Eric Stewart: Running Off At The Mouth

So, kind of as an addendum to my original post, here’s what I’ve pulled off of the Cisco Live website for Las Vegas, 2022 (June 12 – 16).

• It’s at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center – where it’s been all the times I’ve attended the Las Vegas ones.  Chances are there will be some stuff going on at the MGM Grand as well, but how that’s going to divide up (if at all), who knows?  Last time, testing (which most folks were unhappy about) and the management level stuff (which, most of the folks I know don’t care about) were at the MGM Grand.
• Looks like proof of vaccination against COVID-19 will be required for badge pickup.  What exactly that entails for US attendees isn’t clear (there’s suggestions that it will involve something other than showing your vaccination card at the pickup desk); international attendees will be able to show proof at the counter.
  • Digging a little bit: YOU MUST BE VACCINATED to attend in person – no antibody test, no negative test.  No exceptions.
  • Boosters aren’t required, but the standard two-shots of Pfizer or Moderna, and one-shot of J&J are required.  Also, vaccines authorized by the WHO are accepted.
  • You’ll get a complimentary self-test kit upon check-in.
  • Cisco is providing a complimentary PCR test for international attendess who require tests to travel back home.
• There’s a lot to be gleaned from the Week at a Glance, but the highlights for me are:
  • Early badge pickup will be 3pm-7pm on Saturday, June 11.
  • Arrival Tweetup is 5:45pm – 7:15pm.  I think I’m going to be a tad late to this; I have a seminar scheduled for 2pm-6pm.
  • Cisco Live Celebration is Wednesday night 7:30pm – 11:00pm with Dave Matthews Band and Brittany Howard.  EDIT: This has been announced as being at the Thomas and Mack Center on the UNLV campus.
  • In a departure from previous years, the Departure Tweetup is going to be 10am-11am.  This leads to the next observation …
  • There appear to be only two Keynotes scheduled, one Tuesday, one Wednesday, both 8:30am – 10:00am.  No closing Keynote announced yet, so possibly no closing Keynote speaker.
• Everything seems to taper off earlier on Thursday than in previous in-person Cisco Lives – 2pm is the big stopping time, with the Certification Center open until 4pm.  Taking a late afternoon/early evening flight home might not be a horrible idea.
• Face coverings: Not currently required within Las Vegas, but are recommended.
• Doesn’t look like scheduling beyond the 4-hour Technical Seminars and 4-hour Hands On Labs is available yet (because, you know, you gotta pay more for them).  I’d follow @CiscoLive on Twitter if you want to know as soon as it is available; it may have a “NetVets First” thing when it first opens.