Cisco’s advocacy neighborhood, Cisco Insider, brings our clients collectively and gives a method for them to make highly effective connections, increase their skilled and private networks, and be taught from prime specialists of their subject. One in all our targets with our advocacy neighborhood is to deepen {our relationships} with our clients. Our Q&A collection permits us to shine a highlight on a few of our most passionate advocates as we be taught extra about their tales and backgrounds.
We not too long ago sat down with Mateusz Frąk to find out about his journey in community engineering and his ardour for sharing information by way of his weblog.
Welcome, Mateusz! It’s so nice to speak with you at present! Let’s kick issues off by studying somewhat bit about who you’re.
Thanks for having me right here! I’m Mateusz, and I work at DSV as a senior community automation engineer. DSV is a world transport and logistics firm. My position entails implementing, managing, troubleshooting, and enhancing our community automation options. These options are vital in a corporation that gives and manages supply-chain options for 1000’s of shoppers. I additionally give attention to figuring out enterprise points, permitting us to develop options that assist community engineers keep away from repetitive duties. We offer varied instruments that the operations group makes use of to troubleshoot networks, leading to sooner isolation of widespread community points.
Are you able to inform us about your journey into community engineering? What acquired you began?
My journey started once I was 18 and attending technical college. I used to be uncovered to varied specializations like programming, databases, and networks, and I selected networks as a result of I used to be fascinated by the subject and inquisitive about what actually occurs behind the scenes while you load a webpage like Google.
Through the years, I progressed from a junior community administrator to a community engineer, and finally a community architect. As a community architect, I centered on modernizing an organization’s community by adopting software-defined networks (SDN) for each information heart and campus environments, utilizing Cisco merchandise. Practically three years in the past, I made a decision to pivot into community automation, leveraging the abilities I had constructed through the years. This transition allowed me to mix my deep understanding of community engineering with automation, enabling the creation of extra environment friendly and efficient options.
It’s clear that you just’ve had a powerful profession development. How did you become involved with the Cisco Insider Advocates neighborhood, and what has your expertise been like up to now?
I used to be trying to turn out to be extra linked with a neighborhood of pros, so throughout Cisco Reside 2024 in Amsterdam, I visited the Insider Advocates sales space. After talking with the neighborhood managers, I made a decision to hitch the neighborhood.
The best worth of the neighborhood, in my view, is the flexibility to ask questions on to subject material specialists (SMEs) throughout unique Q&A periods. The responses I’ve acquired from these periods have been extremely insightful, permitting me to enhance my expertise and deal with challenges in my job extra successfully. I’ve additionally linked with quite a few SMEs, tapping into their experience and making use of it to the initiatives I’m concerned with at work. Moreover, it’s been a incredible technique to meet new folks from across the globe. I really admire the ability of neighborhood—it’s what helps me take pleasure in demanding processes like getting ready for the DevNet Professional certification and dealing on difficult initiatives. The DevNet Professional certification demonstrates experience designing and growing community automation options by way of the whole community lifecycle, from idea, growth, and deployment to operation and optimization.
Talking of your DevNet Professional journey, you’ve been documenting your experiences in your weblog at mateuszfrak.com. What motivated you to start out sharing your journey publicly?
I’ve at all times been impressed by professionals who generously share their experiences with others, resembling John Capobianco, who revealed Automate Your Community. In his GitHub repository the place the guide is obtainable, he said, “I imagine in open-source software program. I imagine folks ought to have common entry to Linux. I imagine open-source instruments like Ansible ought to stay open supply.” This impressed me to go a step additional and say, “I imagine folks ought to have common entry to information.”
I’ve additionally been impressed by Conor Murphy, a technical options architect at Cisco, who shares technical blogs. He tackles very difficult situations and explains them in a method that’s simple to grasp.
I dedicate hours day by day to finding out new matters and applied sciences. As I profit from the free assets shared by Cisco, John, Conor, and lots of different technical writers, I really feel a robust want to present again by sharing the information and expertise I collect every day.
What retains you motivated to proceed writing and sharing your journey?
I hope that my weblog will function a priceless useful resource for somebody who’s beginning their DevNet Professional journey. My objective is to assist others really feel much less confused throughout their preparation and the examination itself. I understand how difficult it may be to take care of composure in such high-pressure conditions. I additionally need to present that this certification is achievable by anybody who’s constant and devoted.
My weblog can also be a method to enhance my technical writing expertise, improve my English, and most significantly, deepen my technical information. Writing content material for a weblog takes time and infrequently requires intensive analysis to create articles that not solely inform, but in addition encourage readers to consider issues from completely different angles. This, in flip, would possibly cause them to options they hadn’t thought of earlier than.
I even have a dream of writing a technical guide sometime. I imagine that the method of writing for my weblog will assist me develop the abilities I must make that dream a actuality.
What can readers anticipate out of your upcoming weblog posts?
My DevNet Professional journey remains to be ongoing, and I’m planning to doc my examination makes an attempt quickly, together with suggestions and methods for tackling a CCIE-level examination. My objective is to assist others really feel much less overwhelmed when getting ready for such a demanding certification.
After I began my journey, there weren’t many assets obtainable that mentioned these points intimately. My first try was tough—not on account of lack of know-how, however due to sudden elements that affected my efficiency. Being conscious of those small but vital particulars may help candidates handle their stress ranges higher, particularly in the event that they’ve learn concerning the expertise of somebody who has been by way of it.
Sooner or later, I’ll additionally share insights from my each day work to present a practical view of life in IT. Whereas there are lots of blogs that assist IT professionals get began with particular instruments, I need to take it a step additional, discussing the challenges professionals face and providing options that transcend the fundamentals.
Lastly, Mateusz, for these impressed by your journey, the place can they observe alongside and be taught extra out of your experiences?
Should you’re serious about diving deeper into my journey, notably my ongoing DevNet Professional certification course of, you’ll be able to observe alongside on my weblog at mateuszfrak.com. I frequently share insights, suggestions, and detailed posts concerning the challenges and options I encounter. Whether or not you’re getting ready for certification, or just trying to increase your information in community automation, I hope my weblog generally is a priceless useful resource for you.
It’s been a pleasure to speak with you, Mateusz. Thanks once more for becoming a member of us and for being a part of our neighborhood!
Learn extra advocate interviews.
You would possibly take pleasure in this interview with Rob Taylor.
Be part of Cisco Insider Advocates!
For our clients who’ve already joined our Cisco Insider Advocates neighborhood, say howdy to Mateusz should you haven’t met but. And should you’re a Cisco buyer however aren’t a neighborhood member, take into account becoming a member of. You’ll be capable of:
- Join with friends in a gamified, on-line neighborhood
- Have a chance to fulfill with Cisco’s executives
- Share your suggestions, questions, and finest practices
- Get entry to ‘insider’ content material and assets
- Develop your skilled and private model
- Amplify your organization’s success story with Cisco know-how
Able to get began?
Head over to the Cisco Insider Advocates neighborhood and say howdy!
(Requires registration / login)
Share:
