Cisco Podcast Network

Cisco Optics Podcast Ep 60. Why some optics are good for AI and some aren’t (2/5)

I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that AI has been steadily changing the world, but did you know that optics is a key part of its hardware infrastructure? To explain it, fortunately we have a seasoned product manager who knows both the switching side and the optics side. Lucky for us, he sits next to me at the office and agreed to chat about it.
In Episode 60, we continue our conversation with Paymon Mogharabi, Senior Product Manager at Cisco’s Optics team, also known as the Transceiver Modules Group. We get into data center hardware architectures and traffic patterns for AI applications.
Paymon Mogharabi is a networking industry and Cisco veteran of nearly three decades with Electrical Engineering degrees from UC Irvine and USC. After starting at Cisco as a Technical Assistance Center engineer, he became a Technical marketing Engineer for Cisco's Catalyst switches. He then took product management positions for Cisco's Edge Services Router, Nexus data center switches, and UCS server products. He is now a Senior Product Manager in Cisco's Transceiver Modules Group and has sat next to me for the past 7 years, focusing on data center applications.
Related links
Cisco Optics-to-Device Compatibility Matrix: https://tmgmatrix.cisco.com/
Cisco Optics-to-Optics Interoperability Matrix: https://tmgmatrix.cisco.com/iop
Cisco Optics Product Information: https://copi.cisco.com/
Additional resources
Cisco Optics Podcast: https://optics.podcastpage.io/
Blog: https://blogs.cisco.com/tag/ciscoopticsblog
Cisco Optics YouTube playlist: http://cs.co/9008BlQen
Cisco Optics landing page: cisco.com/go/optics
Music credits
Sunny Morning by FSM Team | https://www.free-stock-music.com/artist.fsm-team.html
Upbeat by Mixaund | https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Cisco Optics Podcast Ep 59. Why some optics are good for AI and some aren’t (1/5)

I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that AI has been steadily changing the world, but did you know that optics is a key part of its hardware infrastructure? To explain it, fortunately we have a seasoned product manager who knows both the switching side and the optics side. Lucky for us, he sits next to me at the office and agreed to chat about it.
In Episode 59, we begin a new conversation with Paymon Mogharabi, Senior Product Manager at Cisco’s Optics team, also known as the Transceiver Modules Group. We begin with his start in Cisco and the history of data center hardware architectures.
Paymon Mogharabi is a networking industry and Cisco veteran of nearly three decades with Electrical Engineering degrees from UC Irvine and USC. After starting at Cisco as a Technical Assistance Center engineer, he became a Technical marketing Engineer for Cisco's Catalyst switches. He then took product management positions for Cisco's Edge Services Router, Nexus data center switches, and UCS server products. He is now a Senior Product Manager in Cisco's Transceiver Modules Group and has sat next to me for the past 7 years, focusing on data center applications.
Related links
Cisco Optics-to-Device Compatibility Matrix: https://tmgmatrix.cisco.com/
Cisco Optics-to-Optics Interoperability Matrix: https://tmgmatrix.cisco.com/iop
Cisco Optics Product Information: https://copi.cisco.com/
Additional resources
Cisco Optics Podcast: https://optics.podcastpage.io/
Blog: https://blogs.cisco.com/tag/ciscoopticsblog
Cisco Optics YouTube playlist: http://cs.co/9008BlQen
Cisco Optics landing page: cisco.com/go/optics
Music credits
Sunny Morning by FSM Team | https://www.free-stock-music.com/artist.fsm-team.html
Upbeat by Mixaund | https://mixaund.bandcamp.com

Configuration Mishaps Strike Again: Asana Outages & More News

Outages connected to configuration mishaps were a common theme last year, and we’ve continued to see incidents like these in 2025. Configuration changes triggered two consecutive Asana outages in early February, and configuration or update-related issues may also have contributed to recent disruptions at Barclays, ChatGPT, Jira, and Discord.
Tune in to hear The Internet Report’s Mike Hicks unpack these incidents and discuss ways ITOps teams can guard against similar issues.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
01:06 Asana Outages
11:40 ChatGPT Disruption
19:34 Barclays Outage
21:57 Jira Outage
22:59 Discord Outage
24:31 By the Numbers
30:15 Get in Touch
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For additional insights, check out The Internet Report’s latest blog: https://www.thousandeyes.com/blog/internet-report-configuration-mishaps-asana-outages?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy25q3_internetreport_q3fy25ep2_podcast
And to learn more about how to deliver seamless digital experiences in a distributed IT landscape, read this eBook: https://www.thousandeyes.com/resources/guide-to-next-generation-assurance-ebook?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy25q3_internetreport_q3fy25ep2_podcast
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Want to get in touch?
If you have questions, feedback, or guests you would like to see featured on the show, send us a note at InternetReport@thousandeyes.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn or X.
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ABOUT THE INTERNET REPORT
This is The Internet Report, a podcast uncovering what’s working and what’s breaking on the Internet—and why.
Tune in to hear ThousandEyes’ Internet experts dig into some of the most interesting outage events from the past couple weeks, discussing what went awry—was it the Internet, or an application issue?
Plus, learn about the latest trends in ISP outages, cloud network outages, collaboration network outages, and more.
Catch all the episodes on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform:
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-report/id1506984526
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ADFvqAtgsbYwk4JiZFqHQ?si=00e9c4b53aff4d08&nd=1&dlsi=eab65c9ea39d4773
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ciscopodcastnetwork/sets/the-internet-report

Embracing Change – With John Dorval

In today's episode of the Cisco Leadership Podcast, we will hear from John Dorval, Senior Vice President of Americas Service Provider at Cisco. In this discussion, JD will share his professional journey through 25 years of leadership at Cisco, his approach to guiding teams through transformative industry shifts, and what it takes to build high-performing, inclusive teams. Thank you for tuning in.

Episode 9 - AI Unleashed: Strengthening Cisco’s Strategy with Solutions Engineers

In this episode of SE Unleashed, we dive into the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence and explore how Cisco is empowering engineers and businesses to harness its full potential. We’ll be joined by an engineer and an engineering leader to discuss the value AI brings, the challenges customers face, and how Cisco is uniquely positioned as a market leader in AI. From data-driven decision-making to AI-powered security and automation, this conversation will give SEs the insights they need to navigate the evolving AI landscape.

Marcus Moffett | Grit

In today’s episode of the Cisco Leadership Podcast, we will hear from Marcus Moffett, Vice President of Solutions Engineering -Americas. Marcus' story is one of grit, perseverance, and passion for people and technology. Marcus shares his career journey and his leader, leader approach to leadership. Tune in to to hear how Marc has applied his life lessons to leading a top notch solutions engineering team.

Small Business, Big Solutions: Is SASE Killing the Firewall?

Video killed the radio star, and SASE killed the firewall. While it may not be as catchy, it might be just as valid. The shift to the cloud changed the way businesses work, and now it is having impacts on how they protect themselves.
To dig into this bold statement, and unpack the impact AI will have on small and medium businesses, Ian is joined by Tim Orozco, Managing Partner of Stratus Information Systems, a top SMB partner of Cisco.
Learn more about Cisco's solutions for SMBs: www.cisco.com/c/en_uk/solutions/…mall-business.html
View Stratus Information Systems' solutions here: https://stage.stratusinfosystems.com/

S6 E2: Talking Cisco Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) with Dr. Guy Diedrich

In this insightful and engaging episode, AB engages in a conversation with Dr. Guy Diedrich, Cisco's Senior Vice President and Global Innovation Officer, to explore the impressive global influence of the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program. Marking its 10th anniversary, CDA has played a crucial role in narrowing the digital divide worldwide. This discussion delves into key subjects such as differentiating between resource availability and accessibility, building trust between global leaders and Cisco, and the importance of education and skill development to enhance countries' digital competitiveness, among many other topics

S6 E1: Talking Food 4 Education, a Revolutionary School-Feeding Program, with Wawira Njiru and Brian Tippens

Wawira Njiru serves as the Founder and CEO of Food 4 Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to combating childhood hunger in Kenya by providing meals to over 500,000 students annually. In this insightful discussion, AB engages with Wawira and Brian Tippens, Cisco's Senior Vice President and Chief Social Impact & Inclusion Officer, to explore the significance of community-driven initiatives, the implementation of sustainable practices in tackling the global food crisis, the crucial role of trust in fostering partnerships between corporations and communities, and much more.

Tech stories - ep 19 - Richard’s time machine rollercoaster

Richard Yates, Service provider Technical Leader, tells us about his career story. Starting from the air force and analog phone switchboards through all the wireless technologies like CDMA, 3G, WiMAX to 5G. This long episode covers life lessons, technology anecdotes, insane stories and much much more.