Inside Interop Blog

We're in the thick of day two of CSI SX, and I'm pleased to report it's living up to the name "Security Exchange"--lots of conversation, lots of batting ideas back and forth, lots of informal debate in the session rooms, spilling out into the hallways, flowing into reception halls, and strange though it may sound, even following into the casinos and bars. I shan't attempt to recreate those conversations here, but I will share a few ... Read more...

When I look at the familiar faces of the "Interop Family" it's hard to believe that some of these guys and gals have been doing this show since I was in high school. That somebody would volunteer for the show is understandable, it brings a wealth of knowledge and potential for learning alongside some of the best in the industry... but to think that some of these uberGeeks have been coming back year after stress-filled ... Read more...

We have a rule here about trying to keep the valuable "Blue Smoke" inside our equipment as much as possible. We are often reminded by our vendors about how expensive it is to replace and the time it takes to hand pack these devices accordingly. If you work in the networking industry you know that this is the the stuff that makes everything function. Well, this year we forgot to remind everyone of this rule, and it was only a matter of ... Read more...

The countdown is on. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in just a few days and we’re anticipating a great show. I’m really excited about this year’s Interop Las Vegas. Here’s why: On the widest scale, it’s a great time for business technology. There’s tremendous innovation – virtualization, mobility, software-as-a-service, to name just a few emerging categories. Significantly, while we’re still at the beginning of the road for each of these technologies, ... Read more...

James Governor, who will be presiding over Energy Camp on April 28 in what is probably the least green city on the planet (Las Vegas: not counting how green in emerald-like color the MGM is), has hit the nail on the head in terms of characterizing the new unconference. He calls it the unconference for oil at $120+ a barrel. The cost of oil reached a new high today of nearly $115 per barrel: a ... Read more...

By this time, the majority of the equipment that makes up the Interop enet should be loaded onto trucks on their way to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. We've also got a small commune of uberGeeks ready and willing to dedicate two weeks of their lives to reassembling, testing, running and troubleshooting the network in a place that should average about 115 degrees. It'll be long 15 hour days stinging fiber, terminating ... Read more...

You might have noticed on the CSI SX schedule a little thing we're calling the Security Soapbox Derby. We know that by the end of CSI SX, many attendees and/or speakers will wander the Mandalay Bay with light bulbs hovering above their heads, and we know those light bulbs may contain the cool new ideas that will change the security landscape. We expect that those security visionaries may be desperate to share their fresh idea, and we know we'll be keen to listen.  So here's how the Security Soapbox Derby ... Read more...

Sugar, caffeine and gigawatts of power --- what could be better?!?! Here are a few more pics for you to file away in your "what are they doing" folder. You can find the complete album at TheTechStop.net Read more...

Energy Camp, the IT industry's first unconference dedicated to establishing a multilateral dialog between all IT constituencies on issues relating to running green technology and reducing energy consumption was mentioned in a story by Brad Reed in InfoWorld. I, along with Redmonk principal analyst James Governor (author of the Greenmonk Blog) will be hosting Energy Camp in a few weeks. Somewhat ironically.... ...we'll be hosting it in the city that probably has the worst carbon footprint ... Read more...

The Interop network isn't built in a day. In fact, it isn't even built in a week. It takes almost two weeks of early morning, sleepless nights and careful planning to design, assemble and test the largest temporary network in the world.... and that's just to get it to the point where it's ready to ship to Las Vegas!Here are a few pics to give you an idea of what goes on behind the scenes. You ... Read more...