Network Break 411: Cisco Revamps Certification Schedules; FTC Says Game Over For Microsoft’s Activision Bid

Take a Network Break! On today’s episode we cover a new certification roadmap from Cisco, speculate on the future of corporate office space, and delve into an FTC lawsuit that aims to stop Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of game developer Activision. Broadcom releases strong Q4 and full-year financial results and sees good things ahead, Apple’s satellite-powered emergency SMS text capability proves itself with a rescue, and SpaceX hopes to win more government business with its Starshield venture for secure satellite communications for government entities. Get links to all these stories below. Sponsor: Dell Technologies – DPUs & The Future Of Distributed Infrastructure Livestream The Packet Pushers are hosting a Livestream event with and sponsor Dell Technologies on DPUs and the future of distributed infrastructure. We’ll have six short, informative sessions on topics including what network engineers need to know about DPUs, accelerating distributed workloads on DPUs, how VMware’s Project Monterey will affect infrastructure, and more. We originally planned to have the event in December but we’re moving it to January 23rd, 2023 so there’s plenty of time to sign up at packetpushers.net/livestream. If you already signed up for the original December date, you should get an updated invitation automatically. Tech Bytes: Fortinet Stick around after the news for a sponsored Tech Bytes conversation about Fortinet’s SASE offering. We discuss key elements including the FortiClient agent, what cloud-delivered security services are available, SASE use cases, and more. Show Links: Cisco Certification Roadmaps – Cisco CCNA Updates August – October Timeframe… Each Year? – Wendell’s CCNA Skills Blog Meta scales back plan to occupy new European HQ in Dublin 4 – Irish Times New York Office Occupancy Hits Pandemic Era Milestone at More Than 40% Full – The City BlackRock says get ready for a recession unlike any other and ‘what worked in the past won’t work now’ – MSN News Release: Incremental increase in UK’s office occupancy rates – Remit Consulting How’s New York City Doing? – The City The FTC is suing Microsoft to block its Activision Blizzard purchase – The Verge FTC Seeks to Block Microsoft Corp.’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc – Federal Trade Commission