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During our first discussions with our partner, I raised the question of possibly using it as a central server for network management AAA. Now, in the proposal, they mention that Cisco has a program running that gives you a free of cost ACS installation when purchasing ISE. Is anyone aware of that program? Sounds like a good deal to me 

edit: here it is, slide 47. Only with the physical appliance though

http://www.slideshare.net/CiscoPublicSector/cisco-security-the-evolution-continues

Yeah, they had to start doing this due to slipping so much (years) on adding TACACS functionality to ISE.

Trying to go to Interop instead this year. Definitely going next year though - VEGAS!

Back to Vito feel free to give me a call again if you need any NSX answers!

Man, I'd pay to get a weekly call just to hear more about NSX in the real world...

I would love to take the time to properly drive ACI and / or NSX and make a proper evaluation.

I've got NSX chugging along in my home lab. I created VPN and login accounts for some coworkers to play around. Let me know if you'd like access as well.

That's interesting. I've tried to avoid using modules like this recently. I had a few scripts that heavily relied on Exscript and they would always break when some lower-level module updated. It ended up being more work than just using Paramiko by itself.

I'd also recommend a small VM box. NUC's are cheap

NUCs are fantastic. I've been running three of them in an ESX cluster for a couple years. I also use the smaller ones as XBMC boxes. I'm probably moving to a couple Shuttles in the future though. The SH87R6 can do 32GB of RAM versus the NUC's max of 16, which means I can run only two boxes and be pretty happy.

Ah.  I see what you mean, but let me add that there isn't much of a concept of "pre-sales" where I work.  At least not in the official sense.  I give presentations, I design, I often go onsite to help with setup and testing, and I provide support afterwards as needed.  So if a customer demanded we have someone available/onsite during a cutover, that's going to be me as well.  We're also required to do technical documentation (whitepapers, TOIs, etc.).  Not that I'm trying to brag - just trying to convey the scope of our work.  About it being fulfilling... that's something I always wonder about because I feel like I'd rather be an Ops guy so I can "own" something rather than just building a network and handing it over.. but after reading what you stated earlier and from what a friend has told me, maybe I'm better off where I am.

Okay, I see where you're coming from. It'd take an act of God to get a Cisco SE onsite during an after-hours cutover, in my area at least. Dedicated pre-sales guys at a VAR aren't likely to be onsite for cuts either. I think the key difference either way though, is that you're not (or shouldn't be) held as accountable as the VAR delivery guy. He's the one who's responsible for the project going smoothly, which means verifying/going deeper on the pre-sales design, staging, configuring, etc, and also coming in at/under hours (as much as humanly possible).

As for being an Ops/enterprise guy, I know what you mean. I missed "owning" a network for a while, but I got over it and I don't think I would go back any time soon. My experiences in enterprise were much less challenging (as in I didn't feel like I had to learn as much/stay on my toes) and also less fulfilling.

voice forum - should probably be voice and video , maybe telepresence?

where do I post my Cisco ACE questions?  virtual switching questions

and if I eventually get my hands on UCS, where would those questions go?

Good point on the Voice/Video thing. I'd probably call it Unified Communications (pretty standard) or maybe Collaboration.

The other one is tough, IMO. A "Data Center" forum would cover all of that, but it will also probably attract Nexus-related L2/L3 questions, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but might not be ideal. Maybe a "Systems and Virtualization" forum? Seems like it excludes LB to some extent though.

I'm really a "less is more" guys with forums. I think NFv1 had too many and I think NFv2 is borderline. "General Tech" is a nice catchall, but it can do more harm than good also.

Pretty much all of what you mentioned - dynamic, sink or swim, and pulled in multiple directions.

For the record, I was talking about the delivery side, not pre-sales. You're pre-sales (SE), right? I'm not saying what we do isn't as dynamic or is more forgiving than delivery, but I do think delivery is more of an extreme. Pre-sales guys aren't hitting issues during a 4am cut while customers are over their shoulders freaking out. I think pre-sales is much, much less stressful than delivery. The stakes are high - if mess up a design/BOM/SOW because I missed (or misunderstood) something on a customer's network, it's bad, but it's usually less stressful than when I was a delivery guy on those late cuts when something goes wrong. I think pre-sales is less fulfilling too though, so nothing is perfect.

This sounds a lot like staff augmentation.

Yeah, exactly. I had to do a staff aug when I first started with a VAR. IMO, it's terrible.

I saw that yesterday and loled. Great idea.

Interesting insight.  Some of the things you mention about consulting is how I feel about working for a vendor - although I've only worked for one and it sounds a little different from what you describe at Cisco.  Thanks for sharing.

Which aspects? I don't know anyone inside your company. I do know some people at Palo Alto and Riverbed, which I imagine would run similarly as they (and you) are more focused on a single area versus Cisco's (and Juniper, HP, etc) monstrous portfolio.

Oh, that's something I completely ignored. The Managed Services group has been a big part of the VARs I've worked for. I'm glad you posted your experience because mine has been very limited. I knew a lot of the MS guys but I don't really know what their day-to-day was like other than being on the phone a lot and a ton of tickets. I've heard that working for MSPs can be fun though.

Yeah, the upper positions in a large enterprise are very similar to a pre-sales role. Mostly design, and you're really selling your design. Theoretically less challenges too (though, it's really just different challenges, not less).

I think my preference for VAR pre-sales over a very senior large enterprise gig is mostly about seeing so many different networks and scenarios. Enterprises typically work in refresh cycles. The bigger the shop, the more technologies and potential for refreshes, but they're also more risk-averse, of course. On the VAR side, you get to see different networks, different scenarios and different problems on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis.

Something else I forgot to mention is the access you get to the manufacturer's inside info. You obviously get more info working for a manufacturer, but we get to see quite a bit on the VAR side. That's one of my favorite aspects of the job.

What up all!!

Yo! Starting to feel like home.