Watching all the tweets and e-mails, Cisco Live is getting close!
There are few fun updates that I wanted to share with you, and by fun I mean FUN AND GAMES! First up… Monday Night Lego Mania!

Can you believe that it is almost time for CiscoLive! 2014 –  San Francisco?  Where has the time gone! Want to just share a couple quick updates that may be of interest.

First –  if you have not had a chance (and are on Twitter), please add your name over at The Networking Nerd Cisco Live 2014 Twitter list –  http://networkingnerd.net/cisco-live-2014-twitter-list/.  It is a great way to know who is going to be there as well as know who to be following for the event.
 
OK, now the reason for this post –  the Cisco Live Mobile App is not available on on iTunes and Android!  When this gets released, you know it is getting close.  To download the app for Android, you can click here –  DOWNLOAD ANDROID APP, to download it for Apple, you can click here –  DOWNLOAD FOR IOS.
Once you have downloaded it, open it up and sign in (I have an iPhone, so my information will be based on that experience).

 
Once you are signed in, you are presented with a well thought out and easy to navigate screen.  If you want to see the event’s schedule, just click on Event Schedule, you want to see your schedule, click on My Event.  Looking at the menu, once again you can do your surveys from here, and even social media (twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and UStream).

There is a tradition at Cisco Live (formerly Networkers) to have a unique, event-related hat at the Customer Appreciation Event, as of 2023 now called Cisco Live Celebration!  I wanted to share the information that I was able to research on these hats as well as the pictures of the hats over the years.  It is my intention to make this an ongoing post that will be updated every year when a new hat is distributed at the event.  Some of the photos on this page are some of my own, some from Bryan Baize, others from Don Slice, and yet some came from Cisco Live directly.  If you have any additional information you would like to share, please feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment at the end of this post. I can only make this post better and more comprehensive with your help.

If you are looking for the history of the bags, another item that is unique to each event, Tom over at NetworkingNerd has a few years covered.  Maybe this will inspire him to find out the rest!

2024 – San Diego, CA – June 2-8

It looks like we are heading back to beautiful San Diego, CA for Cisco Live in 2025.

2024 – Las Vega, NV – June 2-8

Well, 3rd – err 4th time is the charm? It looks like we are heading back to Las Vegas, NV again! Alas I will be m missing it again this year, fingers crossed for 2025.

The band for this year is none other than Sir Elton John at Allegiant Stadium.

The hat was based off a classic Sir Elton John hat and was available in Blue, White, and Green.

Pics will be up soon!

2023 – Las Vega, NV – 6/4-8

Once again Cisco Live is back in Las Vegas, NV at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.  This was the first year since 2005 that I have missed going in person, withdrawal is real!

The bands for this year are Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani and it is being held at Allegiant Stadium.

That hat is….a baseball cap that has an illuminated brim. I am pretty sure that the colours included Blue, Green, and Orange.

2022 – Las Vega, NV – 6/12-16

We are back in live and in-person in Las Vegas, NV at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center!

Our bands this year are Dave Matthews Band and Brittany Howard at the Thomas and Mack Center at UNLV. And the hats is….

2021 – On-line Only – 3/30- 3/31

This event was online only and no physical hat was given.

2020- Las Vegas, NV – 5/31 – 6/4

For 2020 we are heading back to Las Vegas, NV!  Just remember – what happens in Vegas gets posted to social media!  – The in-person event was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic, no hat was given.

2019 – San Diego, CA – 6/9 – 13

Happy 30th Birthday Cisco Live!  Once again we are heading back to San Diego, CA for Cisco Live.  Cisco has some great bands lined up for Cisco Live (Weezer and FooFighters). So to celebrate Cisco has broken out the Birthday Cake Hat with some BIG 3-0 candles on it!

2018 – Orlando, FL – 6/10 – 14

For 2018 we are heading back to the land of heat and humidity, Orlando, FL. It will be 5 years since we have been back – last time we all wore Minions on our heads!  This year it is an Imagine Intuitive hat in a Seussical style with flashing lights.  Really cool!

2017 – Las Vegas, NV – 6/25-29

For 2017 we are back in Las Vegas, NV again.  The CAE will be at T-Mobile arena again and we have the popular Bruno Mars as our headliner!   Our hat this year was a Fedora style hat with flashing lights and assorted Super Hero logos.  Photo courtesy of Jay Franklin (@jay25f on Twitter)

2016 –  Las Vegas, NV

For 2016 we are back in Las Vegas, NV!  The CAE this year was held at the brand new T-Mobile Arena.  The opening act was Elle King with the main act being Maroon 5.

There were two hats this year, one blue and one white.

2015 –  San Diego, CA

The 2015 CAE was held at Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres.  Our entertainment for the event was Aerosmith and they ROCKED the house!  We got some nice hats this year, but they do have a resemblance to the Cisco Live 2005 hats.  These hats came in both White and Black.  Below is an image of the white one.

2014 –  San Francisco, CA

The 2014 CAE was held at AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants.  And in celebration of Cisco Live’s 25 Birthday, our hat was very well suited!  Our entertainment for the event was Imagine Dragons and Lenny Kravitz.

The time has finally arrived, the time that we find out the WHERE, and more importantly, the WHO the Cisco Live Customer Appreciation Event (CAE) will be.
So, as you can tell by the image above,  the CAE will be at the home of the World Champion San Francisco Giants,  AT&T Park.  This is not the first time we have been at a ball field for the CAE either.  Back in 2o12 at the Cisco Live San Diego, the CAE was held at the PETCO park and it was a blast! There is plenty of space at the parks and they are very well planned (also with lots of bathrooms!)  I am really looking forward to a spectacular event – so far every year Cisco has outdone the previous years event.  Last year we had Universal Studios Orlando, and that is a tough one to top, but I have faith that they will top it this year!
Who is going to be helping us to FLY AWAY?  I can tell you that he is no AMERICAN WOMAN but I’LL BE WAITING! If those songs don’t give it away, maybe this video will help.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/EvuL5jyCHOw]

Scheduler goes live to NetVets tomorrow at 11 am PT. Scheduler available for all 27 Feb. We hope to see you at #CLUS http://t.co/IRkmJ5JPKB
— CiscoLive (@CiscoLive) February 19, 2014
 
 

To schedule your classes, just log into the Cisco Live scheduler and check out the Events Catalog and Scheduler and schedule away!
https://www.ciscolive2014.com/connect/publicDashboard.ww?cid=tracks
 
The Scheduler for non-NetVets goes live on Feb 27th.  That is only a week away!
 
Note:  I am posting this prior the the scheduler going live today.  This is just a friendly reminder, but the scheduler may be open when you login.
 

There was a tweet on Friday that some may have missed, but it is one that you do not want to miss. It was a subtle little announcement from @CiscoIOSXR about IOS XRv!

Your wait for IOS XR is over! Download IOS XRv here! 🙂 http://t.co/0WVMAuHqU1 #IWantIOSXR #IOSXR
— IOS XR (@CiscoIOSXR) February 7, 2014

Note:  On Tuesday, February 11th there was an update that they are still working on the entitlement issue.  Tweet is included below as well.

@fryguy_pa @steve We have a plan to resolve the entitlement checking issue, but this means images will be pulled off CCO for 3 days 🙁
— IOS XR (@CiscoIOSXR) February 11, 2014

 So yes, that is a V as in Virtual!  Finally, IOS XRv has been released –  and on the latest IOS-XR code, 5.1.1!

So a few things about IOS XRv –  first of all, it is a 32–bit softwrae version running on the QNX microkernel.  The VM contains a single RP and a some LC Interfaces.
The demo version of the software is FREE for users, has AAA hard-coded users in it, and is rate-limited to 2 Mbps.   There is also a Simulation Image available and has no hard-coded users and is rate-limited to 50 Mbps.  Finally there is a Production Image that has no hard-coded users and no rate-limit.
To run the IOX XRv Router you will need:

WOW! That is what I have to say about what Social Media has become at Cisco Live US.  A few years ago –  back in good ole 2011 –  we started our “tweet up” at a paltry table in Las Vegas and nicknamed it “Tom’s Corner.”  Why Tom’s Corner –  because Tom (@networkingnerd) was always there it seemed like! It quickly became the place where all of us on Social Media would meet-up after sessions, between sessions, or just wanted to chill out.

Wow, Cisco Live 2014 is only a few months away –  where has the time gone since last year’s Cisco Live!

So, in case you have not figured it out by the title and the picture, Cisco Live is in San Francisco, CA this year and being held at the Moscone Center.  The last time Cisco Live was in San Francisco was 2009 for the 20th anniversary.  I think that it is kind of fitting for it to be back there for its Silver Anniversary.  So, what memories of Cisco Live 2009 do I have to share with you that will make Cisco Live 2014 great –  let me think.

Memories…