What a half billion dollar Cisco Systems lab looks like.

[iamMINT]

Here's the shots I was able to take from the private tour. Wish I could've taken more but I was a little busy when I was there.

 

This stuff is obviously really sweet. This is the kind of lab where a network concept gets built for multi-million dollar contracts. DOD, Navy, Huge Banks, Apple, and some other customers come here pretty often.

Its made to present solutions to issues brought up to Cisco, the entire facility only except one contract every three weeks. 

 

A few other shots are from a big huge international lab where they do all kinds of things, very few people are allowed to step foot in these centers (though they were alright with me taking a few pictures, I did make sure about that.)

Keep in mind, all these centers were so loud all of the employees were wearing professional ear protection just from the noise level that the cooling generated.

 

[Skiiwee29]

looks very disorganized.... I cringe when I go to a head-end that looks all spaghetti like that..

[Guest]

Here for those lazy asses who don't/can't want to open the link

[2FA]

Oh god the spaghetti!

[themctipers]

Just now, legacy99 said:

looks very disorganized.... I cringe when I go to a head-end that looks all spaghetti like that..

i would think they'd be more organized

 

/r/cableporn says they should  

[Skiiwee29]

Just now, themctipers said:

i would think they'd be more organized

 

/r/cableporn says they should  

Yea, when I walk into a network to go work on it for a customer and I see things like that... I try not to let the customer hear my sigh and try to keep my disappointing look off my face lol. 

[2FA]

1 minute ago, themctipers said:

i would think they'd be more organized

 

/r/cableporn says they should  

 

I kind of expected it tbh. It's a lab meant to set up in many different configurations, having bundled, fixed cables would make that difficult.

[iamMINT]

Well, none of these systems are permanent. Not a single server has been in one place in those racks for more than a few weeks. The more permanent rooms (I saw one where TCP/IP was first developed) are much, much more clean and quiet. More precise cable making and management (most of it's fiber btw) takes up lots of time for the engineers that are already on a tight schedule.

[themctipers]

1 minute ago, legacy99 said:

Yea, when I walk into a network to go work on it for a customer and I see things like that... I try not to let the customer hear my sigh and try to keep my disappointing look off my face lol. 

the wires in my computer are like that, but unlike most people i know what cable is what and goes where 

 

but my networking.. oh god

its just..  fucking terrible

Just now, DeadEyePsycho said:

I kind of expected it tbh. It's a lab meant to set up in many different configurations, having bundled, fixed cables would make that difficult.

i wonder how does one know what cable goes where when a pile of them are the same colour.

[Skiiwee29]

1 minute ago, DeadEyePsycho said:

I kind of expected it tbh. It's a lab meant to set up in many different configurations, having bundled, fixed cables would make that difficult.

That looks pretty production to me.. way to much money for just a lab... 

[DocSwag]

1 minute ago, DeadEyePsycho said:

I kind of expected it tbh. It's a lab meant to set up in many different configurations, having bundled, fixed cables would make that difficult.

At the same time, it makes finding which cable goes where a hella lot easier.

[2FA]

Just now, legacy99 said:

That looks pretty production to me.. way to much money for just a lab... 

Did you actually read the OP? I can tell you didn't.

[Skiiwee29]

Just now, DeadEyePsycho said:

Did you actually read the OP? I can tell you didn't.

Yes I did. And I do know he said LAB, but that is a ton of equipment for a lab...

[2FA]

Just now, DocSwag said:

At the same time, it makes finding which cable goes where a hella lot easier.

True but it makes it difficult to make changes.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, themctipers said:

 

i wonder how does one know what cable goes where when a pile of them are the same colour.

all cables are labeled i think

[iamMINT]

Just now, legacy99 said:

That looks pretty production to me.. way to much money for just a lab... 

It is a Lab though. I was there, they explained exactly the way all this stuff was. Its so ridiculously expensive because they need to have almost every single piece of equipment in there you can imagine, and if they don't have it they'll order it- no matter how expensive. Along with all the miles of fiber optic in that room alone. 

[themctipers]

Just now, deXxterlab97 said:

all cables are labeled i think

doesnt look like they are

just colour coded per section im assuming. 

[themctipers]

Just now, JohnBRoark said:

It is a Lab though. I was there, they explained exactly the way all this stuff was. Its so ridiculously expensive because they need to have almost every single piece of equipment in there you can imagine, and if they don't have it they'll order it- no matter how expensive. Along with all the miles of fiber optic in that room alone. 

56k dial up modem 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, themctipers said:

doesnt look like they are

just colour coded per section im assuming. 

love the right side, so much blue in it what a dedication

[iamMINT]

Just now, themctipers said:

doesnt look like they are

just colour coded per section im assuming. 

Labeled by cable type. All the orange, blue, and red are all fiber optic. Blue, purple, and yellow are all cat6a I believe. They're all split into sections, one long rack might be named Peanutbutter for example, and then there are several sections in each rack. Its much easier to remember "We need x in peanutbutter a2" instead of "We need x in 06 a5" or whatever. Pretty interesting stuff the way they had all that laid out. 

[themctipers]

4 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

love the right side, so much blue in it what a dedication

you like your blue a bit too much

why not pink? 

[Guest]

Just now, themctipers said:

you like your blue a bit too much

why not pink? 

because it looks off with the arx dock and media buttons you have

 

wait EDGE?? WHo the fuck uses edge today

[iamMINT]

 

A big part of the tour was their "unified communications" technology stuff. About how they basically bought all the competition and have like eighty something percent of the market share.

 

Most of it is really expensive conference room stuff (the one in the picture there is about $1,000,000 per unit), though there were some reaally neat desktop solutions.

I know the president uses this stuff, so does NASA on the ISS (its only like 256kb/s per display [1080p hd] so it works well with their shitty satellite uplink they have in there)

 

Also got to learn about their digital ceilings, which basically monitor the amount of personnel in a room at a time, can control the entire lighting system, manage heating and ventilation, act as business-grade wireless access points, and so on. Cool stuff.

[themctipers]

Just now, deXxterlab97 said:

because it looks off with the arx dock and media buttons you have

 

wait EDGE?? WHo the fuck uses edge today

IM USING EDGE ONLY FOR LINUSTECHTIPS BECAUSE IT CAUSES CHROME TO MEMORY LEAK AND WINDOWS TO CRASH EVEN WHEN THERES A FRESH INSTALL OF WINDOWS 10

 

/rage for today

[Guest]

Just now, themctipers said:

IM USING EDGE ONLY FOR LINUSTECHTIPS BECAUSE IT CAUSES CHROME TO MEMORY LEAK AND WINDOWS TO CRASH EVEN WHEN THERES A FRESH INSTALL OF WINDOWS 10

 

/rage for today

mozilla?

opera?

vivaldi?