Meet Nagendra Kumar Nainar, Top Contributor
Tell us about your networking career.
I joined Cisco High-Touch Technical Services in 2009, originally on the routing protocol team that supports large service providers and enterprises. About a year ago I moved to the escalation team, where I’ve been ever since. Before joining Cisco I worked at an offshore development center doing test, DevTest, and technical marketing for MPLS, routing, and switching. Earlier I did network design for a channel partner.
How did you get involved with Cisco Support Community?
I discovered the community in 2007, when I was preparing for CCIE exams for Routing and Switching and Service Provider. I found that answering questions in the forums was a great way to practice solving real-world problems. Answering questions gives you a clearer understanding of a topic. And you’re helping someone at the same time you learn.
How do you participate besides answering questions in the forums?
I was part of a team that delivered a webcast called Intro to MPLS VPN https://supportforums.cisco.com/document/71121/faq-live-webcast-introduction-mpls-vpn. More than 200 people viewed it live. I’ve also posted quite a few documents, including one on IPv6 migration. https://supportforums.cisco.com/document/66261/ipv6-rapid-deploymentpdf .
What inspires you to be so generous with your time, and how do you fit the community into your day?
I’m just passionate about solving network-related issues! I enjoy solving problems as well as helping customers who have an improper understanding of a certain technology.
I check the forums whenever I have time in between cases. On my team, participating in Cisco Support Community is considered a value-added contribution. My manager appreciates it when I’m recognized as one of the 15 contributors.
Any thoughts for coworkers who are thinking about participating more?
The obvious reason is that the community gives you an opportunity to learn more. But another motivation is that customers start to recognize you as an expert. Several times I’ve been on a WebEx with customers who have asked if I’m the same Nagendra who participates in the MPLS forums or did a webcast. Customers might be nervous about an outage, and knowing that they’re working with an expert gives them confidence that they’re in good hands.
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