This week, The Weather Channel began broadcasting weather reports in High Definition format, with assistance from Cisco routers and switches.

Cisco has been working with TWC over the last year to upgrade its infrastructure to power a 24-7 live HD operation. Catalyst 6500 switches and Cisco routers shuttle digital shots of meteorologists reporting live from the new studio to the control room over 800 cables winding through the studio's raised floor. Cisco MARS security products are used for encryption between the studio, control room and other locations.

A spiffy virtual tour of the new studio and a primer on Cisco's involvement is here: www.weather.com/studio. Too bad it couldn't have been a real-time live feed but hey, maybe that would have blown up our screens...