Hello fellow Nairalanders. I will be headed out to SA in barely a couple of weeks for a Network design Implementation in SA for a client's Enterprise Network extension. I have traveled quite a bit due to the nature of my work, deploying systems in various regions, and wanted to use this opportunity of my deployment in Africa , to chronicle and share my travel experience within the Motherland. I hope to accomplish the following during this trip, with the following caveats,
I will share pictures of my travel, and try to provide a running commentary from departure to Arrival.
I love to eat or try food from different parts of the world that I have visited in the past, if anyone knows what food I should try in SA, reasonable suggestions are welcome.
There will be times that I will be very busy with work and may not provide immediate updates, but I will do my best to provide updates and answer tourist type questions.
No, I will not answer any questions related to details of my work that will violate my professional NDA [Non disclosure agreement]. So please do not ask. Of course, I will be happy to answer questions as it relates to my general travel experiences during this trip, and maybe some general Cisco Networking questions, but not Specific ones directed at my work order task

Some pics of my work:
1. Unboxing Cisco Catalyst4510e Enterprise Switches.
2. Upgrading Cisco IOS and loading Enterprise Running and Startup config files.
3. Configured Cat4510e Switches staged and ready for deployment.

thnx.

Can I hook up with you sir...ayokunmi12@gmail.com

Hmmm... I'm in a similar line of work though I don't get to travel out of the country as such (just locally). What I actually like about your thread is that you clearly enjoy all aspects of your job and I can relate. We really should talk as I may have some work for you.

Have fun on your trip!

Nice, I work in IT and like more insight into networking and Deployment

Hi.. Oh, those are really beefy stuff... Please say more about what you're doing @chikko. Not details actually, but just some insight. Enjoy your work!

opaniyi12:
Can I hook up with you sir...ayokunmi12@gmail.com

Sure,no worries. Please send me mail via N/L. Thnx

laidback:
Hmmm... I'm in a similar line of work though I don't get to travel out of the country as such (just locally). What I actually like about your thread is that you clearly enjoy all aspects of your job and I can relate. We really should talk as I may have some work for you.

Have fun on your trip!

Thank you so much. We have a running joke at work. That we get paid to do what we love. I love the work, from initial client interaction during the RFP response process, initial design,and finally, implementation/deployment. The hours can be grueling, but technically rewarding once the job is done.
We certainly can hook up. I will be on another deployemnt in Nigeria in September and we can hook up to see what we can do.

Mykurl:
Hi.. Oh, those are really beefy stuff... Please say more about what you're doing @chikko. Not details actually, but just some insight. Enjoy your work!

Sure will, just finished a 5 day marathon deployment at a Data Center State-Side supporting this work in SA. The Work in SA is really to connect them via secure encrypted connection back to the Data Center Stateside.

Additional work being completed before the travel date. I and my team needed to decommission several older Cat6500E Chassis with multiple WX 6500 Series PoE Line cards. All were previously up-linked to a VSS Core Infrastructure via dual 10GigE Up-links,using 10GigE line cards. . They were cheaper than investing in 10Gig Supervisor-720 Engines for multiple Cat6500 Switches. This particular Cat6500 chassis was out of Support/EOL -End of Life.

Anyway, the replacement Switches are 'souped' up Cat4500R+E running XE IOS, 10Gig Supervisor Engines, and of-course WX-6700 line cards. Each of my new Switches is VSS capable as provisioned. I could potentially link 2 or more of them into a VSS domain and create an increased bandwidth capacity on the back-plane that is in the Multiple Terabit range. There is no functional need to do this at this time. 20GigE to the Core is plenty of bandwidth.

However, I have a couple I have in VSS mode running back to the Core with dual layer-3 MEC - Multi-Chassis Ether-channel.
Attached Pictures: -
1. Some of the several decommissioned Cat6500 switches.
2. Some of the 5000 Cat5E Cable replaced by Cat6E Ethernet Cables.
3.A spaghetti pile of decommissioned Cat5E and Fiber patch cords.

Since I am getting into some general Technical details, I am not sure if this thread belongs in this section or the computer/Networking section. Oh well let's move on with it.Next update coming. Oh, it;s a loooong flight to SA.

Oh how I love this thread, just being lazy at times about IT stuff but am gonna revive the passion for it now :-)

Very soon, i will be relevant in the IT section. Nice one op I'm inspired.

I like those Catalyst switches You guys are using some good equipment.

So I wrapped up a few things in the office in preparation for my deployment trip to SA. I have Cisco IP communicator [Softphone] on my Laptop so this way I can be in SA and call my offfice or anyone else, and they would not know that I was calling them or speaking with them from nearly half way arounf the world - Their Caller ID Would show my Home office number and name on their display.
So I configured all the remote Site [SA end Routers/Switches]. I have one more device that needs to be configured on Site, so this will be done from my Hotel Room.
I am staying in a Hotel in Menlyn Park, I understand it is the High end part of town[Pretoria]. Does anyone know good places to get decent real and authentic local meals. would love to try some local dishes while there. Names and addresses of the establishments will do.

Back to my IP communicator, so I have a new Plantronics headset, so this will be a good time to try it out on the VoIP over VPN while on the Softphone. No big deal should be fine.
PHOTO, - My Softphone loading and connecting back to the UCM at the Datacenter.

Talking about UCM. That is another project I have comming up, basically a UCS upgrade with 2 X NEXUS 6200 Fabric Interconnects, NEXUS B Series Chassis Enclosures and some NX-5596s as well as some MDS NEXUS Switches. Should be fun.-

@Fulaman

Fulaman198:
I like those Catalyst switches You guys are using some good equipment.

Yep, that is part of the interersting and rewarding part of my job, we get to play with some of the newest and nicest 'toys' . It can be a pain in the rear end somtimes when you are trying to implement a new technology and working with the new Device or equipment to make it happen. A case in point was a design deployment that invloved implementatinm of FabricPath to increase reachablity at lower cost and eliminate some of the limitations of Spanning-Tree. With investments in the NEXUS class of Switches and distributed Data Centers,a client is also looking at deployinmg OTV - Overlay Transport Virtualisation to provide more granular MAC level reachability for devices accross the Enterprise Data Centers.

BOWOTO:
Very soon, i will be relevant in the IT section.
Nice one op I'm inspired.

Thanks, IT makes the world work Think about it, where would most businnesses be without IT support. If you have a passion for it, stay with it.

Chikko:



Thanks, IT makes the world work Think about it, where would most businnesses be without IT support. If you have a passion for it, stay with it.

Thanks bro, I will be in southafrica This month to start a course at CPUT.

Following......

Ok folks, just boarded the aircraft and headed towards first stopover point, Amsterdam on KLM. The aircraft is an Airbus 330, quite comfortable aircraft with nice leg room in Coach. No wifi though. Would have been nice if they had wifi. This update is before taxi, once inflight, no more updates until Amsterdam. I saw something interesting at the checkin concourse, a Naija flag in the airport. Photo don't lie (except photoshop )
See you in Amsterdam

Arrived Amsterdam this morning, and waiting for my connecting flight to Johannesburg.

Interesting...

I hope u ll sustain this thread?

The OP is poetic. He can sustain the thread... I believe!

am thrilled reminds me of how much i love IT..... please sir where did you train and get certified

Arrived J'borg 9.00 pm local time. Flight from Amsterdam on KLM was on a Boeing 777-200LR. The stretched long range version of Boeing's work horse Intercontinental Jet. The flight was smooth until we got over the Niger,Nigeria airspace and it got a bit bumpy. The bumpy ride leveled off to a smooth ride again near mid Nigieria near Cameroon. Was quite interesting watching the flight path on screen. It was surreal flying over Nigeria and thinking if only We could stopover so I could say hello to people I know, lol. Anyway so we progressed to Zambia/Kenya airspace and met a bit of more bumpy air.

I went to the rear of the aircraft ... Usually on such intercontinental flights, you can go to the back of the aircraft and help yourself to extra water, juice, snacks or whatever is set out by the cabin crew..and I got a glass of red wine some of which spilled in the bumpy ride. Usually, if the bumpy air ( as a frequent traveller I refer to it as bumpy air, others call it turbulence) is severe enough, the flight crew will ask everyone to return to their seats and fasten their seat belts. It was bumpy but not severe.

Arrival in SA was uneventful, except my suitcase was missing a lock, which I attributed to SA customs check prior to it being loaded on the carousel. Apparently luggage were pre-screened prior to being loaded on the carousel, as there was no further custom checks.

I walked out to arrivals area and saw my name and company on a big placard being held by a gentleman who was sent by the client to pick me up, nice. We rode down R21 to Menlyn park where I am booked into a Hotel. Went upstairs showered and went down to the lobby for a quick bite to eat. The airline food could have been better, but oh well. All in all a very long day on the road. All of 22 hrs of travel, not including transfers to and from airports StateSide and SA. Going to try to get some sleep, but kinda hard right now, given that I am 6 time zones away. Only other Network deployment travel task order that comes close was a deployment trip in Jakarta, Indonesia 2 years ago. The food in Jakarta was awesome and made up for the long ride then. So let's see if SA tops that. I already have recommendations on where to go try some local fares, including a maize dish and chicken feet. Will go to Soweto on Sunday if I get up on time and not terribly jet lagged. Oh, Oliver Tambo Airport JNB is quite nice.
PICs:
Inflight view of one of the powerful engines on the B-777-200LR.
Oliver Tambo Aiport
My Hotel

Neyoalao:
am thrilled reminds me of how much i love IT..... please sir where did you train and get certified

Went to School and trained both in the U.S. My clients have Points of Presence around the world. Have so far visited 43 countries and counting for work assignments. Naija2dBone. Doing a few things in Naija, at this time and would be interested in meeting Naija IT folks that can result in Projects.

Awesome!

Hello,
Really nice posts. I just finished my master degree in business administration in one of the universities in Europe. I gt fascinated by this IT world and really looking forward to pursuing a professional career in IT/Networking. I just finished the second certification track in networking by Cisco CCNP and really need to enter the practical world. I have tried few places here to get a work placement to get the practical experience but not too lucky. So I would'nt mind if few guidance are provided here on where to start from here. I,m thinking of relocating to any country that can afford me the opportunity to get a place to start and pursue my career in networking.

akinsabur:
Hello,
Really nice posts. I just finished my master degree in business administration in one of the universities in Europe. I gt fascinated by this IT world and really looking forward to pursuing a professional career in IT/Networking. I just finished the second certification track in networking by Cisco CCNP and really need to enter the practical world. I have tried few places here to get a work placement to get the practical experience but not too lucky. So I would'nt mind if few guidance are provided here on where to start from here. I,m thinking of relocating to any country that can afford me the opportunity to get a place to start and pursue my career in networking.

Congratulations on earning your graduate degree (masters). The Informatikn Technology field is really diverse. Starting out with earning a ccnp is a good move, but as you have noticed, lack of practical experience would be an impediment to securing that job with good prospects.

My advise would be to seek a foot in the door by volunteering and seeking internships in IT related areas. Having said that, I do not know how viable that is in your part of the world. However, it is possible to seek similar type of engagements in most places. This helps you to build a base of experience and looks good on a resume for potential employers. Good luck in your endeavors.

Have been quite busy with work related meetings on Sunday so could not update the thread with my activities. Okay, here we go.
So Sunday, had some pre workday meeting in the Hotel with my team. We finished up with dinner in the restaurant and drinks at the bar. The hotel is really nice, and meals are well prepared and reasonably priced for someone from my part of the world. However, I have heard locals say the hotel is pricey.
I love the buffet breakfast, and dinner.

I also went out to the Menlyn Park mall to purchase Electrical outlet adapters so I can charge my electrical appliances. Whaaaaat!!!!, that mall is massive.

Went to bed at about 9pm local time or at least tried to, the time zone difference (6hrs) is still kicking my butt. As much as I have traveled, the body cannot be fooled. Swimming and going to the gym helped to relax me. I fell asleep later, while reading a Tom Clancy Novel.
Pics.
Breakfast and dinner meals.

Monday.
First day at the office. I got picked up from the Hotel by a car arranged by the client. Upon arrival at the office and initial interactions, I knew it was going to be a long day.
First. The office was moving to a new location which I thought was already done before my arrival
Second, the ISP engineer I was to have a meeting with was running late.

I was offered an office to work from. While waiting for the ISP engineer, Tried to do some work Stateside, by now it is Approx. 9:00am local time. I logged in via the secure connection from my laptop, read and responded to some emails and updated some design diagrams for another project.

We had some Domino pizza for lunch and finally the ISP engr showed up at about 3.30pm.
We reviewed their quote for bandwidth and contractor cabling. I selected the Fiber and connectors for the 1 Gig hand off I expect to use for my project here. We also discussed BGP Routing metrics they could accept from us as well as QoS marksings for my client,s Video and Voice calls that I expect them to accept, not drop, and to re-transmit in case of congestion on the link.

We also addressed issues relating to IPSec. I advised on ports and protocols I expected them not to block to allow us establish secure encrypted Tunnels for our Traffic to the DataCenter.


After work, a car was sent to pick me up and return to the Hotel. I was still feeling the effects of Jet Lag, probably due to the fact that I had had little sleep due to a project I had just completed prior to embarking on this one. I went to bed at about 6:30pm, after a shower. I woke up at 12.30am hungry and ordered some room service meal. The meal was some mini burgers and a milk shake. Ordered 9 pieces thinking they were really mini burgers, only for it arrive looking like I had ordered a meal for 3, lol. Oh well I ate what I could. Now I am still up at 4.30am writing this update, and still have to be in the office by 8.30am. Holly Cow!!!!!
Pics:

My hotel. Pretty nice and comfortable room. Nice staff.

Returning from the office

The nine 'Mini' burgers that turned out to look like a meal for 3. Lol.