Behind the Scenes: My Cisco Live NOC Experience
We all attend events like Cisco Live and enjoy the seamless connectivity without a second thought. We stream sessions, join live demos, and interact with cutting-edge technology but how often do we stop and think about who is keeping it all running behind the scenes?
This year, I had the privilege of finding out firsthand by joining the Cisco Live NOC Experience as a Datacenter team member.
A Team Like No Other
The NOC brings together engineers from across Cisco. Distinguished engineers, system engineers, customer success engineers, TAC engineers and leaders, among many others. The NOC itself is organized into focused teams covering Datacenter, Wireless, Edge and Core Networking, and Security, each responsible for their piece of the puzzle. Yet, a common thread ties them all together: the shared experience of making it all happen.
What makes this team special is not just the technical skill, it is the mindset. Everyone welcomes challenges, embraces new technologies, and supports one another without judgment. There is no ego, just collaboration to driving the event with success and excellence.
My Role in the Datacenter Team
As part of the DC team, our responsibility was to keep the NX-OS based Datacenter infrastructure and UCS based compute environment up and running throughout the event. Every application, service, and backend system that powers Cisco Live depends on this foundation, so there is very little room for error. We also had the chance to work with NetApp as a storage partner, whose MetroCluster solution helped us maintain a fully redundant Datacenter environment.
Even though I come from more of a networking background, I had the chance to work on new AI use cases running on our UCS-X servers managed by Intersight. It was a great opportunity to step outside my usual focus and get hands on experience with where Cisco’s compute portfolio is heading.
Hard Work, Great Energy
The work is demanding. Keeping an event of this scale running end to end requires careful planning, constant monitoring, and quick decision-making. On peak day alone, more than 18,000 clients connected to the network and not a single one faced an issue. That does not happen by chance. It is the result of the meticulous work and dedication of this NOC team.
What surprised me though was how much people actually enjoy being there. The NOC is not just an assignment, it is something people look forward to. Even during the most intense moments, the energy stays positive. People help each other, share what they know, and somehow manage to have a good time while doing serious work. That balance is not something you see every day.
Looking Back with Gratitude
I walked away from this experience having learned a great deal and feeling genuinely inspired. Being around people who are not only skilled but also kind and fun to work with made all the difference. I am proud to have been part of this team, and I truly glad to have the opportunity to do it again.
This article is part of our mini-series, Voices of Cisco Live, where we follow different Cisco employees who had their own unique experience and perspective on the event.
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