Cisco’s advocacy group, Cisco Insider, brings our prospects collectively and supplies a means for them to make highly effective connections, develop their skilled and private networks, and study from high specialists of their subject. One among our targets with our advocacy group is to deepen {our relationships} with our prospects. Our Q&A sequence permits us to shine a highlight on a few of our most passionate advocates as we study extra about their tales and backgrounds.

We just lately sat down with Mateusz Frąk to study his journey in community engineering and his ardour for sharing information via his weblog.

Welcome, Mateusz! It’s so nice to speak with you in the present day! Let’s kick issues off by studying just a little 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 function includes implementing, managing, troubleshooting, and enhancing our community automation options. These options are essential in a corporation that gives and manages supply-chain options for 1000’s of consumers. 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 numerous instruments that the operations staff makes use of to troubleshoot networks, leading to quicker isolation of widespread community points.

Are you able to inform us about your journey into community engineering? What obtained you began?

My journey started after I was 18 and attending technical faculty. 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 interested by what actually occurs behind the scenes if 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 knowledge middle and campus environments, utilizing Cisco merchandise. Almost three years in the past, I made a decision to pivot into community automation, leveraging the talents I had constructed over time. 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 simply’ve had a formidable profession development. How did you get entangled with the Cisco Insider Advocates group, and what has your expertise been like thus far?

I used to be trying to grow to be extra linked with a group of pros, so throughout Cisco Reside 2024 in Amsterdam, I visited the Insider Advocates sales space. After talking with the group managers, I made a decision to affix the group.

The best worth of the group, for my part, is the flexibility to ask questions on to 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 tasks I’m concerned with at work. Moreover, it’s been a unbelievable technique to meet new individuals from across the globe. I really admire the ability of group—it’s what helps me get pleasure from demanding processes like getting ready for the DevNet Professional certification and dealing on difficult tasks. The DevNet Professional certification demonstrates experience designing and creating community automation options via all the community lifecycle, from idea, improvement, 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 all the time been impressed by professionals who generously share their experiences with others, corresponding to John Capobianco, who revealed Automate Your Community. In his GitHub repository the place the e book is on the market, he acknowledged, “I imagine in open-source software program. I imagine individuals 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 individuals 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 eventualities and explains them in a means that’s simple to know.

I dedicate hours every single day to learning new matters and applied sciences. As I profit from the free sources shared by Cisco, John, Conor, and lots of different technical writers, I really feel a powerful want to provide 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 worthwhile 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 keep up 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 means 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 sometimes requires intensive analysis to create articles that not solely inform, but additionally encourage readers to consider issues from completely different angles. This, in flip, would possibly make them options they hadn’t thought of earlier than.

I even have a dream of writing a technical e book sometime. I imagine that the method of writing for my weblog will assist me develop the talents I must make that dream a actuality.

What can readers count on 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 ideas 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 sources obtainable that mentioned these elements intimately. My first try was troublesome—not resulting from lack of awareness, however due to sudden elements that affected my efficiency. Being conscious of those small but vital particulars can assist candidates handle their stress ranges higher, particularly in the event that they’ve learn in regards to the expertise of somebody who has been via it.

Sooner or later, I’ll additionally share insights from my every day work to provide a sensible view of life in IT. Whereas there are numerous 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 comply with alongside and study extra out of your experiences?

In the event you’re concerned with diving deeper into my journey, notably my ongoing DevNet Professional certification course of, you may comply with alongside on my weblog at mateuszfrak.com. I often share insights, ideas, and detailed posts in regards to the challenges and options I encounter. Whether or not you’re getting ready for certification, or just trying to develop your information in community automation, I hope my weblog generally is a worthwhile 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 group!

Learn extra advocate interviews.
You would possibly get pleasure from this interview with Rob Taylor.

Be part of Cisco Insider Advocates!

For our prospects who’ve already joined our Cisco Insider Advocates group, say hiya to Mateusz in case you haven’t met but. And in case you’re a Cisco buyer however aren’t a group member, take into account becoming a member of. You’ll be capable of:

• Join with friends in a gamified, on-line group
• Have a chance to satisfy with Cisco’s executives
• Share your suggestions, questions, and finest practices
• Get entry to ‘insider’ content material and sources
• 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 group and say hiya!

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