It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the technology industry. We’re fruitfully bombarded with names and acronyms weekly. Containerization, Docker, ACI, MailChimp, GitHub, Python, IDEs, VMware, *nix, NGINX, API, JavaScript, GO, Natural Language….. I could go on and on! Having new and old technology on the radar is crucial to optimizing projects regardless if you’re a developer, engineer or just work in tech!
Putting out ‘feelers’ is how I strategize learning new technology. The basics of technology ‘X’ are how I decide how deep to dive. I like to think “Jack of most trades, master of some.” The basics can be obtained from blogs, how-to docs, demos or just about anywhere. As we (the Sandbox Team) move down these paths we’d like to share our experience along the way while keeping readers informed and educated about our tool!
I’d like to welcome you to the first of many DevNet Sandbox blogs! The Sandbox is a dev tool backed by DevNet where anyone can reserve a Sandbox lab packed with various Cisco technologies. We’re here to provide tech since we assume that most don’t have APIC-EM or Contact Center racked in their basement! (Though, here in Texas most of us don’t have basements anyway)
Our aim is to regularly convey information directly from members of the Sandbox team. Posts will include how-to blogs to demonstrate features of the sandbox. This blog series will help you become a master of the Sandbox, leveraging our labs as your ultimate dev tool! We’ll share some of our inside methods and struggles as we expand. Ample commentary will be available as we onboard technology and build automation which may effectively extend your ‘feelers.’ Cisco and Open Source technologies we use to support labs will be covered. Most posts will be from my colleagues Dan, Joe and me. Later on you’ll see posts from our broader team.
My name is Jacob Adams. I have worked on the Sandbox Team for almost 2 years now. I got my IT career started in help desk support and later transitioned to networking and telephony. My time now is gradually transitioning to programming and automation on the Sandbox! I have delved into Python over the past year and it’s been a fun and wild ride. I do as much learning as I do working. My top hobbies include adventure and enduro motorcycle riding, playing piano and exploring. I reside in the great town of Austin, TX which has something to offer for about every hobby. Looking forward to bringing more info from in the Sandbox!
Dan Klingler will also be sharing blogs - Dan is awesome and always brings cool headed logic into our work. Here’s a bit about Dan:
“My name is Dan Klingler and I have been working on Sandbox back-end automation for almost 2 and-a-half years. My early career had me eyeball deep in hardware validation - microprocessors and such. After a while I took to programming and writing tools to help automate the debug process; the automation path eventually led me to the Sandbox team. In my limited free time you can find me at the local high school baseball diamond (cheering on my teenage son), or heading off into the wilderness with a full backpack and a cheery disposition. The Sandbox is such an awesome place to enable you to explore, and create great things using Cisco's API's. I hope that along the way, we can provide a few pearls to assist you in your journey.”
Our other regular blogger is Joe Kearns! Joe’s extensive Cisco background and experience bolster our team’s expertise. This is Joe’s bio:
“Hi. My name is Joseph Kearns. I have been a Cisco Employee for just over eight years now. I started out my career in Telecommunications, travelling the world configuring and upgrading fixed and mobile telephone systems. I then moved to Interop testing (IVT) in Cisco Galway, Ireland in 2008 and have not looked back since. Today I am proud to work on the DevNet Sandbox team. I have seen this service grow since its inception and flourish into a pivotal part of DevNet. I mainly concentrate on Security, Collaboration and building our dCloud partnership. Outside work I wind down by enjoying soccer, GAA (Irish Football), CrossFit, running, golf, Guinness and quantum entanglement. 
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We’d like to thank you for checking out the Sandbox and this blog - we hope you tune in to our future posts. The Sandbox is made possible by YOU! We appreciate your support; it means the world to us. If you’ve got any questions, comments or criticism let us know. Tell us what posts you’re interested in seeing. We want to know what labs you need and how we can improve our offering. Feedback is our compass to navigate the course and meet the needs of our users!
Signing off,
Jacob