Am off to the Wireless Tech Field Day 4
For those that have not heard about the great work that Stephen Foskett and his team do at Gestalt IT, here is the link to the Tech Field day website - http://techfieldday.com
The concept is simple but effective! This is from their website:
The Field Day events bring together innovative IT product vendors and independent thought leaders to share information and opinions in a presentation and discussion format. Independent bloggers, freelance writers, and podcasters have a public presence that has immense influence on the ways that products and companies are perceived and by the general public. The world of media has changed, with social media and blogging gaining special importance. The Field Day is an opportunity for tech companies and independent writers to meet, update and discuss products and form new communications.
Apart from getting the opportunity to be apart of the presentations, the one thing i am looking forward to is meeting some of my #WiFiHeros. These are the people listed below that i have had the pleasure to tweet and blog with over the last few years. But to name a few are Jennifer, Blake, George, Keith and Chris. Everyone on the list this year is of an extreemly high calibre and i look forward to being in such great company. I just hope that they are ready from my British humor :-)
The sponsors this year are a mixture of the usual companies with a new arrival - Motorola Solution. I personally am looking forward to hearing from Motorola as i very much belive that they are the understated manufacturer with great potential. I have installed a few of their solutions and have been very impressed in the past, so want to hear what they have for the future!
Meraki - will be the manufacturer that i know the least about. Now that Cisco have purchased them it will be interesting so see what direction they are taking. Im missing the Cisco PVT in Amsterdam this year where Cisco are preseting meraki, as i will this as i will be at this WTFD so i hope to get the update from Meraki themselves.
Cisco Systems - What i would like to hear from Cisco is the following; Cisco 5700 WLC, Retail Analytics after their purchase of ThinkSmart, WNBU 8 update, AVC and Meraki.
Juniper - Am new to Juniper so am not too sure what to expect. Will be nice to learn where they fit into the industry.
Aruba Networks - Being a long standing and well established wirelss vendor am expecting great things from Aruba.
Shame that there was a no go for Aerohive or Ruckus, i was looking forward to heckling both Dev and GT Hill. But I believe they both may be at WTFD5 (i just hope i can be ;-) )
There is a presentation from WiFi veteran Keith Parsons on his latest WiFi stress testing which am eager to hear about, as i can compare his experiences with some of the high density WiFi solutions that i have been involved with reciently.
This years sponsors are:
Wednesday, Feb 13 14:00-16:00 Motorola Solutions
Wednesday, Feb 13 16:00-18:00 Wi-Fi Stress Tests with Keith Parsons
Thursday, Feb 14 08:00-10:00 Juniper
Thursday, Feb 14 13:00-17:00 Aruba Networks
Friday, Feb 15 9:00-10:00 Meraki
Friday, Feb 15 10:30-12:30 Cisco Systems
Jennifer Huber, http://jenniferhuber.blogspot.com @JenniferLucille
Jennifer has over 10 years of experience in the networking and wireless engineering industry. She is technically proficient in performing indoor and outdoor wireless surveys for data, voice or location tracking. She has a solid background in supporting/designing/deploying/troubleshooting 802.11a/b/g/n Enterprise wireless installations, as well as the ability to take complex information and explain problems/solutions in terms that are easily understood.
Blake Krone, http://BlakeKrone.com and http://NSAShow.com @blakekrone
Blake Krone is Cisco CCIE Wireless and CWNA certified Wireless Network Architect with experience designing and deploying enterprise class networks supporting hundreds of APs and multiple controllers for Voice, Data, and RTLS. Particularly interested in integrating Wireless technologies and Location Aware systems to provide enhanced experiences.
Steve Williams, http://www.sudonetworks.com and Blog: http://blog.sudonetworks.com/wifi-edge
Steve Williams helps organizations leveraging technologies to dramatically increase results. Consultant and solo practitioner, Steve is a highly experienced professional who designs and implements high quality networks for his customers. Additionally, he provides coaching and mentoring services to his clients so they can become self-sufficient.
George Stefanick, http://www.my80211.com @wirelesssguru
George Stefanick is a Wireless Architect employed by a large healthcare system in the Texas Medical Center. George has been in wireless communications since 1997 and holds various vendor and vendor neutral certifications and focuses on high density indoor deployments in the Healthcare vertical. Whereby leveraging his hands on experience in Site Survey, RFID, 802.1X Security, Device Identity, High Density, Mesh Designs, Video Designs, Voice Designs and troubleshooting
Lee Badman, http://www.networkcomputing.com/blogs/author/Lee-Badman-2 @wirednot
Lee Badman currently writes for Network Computing Magazine as Wireless and Mobility blogger, and has over twelve years of professional industry analysis under his belt. Published hundreds of times in Network Computing, Cabling Business Magazine, the Syracuse Post Standard, and other periodicals, Lee has done feature-length reviews on everything from IP-based KVM platforms to Wireless Network Management systems
Peter Paul Engelen, http://cciewl.blogspot.nl @PPJM_Engelen
Peter-Paul Engelen is a technical consultant with advanced (pre) sales experience and business development skills in multi-vendor Cloud-based (W)LAN and Wholesale ISP/Carriers.
He holds a post academic degree in Communication Technologies with the thesis, “Wireless IP, The Killer Application !?”
Daniel Cybulskie, http://www.simplywifi.co @SimplyWiFi
Daniel Cybulskie is a Senior Security Consultant out of the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area. Prior to focusing primarily on wireless technologies, Daniel’s background was in designing and deploying strong authentication and encryption solutions for high-security organizations. Recognizing the imminent explosion of mobile computing, he has successfully leveraged this strong AAA background to become the lead mobility consultant within his organization and acts as lead on mobility projects across healthcare, public safety, and a broad range of corporate verticals.
Sam Clements, http://www.sc-wifi.com/ and http://nostringsattachedshow.com @samuel_clements
Sam Clements is an avid wireless technologist with a passion for all things mobility. He is an active social media contributor and maintains a technical blog at http://www.sc-wifi.com/ and is also a regular contributor to the No Strings Attached podcast at http://www.nsashow.com/ along with Blake Krone.
Keith R. Parsons, http://WirelessLANProfessionals.com @keithrparsons
Keith Parsons is Managing Director of the Institute for Network Professionals. A gifted presenter, Keith is known for his wit and broad technical experience. He holds 58 technical certifications (9 Wireless) and has earned an MBA from the Marriott School of Management. He is author (or editor) of a 30+ technical publications and has developed seven technical industry and vendor certifications.
Scott Stapleton, http://phasedcoexistence.blogspot.com @scottpstapleton
Scott started out in Wi-Fi with nothing more than a soldering iron and N-type connector in hand, scouring roof tops for ex-pay-TV antennas as part of the community Wi-Fi movement of the early 2000s – an obsession that lasted several years. Having since moved through several ICT roles Scott wound up in Networks and naturally gravitated towards Wi-Fi, trading a hobby for a career.
Chris Lyttle, http://www.wifikiwi.com @wifikiwi
More inforamtion can be found on Chris's Web Site: http://www.wifikiwi.com Twitter: @WiFiKiwi
Ill be updating my Twitter @MarkJulier during the presentations and blogging after the event so please come back for an update and my view on what the vendors had to say!
Thanks
Mark