Introduction xxxii
Getting Started 3
A Brief Perspective on the CCNA Data Center Certification Exam 3
Suggestions for How to Approach Your Study with This Book 3
This Book Is Compiled from 17 Short Read-and-Review Sessions 4
Practice, Practice, Practice-Did I Mention: Practice? 4
In Each Part of the Book You Will Hit a New Milestone 5
Use the Final Preparation Chapter to Refine Skills 6
Set Goals and Track Your Progress 6
Other Small Tasks Before Getting Started 7
Part I Data Center Networking Technologies 9
Chapter 1 Data Center Networking 11
Do I Know This Already? Quiz 11
Foundation Topics 15
Port Channel 15
What Is Port Channel? 15
Benefits of Using Port Channels 15
Port Channel Compatibility Requirements 16
Link Aggregation Control Protocol 16
Port Channel Modes 17
Configuring Port Channel 18
Port Channel Load Balancing 19
Verifying Port Channel Configuration 19
Virtual Port Channel 20
What Is Virtual Port Channel? 20
Benefits of Using vPC 22
Components of vPC 22
vPC Data Plane Operation 24
vPC Control Plane Operation 26
vPC Limitations 27
Configuration Steps of vPC 27
Verification of vPC 29
FabricPath 29
Spanning Tree Protocol 29
What Is FabricPath? 31
Benefits of FabricPath 31
Components of FabricPath 32
FabricPath Frame Format 34
FabricPath Control Plane 35
FabricPath Data Plane 37
Conversational Learning 38
FabricPath Packet Flow Example 38
Unknown Unicast Packet Flow 39
Known Unicast Packet Flow 39
Virtual Port Channel Plus 40
FabricPath Interaction with Spanning Tree 41
Configuring FabricPath 42
Verifying FabricPath 43
Reference List 44
Exam Preparation Tasks 45
Review All Key Topics 45
Complete Tables and Lists from Memory 45
Define Key Terms 45
Chapter 2 Management and Monitoring of Cisco Nexus Devices 47
Do I Know This Already? Quiz 47
Foundation Topics 50
Operational Planes of a Nexus Switch 50
Data Plane 50
Store-and-Forward Switching 51
Cut-Through Switching 51
Nexus 5500 Data Plane Architecture 51
Control Plane 53
Nexus 5500 Control Plane Architecture 54
Control Plane Policing 55
Control Plane Analyzer 57
Management Plane 58
Nexus Management and Monitoring Features 59
Out-of-Band Management 59
Console Port 60
Connectivity Management Processor 61
Management Port (mgmt0) 61
In-Band Management 62
Simple Network Management Protocol 62
SNMP Notifications 63
SNMPv3 63
Remote Monitoring 64
RMON Alarms 64
RMON Events 65
Syslog 65
Embedded Event Manager 66
Event Statements 66
Action Statements 66
Policies 66
Generic Online Diagnostics 67
Smart Call Home 68
NX-API 68
Role-Based Access Control 70
User Roles 71
Rules 71
User Role Policies 72
RBAC Characteristics and Guidelines 72
Privilege Levels 72
Reference List 73
Exam Preparation Tasks 74
Review All Key Topics 74
Complete Tables and Lists from Memory 74
Define Key Terms 74
Chapter 3 Unified Fabric Overview 77
Do I Know This Already? Quiz 77
Foundation Topics 80
Challenges of Today's Data Center Networks 80
Cisco Unified Fabric Principles 82
Convergence of Network and Storage 82
Scalability and Growth 88
Security and Intelligence 93
Inter-Data Center Unified Fabric 97
Fibre Channel over IP 98
Overlay Transport Virtualization 100
Locator ID Separation Protocol 104
Reference List 106
Exam Preparation Tasks 107
Review All Key Topics 107
Complete Tables and Lists from Memory 107
Define Key Terms 107
Part I Review 108
Part II Network Virtualization 113
Chapter 4 Cisco Nexus 1000V and Virtual Switching 115
Do I Know This Already? Quiz 116
Foundation Topics 119
Evolution of Virtual Switching 119
Before Server Virtualization 119
Server Virtualization with Static VMware vSwitch 121
Virtual Network Components 122
Virtual Access Layer 123
Standard VMware vSwitch Overview 124
Standard VMware vSwitch Operations 125
Standard VMware vSwitch Configuration 127
VMware vDS Overview 128
VMware vDS Configuration 129
VMware vDS Enhancements 131
VMware vSwitch and vDS 131
Cisco Nexus 1000V Virtual Networking Solution 132
Cisco Nexus 1000V System Overview 134
Cisco Nexus 1000V Salient Features and Benefits 134
Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Virtual Switch Architecture 137
Cisco Nexus 1000V Virtual Supervisory Module 137
Cisco Nexus 1000V Virtual Ethernet Module 138
Cisco Nexus 1000V Component Communication 140
Cisco Nexus 1000V Management Communication 140
Cisco Nexus 1000V Port Profiles 141
Types of Port Profiles in Cisco Nexus 1000V 142
Cisco Nexus 1000V Administrator View and Roles 142
Cisco Nexus 1000V Verifying Initial Configuration 144
Cisco Nexus 1000V VSM Installation Methods 144
Initial VSM Configuration Verification 145
Verifying VMware vCenter Connectivity 145
Verifying Nexus 1000V Module Status 147
Cisco Nexus 1000V VEM Installation Methods 148
Initial VEM Status on ESX or ESXi Host 148
Verifying VSM Connectivity from vCenter Server 148
Verifying VEM Agent Running 148
Verifying VEM Uplink Interface Status 149
Verifying VEM Parameters with VSM Configuration 150
Validating VM Port Groups and Port Profiles 150
Verifying Port Profile and Groups 152
Key New Technologies Integrated with Cisco Nexus 1000V 153
What Is the Difference Between VN-Link and VN-Tag? 153
What Is VXLAN? 153
What Is vPath Technology? 154
What Is Cisco Application Virtual Switch (AVS)? 154
Reference List 155
Exam Preparation Tasks 156
Review All Key Topics 156
Complete Tables and Lists from Memory 156
Define Key Terms 157
Chapter 5 Data Center Overlay Networks 159
Do I Know This Already? Quiz 159
Foundation Topics 162
Overlay Transport Virtualization 162
Introduction to Overlay Transport Virtualization 162
OTV Terminology 164
OTV Control Plane 166
Multicast-Enabled Transport Infrastructure 166
Unicast-Enabled Transport Infrastructure 167
Data Plane for Unicast Traffic 168
Data Plane for Multicast Traffic 170
Failure Isolation 172
STP Isolation 172
Unknown Unicast Handling 172
ARP Optimization 173
OTV Multihoming 173
First Hop Redundancy Protocol Isolation 174
OTV Configuration Example with Multicast Transport 174
OTV Configuration Example with Unicast Transport 177
Virtual Extensible LAN 179
VXLAN Terminology 180
VTEP 180
VNID 181
VXLAN Gateway Types 181
VXLAN Bridging 181
VXLAN Routing 181
VXLAN Packet Forwarding 183
VXLAN VTEP Discovery and Address Learning 183
VXLAN Data Plane Learning 184
VXLAN Unicast-Only Mode 184
VXLAN Using Control Plane Protocol 184
Network Virtualization Using Generic Routing Encapsulation 184
Reference List 185
Exam Preparation Tasks 186
Review All Key Topics 186
Define Key Terms 186
Chapter 6 Virtualizing Cisco Network Devices 189
Do I Know This Already? Quiz 189
Foundation Topics 192
Describing VDCs on the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switch 192
VDC Deployment Scenarios 194
Horizontal Consolidation Scenarios 194
Vertical Consolidation Scenarios 195
VDCs for Service Insertion 196
Understanding Different Types of VDCs 196
Interface Allocation 198
VDC CPU Shares and Hardware Resources 199
VDC Administration 199
VDC Requirements 200
Verifying VDCs on the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switch 201
Describing Layer 3 Virtualization Within VDCs 204
Describe the Benefits and Perform Simple Troubleshooting of VDC STP 207
Verifying STP Operation 209
Describing Network Interface Virtualization 210
Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX Terminology 210
Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender Connectivity 211
VN-Tag Overview 212
Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX Packet Flow 213
Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX Port Connectivity 214
Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX Configuration on the Nexus 7000 Series 216
Cisco Adapter FEX Technology 219
Reference List 221
Exam Preparation Tasks 222
Review All Key Topics 222
Define Key Terms 222
Part II Review 224
Part III Cisco Unified Computing 229
Chapter 7 Cisco UCS Architecture 231
Do I Know This Already? Quiz 232
Foundation Topics 235
Evolution of Server Computing in a Nutshell 235
What Is a Socket? 236
What Is a Core? 236
What Is Hyperthreading? 237
Understanding Server Processor Numbering 237
Value of Cisco UCS in the Data Center 238
One Unified System 239
Unified Fabric 240
Unified Management and Operations 240
Cisco UCS Stateless Computing 241
Intelligent Automation, Cloud-Ready Infrastructure 242
Describing the Cisco UCS Product Family 243
Cisco UCS Computer Hardware Naming 243
Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects 244
What Is a Unified Port? 247
What Are QSA Modules and Breakout Cables? 247
Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnect-Expansion Modules 247
Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis 248
Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis-Power Supply and Redundancy Modes 248
Cisco UCS M4308 Chassis 249
Cisco UCS I/O Modules (FEX) 250
Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers 251
Cisco UCS B-Series Best Practices for Populating DRAM 253
Cisco Adapters (Mezzanine Cards) for UCS B-Series Blade Servers 254
Cisco Converged Network Adapters (CNA) 254
Cisco Virtual Interface Cards 255
Cisco UCS VIC 1340/1380 256
Cisco UCS Port Expander 257
What Is Cisco Adapter FEX? 257
What Is Cisco Virtual Machine-Fabric Extender? 257
Cisco UCS Storage Accelerator Adapters 258
Cisco UCS C-Series Rackmount Servers 258
Cisco UCS C-Series Dense Storage Rack Server 261
Cisco UCS C-Series Best Practices for Populating DRAM 261
Cisco Adapters for UCS C-Series Rackmount Servers 262
Cisco UCS C-Series RAID Adapter Options 262
Cisco UCS C-Series Virtual Interface Cards and OEM CAN Adapters 265
Cisco UCS VIC 1387 mLOM 266
What Is SR-IOV (Single Root-IO Virtualization)? 266
Cisco UCS C-Series Network Interface Card 267
Cisco UCS C-Series Host Bus Adapter 268
What Is N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV)? 269
Cisco UCS Storage Accelerator Adapters 270
Cisco UCS E-Series Servers 271
Cisco UCS Mini 272
Cisco UCS M-Series Servers 272
Cisco UCS Software 274
Cisco UCS Manager 274
Cisco UCS Central 274
Cisco UCS StorMagic SvSAN 274
Cisco UCS Director 274
Cisco IMC Supervisor 275
System Menu 276
Policies Menu 276
Administration Menu 276
Cisco UCS Platform Emulator 277
Cisco goUCS Automation Tool 277
Cisco UCS Connectivity Architecture 277
Cisco UCS 5108 Chassis to Fabric Interconnect Physical Connectivity 277
Cisco UCS C-Series Rackmount Server Physical Connectivity 278
Cisco UCS 6200 Fabric Interconnect to LAN, SAN Connectivity 280
Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnect Switching Modes 281
Ethernet Switching Mode 281
Fibre Channel Switching Mode 282
Cisco UCS I/O Module and Fabric Interconnect Connectivity 283
Cisco UCS I/O Module Architecture 285
Fabric and Adapter Port Channel Architecture 287
Cisco Integrated Management Controller Architecture 287
Reference List 289
Exam Preparation Tasks 290
Review All Key Topics 290
Complete Tables and Lists from Memory 292
Define Key Terms 292
Chapter 8 Cisco UCS Manager 295
Do I Know This Already? Quiz 296
Foundation Topics 299
Cabling a Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnect HA Cluster 299
Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnect HA Architecture 299
Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnect Cluster Connectivity 300
Initial Setup Script for Primary Fabric Interconnect 302
Initial Setup Script for Subordinate Secondary Fabric Interconnect 303
Verify Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnect Cluster Setup 303
