How to deploy Wi-Fi for a warehouse area 23 times bigger than a Wembley stadium? What to say when the Kremlin wants you to design their network? And most importantly: how to network with style? Our next Extreme Hero will tell you all that and much more. Meet Alexey Elin from First Bit / Wi-Fi + Auto ID!
Privet, Alexey! How are you holding up? Judging from your vibrant Twitter account, you’re definitely keeping busy these days!
Hi there! Glad to be here! As always, super intense schedule. And most of my corporate activities cannot be posted in Twitter anyway, due to NDAs and everything 😉 I was recently told that it is fashionable to stay extra busy in Moscow and there are no real alternatives. Can’t say I actually support this point of view, but if anything it’s definitely good for the business! 😄
Tell us, what do you do on a day-to-day basis? And what projects or activities are you currently working on?
Well, I suppose I am a happy man since I love what I do so much. There are almost no routine tasks. Each day is so much different than the last. As a Head of Tech in First Bit / Wi-Fi, I’m involved in an *extremely* (see what I did there?) broad range of tasks. From pre-sales and BDM stuff to post-sales and technical support. And since I’m kind of a control freak and always push myself to get the best possible result, it all leads to a rather diverse working week. Each month I visit 3-6 new customers, mostly in Logistics and Manufacturing to deal with non-standard cases and learn something new.
You are awakened early in the morning by a phone call. It’s Kremlin – they want you to design and deploy a new network solution! How do you react?
Hi, you have called the right person. Send me the NDA draft. What are the deadlines? And most importantly – have you heard about Extreme WiNG?
What excites you the most about working with Extreme? Do you have a product or solution of choice? Or maybe it’s the events and community that you cherish the most?
I guess the diversity and agility of available configurations, broad debugging and analytics capabilities, lifetime warranty for most of the access points, and of course project support from the vendor side. Oh, and did I mention that WiNG is great?
You would never design bad Wi-Fi. But how do you imagine a perfect one? What, in your opinion, constitutes a great wireless network?
There are several aspects to consider. You should have the proper knowledge and training, reliable equipment (both in terms of APs and survey devices), and of course a timeframe. Frankly speaking, what is even more important is the amount of time and resources the customer is willing to spend on the statement of work (!), planning, designing, documentation, and verification of the network.
Which Extreme project do you have the fondest memories of? Which project makes you particularly proud? Tell us a little bit about your “personal tops”!
The number one reference project would be the fulfillment centers in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The customer? VkusVill company, one of the major Russian retailers operating in the healthy food products segment. We have built a mono-vendor network on, you’ve guessed it, purple colored solutions.
Overall, we ended up with over 160 000 sqm. of combined, RTLS-ready Wi-Fi coverage: 108 000 sqm. in Moscow and 57 000 in Saint Petersburg. Together, it’s a little bit more than 23 Wembley football fields. Close to 400 Extreme WiNG APs, V400 switches. X690 in aggregation, clustered. Everything monitored via Nsight, VX9000 and Extreme Management Center (ExtremeCloud™ IQ nowadays). We have custom scripts and slack/Telegram bots.
Yes, that was a good one.
Do you remember your first experience or project with the purple equipment?
Not the very first one, but one of the first I’ve done by my own was the pet products client. You’ve guessed it again, it was a warehouse. And actually there’s a funny story behind it.
After a good long day with EXOS and the verification survey, I have found a rather large pile of pet food near one of the shelves. No packaging. I ask the employees about it, turns out it was damaged during handling and I was free to take as much as I wanted for free. I called my friends who have two cats and asked if the needed some extra pet chow. Corner of my eye, I notice that the nearby food products were made not only for cats, but also for dogs and other animals. I ask the staff again, nobody knew what was the original package here.
In the end, we decided not to make experiments with cats’ diet. 😄
How would you describe your experience as an Extreme partner? Which single element of the partnership would you say is the most satisfying – both to you and your company?
Whatever the problem is, we always have a solution. Communication with the vendor is great. You can reach pretty much every person you need and they will always help you out.
We know you’re quite a suit aficionado. If you were to accept a major industry award, what suit would you pick for the ceremony?
I think Batman suit would do nice 😉 But most likely I would go with the classic style. Navy suit, maybe double-breasted jacket, half canvas, half lining, double vents. Ivory shirt with French cuff, black oxfords, red tie.
Let’s say that you’re independently wealthy and you don’t have to work anymore. What would you do with your time?
I would be doing the exactly same thing as I do right now, but on an entirely larger scale.
If you could meet your past self, what advice would you give to him? And if you could talk to yourself in 20 years from now, what would you hope to hear?
To the past self I’d say that people are a lot more childish on the inside than they look outside, that maybe I should be more firm and even more stubborn than it’s necessary. And also that it’s a good idea to mine some Bitcoins. As for my future self – I’d just love to hear no major regrets or complains. 😉
Do you feel like a Hero sometimes? 🙂
I do. Whenever I hear “thank you” from the customer, once the project is completed.
