for it - no matter what it takes.

I've written this blog post to share my experience so far and hopefully help others in a similar situation to make the go-no-go decision.

If you bought a Macbook Pro in the last couple years, like me, you may be pushing the limits of the factory installed 250Gb hard drive. So far, the factory installed Toshiba hard drive has been rock solid, no complaints. I just need more space than 250Gb.

As of right now, the current Macbook Pros come with 500Gb or 750Gb hard drives (with an option to upgrade to 1Tb).  Back when I bought, they had 250Gb and 500Gb options. If you want more storage in your Macbook Pro, read on!

Select a Hard Drive

The first decision you have to make when buying a hard drive is how much space do you want?

I figure storage is relatively cheap, so why not go as big as possible? After a bit of research, the disk I chose to go with is the Western Digital Scorpio Blue 1 TB Hard Drive. The decision was mainly based on the size of the disk, but several reviews I read all stated the disk is quiet and reasonably fast for it's size. The price is right as well (right around $100US).

Robotics is an area of technology that both fascinates me and frightens me at the same time. Although it would be cool to have a robot that is self sufficient enough that it could do things for me, it's also scary to think what someone else's robot would be told to do (images of the terminator come to mind).

I found this video while reading the news. It demonstrates the use of some insane mathematical computations in the form of a remote control airplane that makes corrections to it's flight path to avoid obstacles. Watch the video to see for yourself (requires flash)...

I recently purchased an APC 9211 MasterSwitch PDU for my home lab. I wanted the ability to remotely power up and power down devices so I can lab while on the go and not have equipment running 24/7. This specific device was acquired from a liquidator on ebay for less than $100 USD, which compared to the newer Smart PDUs on the market is a fraction of the cost.

This device has been discontinued by APC for quite some time, however these things are rock solid and so far this unit has been performing quite well. However, there was one problem when I tried to manage it... the previous owner didn't clear the password and I was locked out.

If you are working on some gear and need to tftp a config off a box or upload a new version of code, you might find yourself scratching your head when it comes to setting up the TFTP server built-in to Mac OS X. I know I did. This little tutorial is meant to show you how to quickly and easily get TFTP going on a Mac (in my case, a Macbook pro running Snow Leopard).

First, download TFTP Server. The developer's site has a copy. Once the dmg is open, drag the application to the applications folder to install.

So, for the past couple years I've been using a Mac Book Pro for the majority of my writing, but still relied on a Windows platform for most of my command line work. I recently was faced with the need to perform a password reset on a device using Secure CRT on my Macbook Pro, and wouldn't you know it? There's no Break key! Here's how I got around this issue, if you have another way to do it, please feel free to share in the comments below.

1. Start out by establishing your console connection.

Well, Cisco Live 2012 in San Diego has come to an end and most people have likely returned to their homes and daily routines. Personally, I have caught up on email and am now taking on the deluge of tasks at work head on.

I've got some notes from my last session, but they need some clean up before I can post them. Also, I've got a couple pictures that I'll try to upload this week. 

All in all it was a great conference this year. I learned a lot and should have enough material for a few solid blog posts in the weeks ahead. If anyone has any links to stuff they want to share from CL 2012 San Diego, feel free to post them in the comments below. Thanks!