Catalyst Gets a Meraki Makeover With the Catalyst 9300-M Switch Series

Cisco’s Catalyst 9300 series switches have been given a “Meraki makeover,” offering the robust performance of Catalyst with the seamless, intuitive user experience of Meraki, right from Day 0. This hybrid approach promises to simplify network management for customers familiar with Catalyst’s reliability but eager for Meraki’s agile management and cloud integration, as demonstrated during Cisco’s recent Networking Field Day event. Catalyst Meraki 9300 series, touted for its adaptability and security features like Adaptive Policy, bridges hardware legacy and modern cloud management, streamlining operations for the most demanding network environments. Read the article at Gestalt IT, or watch the presentation from the Networking Field Day event here on the website.


Networking and Security Come Together With Fortinet Secure SD-WAN

At Networking Field Day, Fortinet unveiled their Secure SD-WAN solution, a unified platform that melds networking with robust security through next-gen firewall, Advanced Routing, and Zero Trust Network Access. This integrated approach is central to organizations seeking a transition to a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) model, ensuring secure, resilient networks amid expansion. Holistically managed by FortiManager and powered by Fortinet’s proprietary ASIC for optimum performance, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN exemplifies the synergy of networking and security for operational efficiency and preemptive threat management. Watch the presentation and read more!


Solving Environmental Sustainability Problems at the Edge With Intel’s Elastic and Energy Proportional Edge Computing Infrastructure

Sulagna Saha reviews the Intel Energy Elastic Systems. The blueprint unveils a futuristic system design that will be able to intelligently offload demanding workloads to stations with greater access to renewable energy, and help cut back dependency on non-renewable power supply. The result is eco-friendly deployments at the edge. Read about it at Gestalt IT or watch the presentation here on the website.


Nokia’s New AI Assistant for SR Linux Network Operating System

Sulagna Saha reviews SR Linux GPT, Nokia’s new AI assistant for SR OS. Looking up network information shouldn’t require specialized coding, or browsing through pages of document. It is an inefficient approach, and AI conversational interfaces can replace it. The new SR Linux GPT made from the same technology as ChatGPT helps network engineers find answers to questions quickly and effortlessly. Read about it at Gestalt IT or watch the demo here on the Tech Field Day website.


Reinforcing Agility With Graphiant’s Network Edge Service

In this article, Sulagna Saha reviews Graphiant Network Edge, an as-a-service solution that provides ready-to-consume networks for enterprises. Networking has become more complicated with the rise of edge and AI. Graphiant’s solution seeks to simplify complex networking drills by replacing traditional networks with one that is performant, affordable and secure, and consumable as-a-service.


Catalyst & Meraki: Together at Last!

Girard Kavelines explores how Cisco’s acquisition of Meraki has facilitated leveraging Meraki’s cloud capabilities on both Catalyst and Meraki switch platforms. With offerings such as the MS130 and 130SR, and the introduction of the rugged MS13OR switch, mixed environments now have a unified, scalable solution with enhanced security, connectivity, and performance. The blog post also highlights zero-touch provisioning as a key feature, simplifying network management and deployment through Cloud configuration.


Simplifying Complex Edge Network Stacks With RG Nets’ rXg

In this Networking Field Day article, Sulagna Saha reviews RG Nets’ rXg multi-services edge gateway solution. As network deployments become more and more complex with the rise of BYOD, enterprises need a solution that offers the coveted single-pane-of-glass management on one platform. Read the article at Gestalt IT, or watch RG Nets’ presentations of rXg here on the website.


Network Field Day 33 – Event Recap

In this YouTube video, Jordan Villarreal takes a moment to review the key takeaways from Network Field Day 33 overall. Watch to learn his overall impression of the event and the presentations.


Network Field Day – Day 2 – Intel

In this YouTube video, Jordan Villarreal takes viewers on a journey into the world of Intel’s IPU and data center compute load balancing technology as part of Networking Field Day 33. Learn about AI networking and more by watching this reaction video recorded on-site!


Network Field Day – Day 2 – Fortinet

In this YouTube video, Jordan Villarreal embarks on an exploration of Fortinet’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform, aiming to gain a comprehensive understanding of the technology following their presentation at Networking Field Day 33.


Network Field Day 33 – Day 1 – Cisco/Meraki

In this YouTube video, Jordan Villarreal explores the latest from Cisco Meraki regarding their hardware and software offerings. Presented in the context of their recent Networking Field Day 33 presentation, the video offers an in-depth analysis of these technological innovations.


Network Field Day 33 – Day 1 – RG Nets

In this YouTube video, Jordan Villarreal shares his experience learning about RG Nets Inc., a company new to him, and their first-time presentation at Networking Field Day. The video promises an insightful look into RG Nets and its offerings. This is a great opportunity for those interested in the networking field to discover a potentially unfamiliar company and gain understanding of its place in the industry.


AI Workload Networking With Intel

Tim Bertino discusses the challenges and requirements of networking for AI workloads, as presented by Intel Corporation at Networking Field Day. Intel highlights the difficulty in monitoring and predicting issues in AI networks, emphasizing the need for advanced anticipation and pre-emptive solutions. The article also illustrates Intel’s architectural perspective, favoring the use of Ethernet for managing these high-demand networks.


Centralizing Network Services With RG Nets

In this LinkedIn article, Tim Bertino discusses the unique approach RG Nets, Inc. takes to address the issue of tool and service sprawl in networks. He outlines RG Nets’ strategy of consolidating network services into a singular platform, either natively or via the platform acting as the front-end management plane for external services. Additionally, Bertino highlights how RG Nets enables automatic network provisioning, thus easing the workload for IT staff, and sees great potential in their unique solution.


Meraki and Catalyst Living in Harmony

Tim Bertino explores the collaborative evolution of Cisco Meraki and Catalyst in his recent LinkedIn article. The piece emphasizes the augmentation of cross-platform support between the brands without compromising on their individual product offerings – effectively a ‘best of both worlds’ approach. Bertino celebrates the flexibility this provides customers, allowing them to select the hardware platform that meets their needs while managing it through the Meraki Dashboard, and he highlights the unification of the security solution across platforms.


Network Field Day 33 – Day 1 – Graphiant

Jordan Villarreal reacts to the Graphiant presentation at Networking Field Day in this YouTube video. He was impressed by their phenomenal presentation, especially for a new company just launching.


Getting SASE With Fortinet

Tim Bertino reflects on a presentation by Fortinet at Networking Field Day, focusing on the importance of security in increasingly complex network architectures. The piece discusses Fortinet’s efforts to simplify their security solutions, particularly through their implementation of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and SD-WAN solutions. The benefits of converging networking and security, as well as the growing adoption of Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA), are noted as crucial factors in this sector’s evolution.


A New Approach to Private Connectivity With Graphiant

In this LinkedIn article, Tim Bertino discusses Graphiant, a Network as a Service company that aims to offer customers private connectivity in an as-a-service model. Graphiant aims to reduce complexity by implementing fewer tunnels in its private cloud with multiple global locations, and also offers end-to-end encryption without the need for packet decryption in their core. Bertino views Graphiant’s solution as a less complex means for connecting both the private enterprise and customer implementations in the public cloud.


Lab as Code With Nokia and Containerlab

Tim Bertino examined a presentation by Nokia, which introduced the concept of ‘lab-as-code.’ This approach uses Nokia’s ‘containerlab’ to create topology files, deploying each device in a lab as a container linked together to form a single topology. Bertino highlights the advantages of this method—including quick set-up and tear-down, reduced footprint compared to full virtual machines, and the ability to collaborate and share via GitHub—and notes its potential for use beyond network infrastructure.


Network Field Day – Day 2 – Nokia

In this YouTube video, Jordan Villarreal expresses great enthusiasm for the developments in labbing from Nokia. The video is positioned as a deep dive into the latest innovations and improvements in this area. This is an exciting opportunity to explore and appreciate the strides Nokia has made in advancing labbing technology.