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Douglas Alger

IT Architect

Cisco on Cisco

Douglas Alger is an IT Architect with more than 20 years of Data Center design, management and operations experience. As a member of Cisco’s IT Customer Strategy & Success group he shares Data Center technical expertise and real-world experiences with customers.

Doug produces the popular Beyond the Network podcast and has authored three books on Data Center design, The Art of the Data Center, Grow a Greener Data Center and Build the Best Data Center Facility for Your Business. He is a multiple-time winner of Cisco’s Briefing Champion and Above & Beyond IT Speaker awards and was named an IT Champion in 2005.

From 2006 through 2009, Doug was Cisco’s IT Architect for Physical Infrastructure. He created physical infrastructure architectural roadmaps and standards and authored portions of Cisco’s Global Data Center Strategy. Prior to that, Doug was team lead for the Data Center Infrastructure Team that designed, supported and managed Cisco’s global server environments.

Articles

March 2, 2020

INSIDE CISCO IT

A little magic with every purchase

When I was a kid, about two weeks before each school year started, my parents would take me shopping for clothes and school supplies. As a pre-teen I wasn’t exactly enthused about these trips, but one shop – a shoe store – always had my undivided attention at checkout time. The store’s cash registers sat […]

December 11, 2019

INSIDE CISCO IT

Weird places I’ve worked

It’s 25 years ago and I’m in the midst of my original career, as a newspaper reporter. I live and work in northern Los Angeles County, and the region has recently been rocked by the Northridge Earthquake. Caught in the widespread damage are my apartment and the City Hall building containing my office (and desktop […]

February 27, 2019

INSIDE CISCO IT

When Being First is Too Late

Cisco IT has for years prided itself on being the company’s first and best customer – using our own products early and sharing what we learn.  What’s different about customer zero?

December 20, 2018

INSIDE CISCO IT

It’s Time to Pull the Plug

It's time for our 11th annual year-end shutdown. Learn how we successfully plan and execute a lab shutdown, then restart high-powered lab systems when we return in January.

May 24, 2018

INSIDE CISCO IT

Cutting Power in 3… 2… 1…

Say you’re working for a large company and there’s a proposal to shut down dozens of buildings for several days near the end of the calendar year.  A lot of...

January 6, 2017

INSIDE CISCO IT

A Different Angle

I’m a backstage, behind-the-scenes kind of person. I find it fascinating to observe things from somewhere other than where the audience normally sits.  Watching from the side of the stage or perhaps seeing a rehearsal often reveals something unexpected or amusing. Years ago I was at a professional video shoot and watched as the crew […]

September 16, 2016

INSIDE CISCO IT

My Favorite Superpower

I was at a movie theater recently, seated comfortably and waiting to see the latest chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, when I overheard a friendly debate among three young men in the row ahead of me. “If you could have one superpower, what would you want?”  It’s impolite to eavesdrop, but I had that […]

February 24, 2016

INSIDE CISCO IT

Holistic Design is Good Medicine for Your Data Center

If you share your secret sauce recipe with a lot of people, is it still secret sauce? I recently co-hosted a televised Data Center tour alongside Cisco IT distinguished engineer Jon Woolwine. A camera crew shadowed us as we walked the company’s Data Center in Allen, Texas and discussed the site’s infrastructure and how various […]

October 8, 2015

INSIDE CISCO IT

Requiem for a Data Center

Cisco IT has, as you may have heard, been shutting down some of its Data Centers. We’ve closed dozens of older facilities – some large, many small – in the past 10 years, consolidating into purpose-built rooms that better enable our business. The latest to close was the company’s longest-running Development Data Center, located at […]