This weekend Mark Snow and I delivered a vSeminar on CCIE Data Center, and INE’s plans for our CCIE DC training product lines. The vSeminar, which is broken down into two sections of about an hour apiece, is now available in its recorded form below for those of you that weren’t able to join us live this weekend.

The first portion of the vSeminar deals with the hardware and software blueprint for the upcoming CCIE DC Written Exam and CCIE DC Lab Exam. Specifically this includes the following:

• Nexus 7009 v6.0(2) w/ SUP1, 10GE F1, 10GE M1
• Nexus 5548 v5.1(3)
• Nexus 2232
• Nexus 1000v v4.2(1)
• UCS 5108 Blade Chassis
• B200 M2 Blade Servers
• 6248UP Fabric Interconnects v2.0(1x)
• 6204 FEX
• UCS C200 Series Server
• Application Control Engine (ACE) 4710 vA5(1.0)
• MDS 9222i v5.2(2)
• JBODs
• Cisco Data Center Manager software v5.2(2)
• 2511 Router & Catalyst 3750 for mgmt access

The next section deals with the technical topics that are within the scope of the exam, and goes through a high level design overview of the hardware platforms and where their software features fit into the modern Data Center design. Specifically we have subdivided the topics into three main topic domains, which are:

• Nexus Switching
• Storage
• Computing

Beyond this we talk more about our plans for delivery methods for CCIE Data Center training, the expected release schedule, and additional training domains moving forward.  Specifically the four main delivery methods we will be offering are:

• Online & Live Onsite Classes
• Streaming & Downloadable Videos
• DRM free & cross platform support
• Self-Paced Labs
• Rack Rentals

• CCIE DC Nexus Online Bootcamp - (Aug 27th – 31st 2012)
• CCIE DC Storage Online Bootcamp - (Sept 24th – 28th 2012)
• CCIE DC Computing Online Bootcamp - (Oct 29th – Nov 2nd 2012)

More details about other products such as the primer, deep dive, & troubleshooting video series, self-paced labs, rack rentals, and live onsite classes will be available within the next coming days and weeks and will be posted here on our blog.

Let us know what questions you have going forward with CCIE Data Center training, and Data Center focused training in general, as we are as excited about this brand new track addition as you are!

Our new CCIE Data Center Written course has been released. For the All Access Pass members it’s already available in your members site account. Below are some sample from the new course.

Nexus 5000 & 2000 Hardware Architecture:

NX-OS Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)

UCS :: LAN Modes and Behaviors :: Part 1

Here is the playlist:

Update: The CCIE Data Center Technology Lab Workbook is now available here

After a long and highly anticipated wait, INE’s CCIE Data Center Workbook and Rack Rentals are (almost ) finally here! This post covers three items of business, the state of the DC Workbook & Rack Rentals release, and the Implementing Nexus 5-Day Bootcamp that I am running online next week.  This post ran a little longer than I had initially anticipated, so below are some quick links to the particular sections that you may be interested in:

Implementing Nexus 5-Day Bootcamp
DC Workbook Delivery
DC Rack Rental Topology
DC Workbook and Rack Rental Pricing

Implementing Nexus 5-Day Bootcamp

Like I said, next week I’m running an online version of our Implementing Nexus 5-Day Bootcamp.  Attendance for this class is split into two groups, those who formally registered, and AAP members. For those who formally registered for class you already know who you are, and you will be getting equipment access as this class is mostly a hands-on one. All other AAP members are more than welcome to attend the lecture portion of class, which will include me showing hands-on examples, explaining the technologies, and taking questions. Class starts tomorrow morning at 07:00 PDT (GMT -7). The link to attend can be found in your members account under the All Access Pass section, as seen below:

Data Center Workbook Delivery

Now onto the real order of business, the DC Workbook and Rack Rentals! Those of you that have been following our DC products know that we’re a little behind schedule for the release of both the workbook and the rack rentals, and I wanted to address here specifically the reasons why. Since Data Center is a completely brand new product line for INE, it has given us carte blanche to build it differently from the get-go, taking into account a lot of feedback that we’ve gotten from customers over the years on how INE’s content is produced and delivered for other tracks. This August will mark the 10-year anniversary since Brian Dennis and I started INE, and we’ve learned a lot over the years as to what works and doesn’t work in respect to building product lines.

The first big change for the DC product line is that the workbook will be delivered exclusively as online content. In the past our workbooks were formatted primarily for print, with online delivery secondary. With DC and with our other workbook products going forward, we’re going to be focusing on an online delivery primarily, with print still available at your own discretion, but not the main focus. To accomplish this we’ve internally developed a new content management and delivery system, which is part of the reason for a delay in our release. As they say in project management you have the options to have it cheap, fast, and good, but you only get to pick two out of the three. Actually in this case I think we only got to pick one out of three because it’s been neither cheap nor fast Without boring you will all the specifics of the new system, here are the important highlights about it:

• Content is still DRM-free

For me personally this is a big one, because I really really despise all forms of DRM. DRM only hurts paying customers, and at the end of the day doesn’t stop someone from stealing your content if they really want to. A lot of INE’s competitors still use DRM, and I’m whole-heartedly against it. Companies that use DRM do so because they care more about their bottom line than about their end customer’s experience, plain and simple. Case and point is EA’s recent debacle with the release of their new SimCity game. Because of DRM, SimCity is on track to be the worst rated product in Amazon’s history.  If you are like me and don’t want DRM-based products then vote with your dollars and don’t buy from companies that use it. Okay now I’ll get down off of my DRM soapbox

• Print is still available

For the first time in a long time, I recently bought a hardcopy book. This particular book was on VMware, I got about one chapter in, and then found myself reading the same book on my iPad through Safari Online the next day.  That poor book is still sitting in the same place that I set it down a few months ago, but I digress. Maybe you work for the LaserJet business unit at HP, or at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, or maybe you just really hate trees, who knows? Regardless, if you want to print out the content you’re more than welcome to. This means you can also print to PDF to take the documents offline.

• Content is now searchable and bookmark-able

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Bookmark a place in the content so you know where you left-off next time. Search will become increasingly more relevant for the delivery system once we begin to port our other content into it, such as the CCIE R&S Lab Workbook Volume 1, which has over 500 pages just in the QoS section alone!

• Making updates and maintaining errata are now much easier for us

With the sheer volume of content that we currently manage, making even the most minor updates becomes a very large project for us. The new system fixes this on our end so we can make updates on the fly which everyone immediately has access to, which also eliminates the need to maintain errata.  This also means we can more quickly respond to feedback and bug reports, which leads us into the next point…

• Simplified feedback submission and bug reporting

While most errors in our content are minor, it can be very frustrating for candidates when I wrote “R1” but I really meant “R2”. Technical accuracy of our content is key, and if you find a problem we want to know about it so it can be fixed. With the new system you’ll be able to submit feedback directly on the page where the content lives, which means that on our end it will make the tracking and fixing of problems must faster and efficient.  We also have more staff dedicated to technical editing and quality assurance of content, so this process will continue to improve from now on.

• More community interaction

Discussion of a particular lab/task will be more tightly integrated with the content itself. This way you can see other peoples questions, comments, etc. that relate to what you are currently working on at the time.

The system of course will continue to grow and improve over time. As it stands the content for the DC workbook is essentially done, the backend for the content management and delivery system is done, but we’re still finishing up tweaking the front-end of it. The system will be going into beta sometime this week, and with your feedback we hope to go to full public launch shortly afterwards. Below you can see some preliminary screen shots of the front end of the system:

Data Center Rack Rental Topology

Last, but definitely not least, is the Data Center Rack Rentals.  After all, without equipment to actually do the labs on the content is useless, right?

The equipment build for DC has actually been the most complicated of my career, as our main goal has been to provide a mix of feature availability and affordability to you, our end users.  I thought that our CCIE SPv3 build was complicated, where when everything was said and done a rack costs us about $15,000 – $20,000 to build give or take, which includes two IOS XR routers.  With DC though it’s not that simple, as a single 10GigE M1 line card for Nexus 7000 retails for about $50,000.  It’s not even eligible for free Amazon Prime shipping!  What a rip-off!

In the end we came up with some creativity in the build, which actually results in us having two separate topologies.  The first topology, which is the one I used for the Implementing Nexus 5-Day Bootcamp last week and am using again for the class next week, can be thought of as the “DC Technologies Topology.”  This is the rack rental topology that will be launching first, as it allows the most affordability and flexibility in which equipment you get access to.  The second topology can be thought of as the “CCIE Data Center Mock Lab Topology”, as it will more closely mirror the topology used in the CCIE DC Lab Exam.  First I’m going to talk about the specifics of the technology topology, and then afterwards talk about the mock lab topology.

Specifically, the DC Technologies Topology is made up of the following equipment:

• 2 x Nexus 7010s, each with 10GigE M1 & F1 Linecards
• 8 x Nexus 5020s, each with a Fibre Channel expansion module
• 2 x Nexus 2232PP 10GigE Fabric Extenders, paired to the 5Ks
• 8 x Windows VMs, dual 1GigE attached to the 5Ks
• 1 x Windows Bare Metal, dual 10GigE attached to the 2Ks
• 2 x UCS 6248 Fabric Interconnects
• 1 x UCS B5108 Blade Chassis
• 2 x UCS B22 M3 with VIC 1240
• 1 x UCS B200 M2 with Emulex CNA
• 1 x MDS 9222i Fibre Channel & IP Storage Switches
• 3 x MDS 9216i Fibre Channel & IP Storage Switches
• 1 x ACE 4710
• 3 x Apache VMs for ACE testing
• 2 x Catalyst 3750Gs for misc. 1GigE connectivity
• Fibre Channel SAN

The above physical topology then breaks down into four logical racks.  In other words, the rack rental scheduler will start with four racks in inventory for every time slot.  Each rack rental is assigned base set of equipment that all rentals get, and then there are then three possible “add-ons” that you can choose.  The add-ons include one for Nexus 2K & SAN, one for UCS & SAN, and one for ACE.  From a high level overview the equipment groupings are as follows:

Specifically the groupings include the following equipment:

• Base N7K & N5K Rental
• 2 x Nexus 7K VDCs
• 2 x Nexus 5Ks
• 2 x Dual 1GigE attached Windows VMs
• ACE Add-on
• ACE 4710
• 3 x Apache VMs
• N2K & SAN Add-on
• 2 x Nexus 2Ks
• 1 x Dual 10GigE attached Windows bare metal
• 2 x MDS 9200’s
• Fibre Channel SAN
• UCS & SAN Add-on
• 2 x UCS 6248 Fabric Interconnects
• 1 x UCS B5108 Blade Chassis
• 2 x UCS B22 M3 with VIC 1240
• 1 x UCS B200 M2 with Emulex CNA
• 2 x MDS 9200’s
• Fibre Channel SAN

Physically the racks are highly interconnected, which down the road will allow candidates to build larger topologies by renting multiple racks at the same time.  At launch time only one base rental will be allowed per booking, but this will be extended in the future.  Physically the overall topology looks as follows:

A more detailed version of the diagram can be found here.

Data Center Workbook and Rack Rental Pricing

This of course now begs the question, how much will it cost?  After all, a $700 workbook that requires you to spend $12,000 in rack rentals with little-to-no availability probably isn’t the best investment of your time or money  For INE’s pricing the DC Technology Workbook will be priced at $399, and base rack pricing starts at 20 tokens for a 2.5 hour session.  Each add-on costs an additional 5 tokens per 2.5 hour session.  In other words if you wanted the base rental plus all three add-ons, the maximum cost is 35 tokens per 2.5 hour session.  With bulk token pricing this equates to about $11 per hour for the entire topology, or about $6 per hour for the base N7K & N5K topology.  As I said our main goal has been to find a happy medium between functionality and the feasibility of people to actually afford renting the sessions.

Feature-wise there are a few limitations of this topology, for example the Nexus 5020s don’t support Adapter FEX or Multihop FCoE like the 5500s do, but in the scheme of things the topics that you cannot do on this topology are minor.  However, for the sake of completeness of content we will also be building a second more advanced topology that will remove these few feature limitations.  This second “CCIE DC Mock Lab Topology” will more closely mirror the actual lab hardware list, and when you rent the mock lab topology you will always get all equipment, including all of the Nexus 7K VDCs, Nexus 5548s, Nexus 2232PPs, UCS B & C servers, MDSes, etc.

This then leads us to the question, how does the workbook relate to the rack rental variations?  From a high level, the workbook is split into three main sections: Nexus Technology Labs, UCS Technology Labs, and CCIE DC Mock Labs.  The initial release of the workbook will be the first two technology labs sections, followed-up by a separate product that is the CCIE DC Mock Labs.  As a parallel to our other product lines you could think of this as similar to the division between CCIE R&S Volumes 1 & 2.  The CCIE DC Mock Lab Workbook will require the CCIE DC Mock Lab Topology, as the name implies.  However for the technology labs, not all labs require access to all equipment.

As part of the introductory section to each technology lab, a note is included to tell you which particular topology is required.  For example the ACE labs obviously require you to rent the ACE 4710, but they don’t require you to rent the Nexus 2K or UCS add-ons.  Likewise a large number of the Nexus Technology Labs only require the base Nexus 7K/5K rental.  As you can probably guess, essentially all of the UCS Technology Labs require that you rent the UCS add-on.  Mostly this is self-explanatory, but it is clearly spelled out in each lab so that you can plan ahead with your rack rental and study schedule.

As I mentioned this week I’m running an Implementing Nexus 5-Day Bootcamp, so all of the equipment will be utilized for that class and won’t be available for beta testing the rack rentals.  The current plan is for DC rack rentals to go into public beta (we’ve already had a number of people doing a private beta for us) the week of April 1^st, along with the workbook.  If you are interested in beta testing just send me an email at bmcgahan@ine.com with the subject line “DC Beta Testing”.  For those of you that already previously submitted an email I still have them and I will be contacting everyone shortly with more details on the beta process.

As always, questions and comments are welcome.  Also feel free to visit the CCIE Data Center General and CCIE Data Center Technical sections of our online community for more detailed discussions.  I’ll be posting another follow-up blog post as the beta progresses and then of course as we go into full public release.

Thanks!

The Cloud Services Router, CSR1000v, which was first announced at Cisco Live in San Diego last year is now available for download. For those who have never heard of the CSR1000v, in a nutshell it’s an IOS XE image running in a virtualized environment (VMWare support now, Citrix XEN, Amazon, Windows Hypervisor and OpenStack in the near future). The CSR1000v is designed as a virtual router (think Quagga but IOS from Cisco) that resides on the hypervisor server as a client instance and provides any services a normal ASR1000 would provide between the other hypervisor’s client instances (Linux servers, Windows servers, etc) and the network infrastructure. This could be something as simple as basic routing or NAT all the way up to advanced technologies like MPLS VPNs or LISP. Basically anything that a real ASR1000 could provide you can do in the CSR1000v with a small exception. This early release only supports 50Mbps throughput due to licensing restrictions. This being the case the specifications from Cisco shows the CSR1000v being capable of pushing 1.17Gpbs max and 438Mbps throughput with an IMIX traffic flow. With the 50Mbps limit it means the CSR1000v at this stage would be deployed more for proof-of-concept as opposed to real production. At this time the throughput is limited by the licensing but I’m sure there are plans to allow for higher throughput licensing in the near future.

If you’re interested in a presentation from Cisco covering the CSR1000v you can view the Cisco Live session from London: Cisco’s Cloud Services Router (CSR 1000V): Extending the Enterprise Network to the Cloud (2013 London) Note that you will need to create an account if you don’t already have an account to view the session.

Personally I’ve been testing out the CSR1000v over this past week and to say the least I’m really impressed at not only the product itself but the possibilites for the CSR1000v. The version available for download is IOS XE 3.9.0aS aka IOS Version 15.3(2)S which means basically any feature you want or need is in this release.

IOS-XE1#show version
Cisco IOS Software, IOS-XE Software (X86_64_LINUX_IOSD-ADVENTERPRISEK9-M), Version 15.3(2)S0a, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2013 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Sat 30-Mar-13 19:08 by mcpre

IOS XE Version: 03.09.00a.S

Cisco IOS-XE software, Copyright (c) 2005-2013 by cisco Systems, Inc.
All rights reserved.  Certain components of Cisco IOS-XE software are
licensed under the GNU General Public License ("GPL") Version 2.0.  The
software code licensed under GPL Version 2.0 is free software that comes
with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.  You can redistribute and/or modify such
GPL code under the terms of GPL Version 2.0.  For more details, see the
documentation or "License Notice" file accompanying the IOS-XE software,
or the applicable URL provided on the flyer accompanying the IOS-XE
software.

ROM: IOS-XE ROMMON

IOS-XE1 uptime is 4 days, 24 minutes
Uptime for this control processor is 4 days, 25 minutes
System returned to ROM by reload
System image file is "bootflash:csr1000v-packages-adventerprisek9.03.09.00a.S.153-2.S"
Last reload reason: 

This product contains cryptographic features and is subject to United
States and local country laws governing import, export, transfer and
use. Delivery of Cisco cryptographic products does not imply
third-party authority to import, export, distribute or use encryption.
Importers, exporters, distributors and users are responsible for
compliance with U.S. and local country laws. By using this product you
agree to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If you are unable
to comply with U.S. and local laws, return this product immediately.

A summary of U.S. laws governing Cisco cryptographic products may be found at:

http://www.cisco.com/wwl/export/crypto/tool/stqrg.html

If you require further assistance please contact us by sending email to
export@cisco.com.

cisco CSR1000V (VXE) processor with 1141428K/6147K bytes of memory.
Processor board ID 926O40RARZR
2 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
32768K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
4194304K bytes of physical memory.
7774207K bytes of virtual hard disk at bootflash:.

Configuration register is 0x2102

IOS-XE1#
IOS-XE1#conf t
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
IOS-XE1(config)#router ?
  bgp       Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
  eigrp     Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)
  isis      ISO IS-IS
  iso-igrp  IGRP for OSI networks
  lisp      Locator/ID Separation Protocol
  mobile    Mobile routes
  odr       On Demand stub Routes
  ospf      Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
  ospfv3    OSPFv3
  rip       Routing Information Protocol (RIP)

IOS-XE1(config)#router bgp 1
IOS-XE1(config-router)#address-family ?
  ipv4      Address family
  ipv6      Address family
  l2vpn     Address family
  nsap      Address family
  rtfilter  Address family
  vpnv4     Address family
  vpnv6     Address family

IOS-XE1(config-router)#exit
IOS-XE1(config)#ipv6 unicast-routing
IOS-XE1(config)#router ospfv3 1
IOS-XE1(config-router)#address-family ?
  ipv4  Address family
  ipv6  Address family

IOS-XE1(config-router)#address-family ipv4
IOS-XE1(config-router-af)#?
Router Address Family configuration commands:
  area                   OSPF area parameters
  auto-cost              Calculate OSPF interface cost according to bandwidth
  bfd                    BFD configuration commands
  compatible             Compatibility list
  default                Set a command to its defaults
  default-information    Control distribution of default information
  default-metric         Set metric of redistributed routes
  discard-route          Enable or disable discard-route installation
  distance               Define an administrative distance
  distribute-list        Filter networks in routing updates
  event-log              Event Logging
  exit-address-family    Exit from Address Family configuration mode
  graceful-restart       Graceful-restart options
  help                   Description of the interactive help system
  interface-id           Source of the interface ID
  limit                  Limit a specific OSPF feature
  log-adjacency-changes  Log changes in adjacency state
  max-lsa                Maximum number of non self-generated LSAs to accept
  max-metric             Set maximum metric
  maximum-paths          Forward packets over multiple paths
  no                     Negate a command or set its defaults
  nsr                    Enable non-stop routing
  passive-interface      Suppress routing updates on an interface
  prefix-suppression     Enable prefix suppression
  queue-depth            Hello/Router process queue depth
  redistribute           Redistribute information from another routing protocol
  router-id              router-id for this OSPF process
  shutdown               Shutdown the router process
  snmp                   Modify snmp parameters
  summary-prefix         Configure IP address summaries
  timers                 Adjust routing timers

IOS-XE1(config-router-af)#

I’ve tested a lot of features (LISP, BGP, NAT, etc) over this past week and haven’t stumbled across any issues related to the CSR1000v itself. The only issues I’ve ran into related to not giving the VM the required 4GB of RAM and it would complain when I started enabling features. The CSR1000v doesn’t use much CPU but it does require 4GB of RAM per instance. I’ve had over 30 CSR1000v instances running on my ESXi 5.1 development server without a problem.

So what does this mean for people preparing for a Cisco certification or just looking to learn networking? I hate to use buzzwords but this really is a game changer. The CSR1000v is like “crack” for a networking addict. You want to learn a technology or a feature then the CSR1000v is really the only way to go if you don’t have or want to setup real hardware. I have access to tons of real hardware and I would never consider giving it up for GNS3 or IOU but I would for the CSR1000v. The image is very stable and fast plus has everything you could need. Want to learn LISP? Want to learn OTV? Want to learn MPLS VPNs? What to learn VPLS? Want to learn OSPFv3 for IPv4? The CSR1000v is the way to go.

I’ll post a detailed instruction tomorrow on how to install and get it up and running based upon my experience running it in VMWare ESXi and on VMWare Workstation but here are a couple quick notes for those who can’t wait. VMWare ESXi Enterprise version has a built in console server which will allow to you via the virtual serial console over the VMWare console.

Brians-MacBook-Pro-3:~ ccie2210$ telnet 10.4.210.100 2004
Trying 10.4.210.100...
Connected to 10.4.210.100.
Escape character is '^]'.

IOS-XE4#
IOS-XE4#show version | in LINUX
Cisco IOS Software, IOS-XE Software (X86_64_LINUX_IOSD-ADVENTERPRISEK9-M), Version 15.3(2)S0a, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
IOS-XE4#

This is really nice to have. If you don’t want to fork out the crazy money for the Enterprise licensing from VMWare then you could run the demo for 60 days and then reinstall or you could create a “management” interface in each instance and use it for telnet access. The CSR1000v allows you to create as many interfaces on the router as the host machine will support so creating one dedicated to management isn’t a problem.

IOS-XE4#show platform software vnic-if interface-mapping
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 Interface Name        Short Name  vNIC Name         Mac Addr
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 GigabitEthernet0       Gi0        eth0 (vmxnet3)    000c.2965.dc56
 GigabitEthernet2       Gi2        eth2 (vmxnet3)    000c.2965.dc6a
 GigabitEthernet1       Gi1        eth1 (vmxnet3)    000c.2965.dc60
-------------------------------------------------------------------

IOS-XE4#
IOS-XE4#show run int g0
Building configuration...

Current configuration : 113 bytes
!
interface GigabitEthernet0
 vrf forwarding Mgmt-intf
 ip address 10.1.1.4 255.255.255.0
 negotiation auto
end

IOS-XE4#

Lastly when you install the CSR1000v it comes with a 60 day license for 50Mbps throughput. After that expires it drops to 2.5Mbps which is still fine if you are using it in a test environment or for learning.

IOS-XE4#show platform hardware throughput level
The current throughput level is 50000 kb/s
IOS-XE4#

As I said earlier, tomorrow I’ll post a detailed instructions on how to setup a lab using the CSR1000v along with how I’m using the CSR1000v as my home router

Once you have ESXi 5.1 up and running download the CSR1000v OVA (Open Virtualization Archive) file here. Note that you will need to use your Cisco CCO login to download. Once the download is complete you need to open your vSphere Client and connect to your ESXi server. Once connected select the Deploy OVF Template option from the file menu.

Select the source of the OVA file you downloaded from your local machine.

The next screen should be simular to the one below after the source has been selected.

The next screen will display the name for the virtual machine. You can change this if you would like.

Now you need to select the datastore:

Next you will be offered the select the disk format. The default option of Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed is fine but for better performance you can select Thick Provision Eager Zeroed. To read more on the options go here.

The next screen will ask you for the mappings for the three Gigabit Ethernet interfaces that are defined in the OVF file. Just select the default here for now and we’ll come back to them after our machine is installed as we need to make a couple other changes anyways that can’t be done here.

The next screen will be a summary screen so just click finish and then VMWare will start importing the OVA file.

It may take a few minutes to import depending on the connection speed between your vSphere client and the ESXi server.

Once your machine uploaded you can then edit the settings.

Two things we want to do here. First is that we want to alter the Network Adapter settings if needed and add a serial port so that we can use the virtual serial on the CSR1000v. This functionality (network based serial port) requires the Enterprise version of ESXi 5.1. I would recommend that you use the demo version which gives you 59 days unless you have to reinstall the demo

From here click “Add..” and then select Serial Port and click “Next”

Select “Connect via Network”

Now here is where you want to select “Server” and then enter the IP address of the ESXi server along with the TCP port you want to assign to this machine. Also check “Connect at power on”.

After this click finish and we’re ready to start up the CSR1000v. Once booted you should see the GRUB menu. Select CSR 1000V Serial Console and hit enter.

You will need to alter the default security settings for the ESXi server to allow TCP port 2005 or whatever port you selected to allow you to telnet to the CSR1000v’s serial port. To alter the security settings go to the ESXi’s configuration and then select “Security Profile”

From here click on the Firewall Properties link on the right. It will open a window like below:

Here you will need to allow TCP port 2005 or if you are in a lab environment just select “VM serial port connected over network” which will open up all TCP high ports. Now telnet to the IP address of the ESXi machine and port number you entered for the serial port and you should see the router booting.

ccie2210$ telnet 10.4.101.168 2005
Trying 10.4.101.168...
Connected to 10.4.101.168.
Escape character is '^]'.
%IOSXEBOOT-4-BOOT_CDROM: (rp/0): Expanding super package on /bootflash
%IOSXEBOOT-4-BOOT_CDROM: (rp/0): Creating /boot/grub/menu.lst
%IOSXEBOOT-4-BOOT_CDROM: (rp/0): CD-ROM Installation finished
%IOSXEBOOT-4-BOOT_CDROM: (rp/0): Ejecting CD-ROM tray
%IOSXEBOOT-4-BOOT_CDROM: (rp/0): Rebooting from HD

    GNU GRUB  version 0.97  (638K lower / 3143552K upper memory)

-------------------------------------------------------------------
 0: CSR1000v - packages.conf
 1: CSR1000v - GOLDEN IMAGE
-------------------------------------------------------------------

      Use the ^ and v keys to select which entry is highlighted.
      Press enter to boot the selected OS, or 'c' for a command-line.

    Entry 0 will be booted automatically in 1 seconds.
  Booting 'CSR1000v - packages.conf'

root (hd0,0)
 Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
kernel /packages.conf rw quiet root=/dev/ram console= max_loop=64 HARDWARE=virt
ual SR_BOOT=bootflash:packages.conf
Calculating SHA-1 hash...done
SHA-1 hash:
        calculated   6f85a7c5:ebd0151a:b5ada94a:f7a7be4b:d7de713f
        expected     6f85a7c5:ebd0151a:b5ada94a:f7a7be4b:d7de713f
package header rev 1 structure detected
Calculating SHA-1 hash...done
SHA-1 hash:
        calculated   d4ab3a48:ae55f382:4237a12a:7be2c99b:d8f1f594
        expected     d4ab3a48:ae55f382:4237a12a:7be2c99b:d8f1f594
Package type:0x7531, flags:0x0
   [Linux-bzImage, setup=0x2e00, size=0x32e4620]
   [isord @ 0x7e0f6000, 0x1ef9800 bytes]

%IOSXEBOOT-4-WATCHDOG_DISABLED: (rp/0): Hardware watchdog timer disabled: watchdog device not found
%IOSXEBOOT-4-EUSB_PROVISIONING: (rp/0): Unsupported low capacity eUSB detected in VXE board

              Restricted Rights Legend

Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is
subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph
(c) of the Commercial Computer Software - Restricted
Rights clause at FAR sec. 52.227-19 and subparagraph
(c) (1) (ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer
Software clause at DFARS sec. 252.227-7013.

           cisco Systems, Inc.
           170 West Tasman Drive
           San Jose, California 95134-1706

Cisco IOS Software, IOS-XE Software (X86_64_LINUX_IOSD-ADVENTERPRISEK9-M), Version 15.3(2)S0a, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2013 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Sat 30-Mar-13 19:08 by mcpre

Cisco IOS-XE software, Copyright (c) 2005-2013 by cisco Systems, Inc.
All rights reserved.  Certain components of Cisco IOS-XE software are
licensed under the GNU General Public License ("GPL") Version 2.0.  The
software code licensed under GPL Version 2.0 is free software that comes
with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.  You can redistribute and/or modify such
GPL code under the terms of GPL Version 2.0.  For more details, see the
documentation or "License Notice" file accompanying the IOS-XE software,
or the applicable URL provided on the flyer accompanying the IOS-XE
software.

% failed to initialize nvram

This product contains cryptographic features and is subject to United
States and local country laws governing import, export, transfer and
use. Delivery of Cisco cryptographic products does not imply
third-party authority to import, export, distribute or use encryption.
Importers, exporters, distributors and users are responsible for
compliance with U.S. and local country laws. By using this product you
agree to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If you are unable
to comply with U.S. and local laws, return this product immediately.

A summary of U.S. laws governing Cisco cryptographic products may be found at:

http://www.cisco.com/wwl/export/crypto/tool/stqrg.html

If you require further assistance please contact us by sending email to
export@cisco.com.

cisco CSR1000V (VXE) processor with 1141424K/6147K bytes of memory.
Processor board ID 940WXLZ2LL4
2 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
32768K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
4194304K bytes of physical memory.
7774207K bytes of virtual hard disk at bootflash:.

SETUP: new interface GigabitEthernet2 placed in "shutdown" state
SETUP: new interface GigabitEthernet0 placed in "shutdown" state

Press RETURN to get started!

*Apr 16 03:17:58.679: %IOSXE_RP_NV-3-NV_ACCESS_FAIL: Initial read of NVRAM contents failed
*Apr 16 03:17:59.305: %VXE_THROUGHPUT-6-LEVEL: Throughput level has been set to 2500 kbps
*Apr 16 03:18:02.785: %IFMGR-7-NO_IFINDEX_FILE: Unable to open nvram:/ifIndex-table No such file or directory
*Apr 16 03:18:04.449: DSENSOR: protocol cdp is registered with sensor
*Apr 16 03:18:04.470: %SPANTREE-5-EXTENDED_SYSID: Extended SysId enabled for type vlan
*Apr 16 03:18:04.911: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Lsmpi0, changed state to up
*Apr 16 03:18:04.912: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface EOBC0, changed state to up
*Apr 16 03:18:04.912: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface VoIP-Null0, changed state to up
*Apr 16 03:18:04.912: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface LI-Null0, changed state to up
*Apr 16 03:18:05.356: %IOSXE_MGMTVRF-6-CREATE_SUCCESS_INFO: Management vrf Mgmt-intf created with ID 1, ipv4 table-id 0x1, ipv6 table-id 0x1E000001
*Apr 16 03:18:05.406: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface GigabitEthernet0, changed state to down
*Apr 16 03:18:05.410: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface LIIN0, changed state to up
*Apr 16 03:18:05.455: %DYNCMD-7-CMDSET_LOADED: The Dynamic Command set has been loaded from the Shell Manager
*Apr 16 03:18:05.871: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface GigabitEthernet1, changed state to down
*Apr 16 03:18:05.880: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface GigabitEthernet2, changed state to down
*Apr 16 03:17:58.400: %IOSXE-5-PLATFORM: R0/0: xinetd[19698]: xinetd Version 2.3.14 started with no options compiled in.
*Apr 16 03:17:58.400: %IOSXE-5-PLATFORM: R0/0: xinetd[19698]: Started working: 1 available service
*Apr 16 03:17:58.434: %IOSXE-5-PLATFORM: R0/0: xinetd[19709]: xinetd Version 2.3.14 started with no options compiled in.
*Apr 16 03:17:58.434: %IOSXE-5-PLATFORM: R0/0: xinetd[19709]: Started working: 3 available services
*Apr 16 03:17:59.634: %CMRP-5-PRERELEASE_HARDWARE: R0/0: cmand:  F0 is pre-release hardware
*Apr 16 03:18:00.823: %CMLIB-6-THROUGHPUT_VALUE: R0/0: cmand:  Throughput license found, throughput set to 2500 kbps
*Apr 16 03:18:03.063: %CPPHA-7-START: F0: cpp_ha:  CPP 0 preparing image /tmp/sw/fp/0/0/fp/mount/usr/cpp/bin/qfp-ucode-csr
*Apr 16 03:18:03.179: %CPPHA-7-START: F0: cpp_ha:  CPP 0 startup init image /tmp/sw/fp/0/0/fp/mount/usr/cpp/bin/qfp-ucode-csr
*Apr 16 03:18:06.407: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface GigabitEthernet0, changed state to down
*Apr 16 03:18:06.409: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface LIIN0, changed state to up
*Apr 16 03:18:06.872: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface GigabitEthernet1, changed state to down
*Apr 16 03:18:06.881: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface GigabitEthernet2, changed state to down
*Apr 16 03:18:07.325: %DYNCMD-7-PKGINT_INSTALLED: The command package 'platform_trace' has been succesfully installed
*Apr 16 03:18:25.342: AUTOINSTALL: GigabitEthernet1 is assigned 10.4.101.228
*Apr 16 03:18:41.567: %LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface GigabitEthernet0, changed state to administratively down
*Apr 16 03:18:41.782: %LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface GigabitEthernet2, changed state to administratively down
*Apr 16 03:18:43.361: %IOSXE_OIR-6-INSCARD: Card (rp) inserted in slot R1
*Apr 16 03:18:43.361: %IOSXE_OIR-6-INSCARD: Card (fp) inserted in slot F0
*Apr 16 03:18:43.361: %IOSXE_OIR-6-ONLINECARD: Card (fp) online in slot F0
*Apr 16 03:18:43.423: %SYS-5-RESTART: System restarted --
Cisco IOS Software, IOS-XE Software (X86_64_LINUX_IOSD-ADVENTERPRISEK9-M), Version 15.3(2)S0a, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2013 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Sat 30-Mar-13 19:08 by mcpre
*Apr 16 03:18:43.501: %CRYPTO-6-ISAKMP_ON_OFF: ISAKMP is OFF
*Apr 16 03:18:43.501: %CRYPTO-6-GDOI_ON_OFF: GDOI is OFF
*Apr 16 03:18:43.540: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface GigabitEthernet1, changed state to up
*Apr 16 03:18:44.541: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface GigabitEthernet1, changed state to up
%Error opening tftp://255.255.255.255/network-confg (Timed out)
%Error opening tftp://255.255.255.255/cisconet.cfg (Timed out)
%Error opening tftp://255.255.255.255/router-confg (Timed out)
%Error opening tftp://255.255.255.255/ciscortr.cfg (Timed out)
%Error opening tftp://255.255.255.255/network-confg (Timed out)
%Error opening tftp://255.255.255.255/cisconet.cfg (Timed out)
%Error opening tftp://255.255.255.255/router-confg (Timed out)
%Error opening tftp://255.255.255.255/ciscortr.cfg (Timed out)
Router>

At this point I haven’t activated the license so the router is limited to 2.5Mbps throughput. To activate the demo license use the platform hardware throughput level command in global configuration mode.

Router>en
Router#conf t
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
Router(config)#platform hardware throughput level ?
  10000  throughput in kbps
  25000  throughput in kbps
  50000  throughput in kbps

Router(config)#platform hardware throughput level 50000
	 Feature Name:prem_eval

PLEASE  READ THE  FOLLOWING TERMS  CAREFULLY. INSTALLING THE LICENSE OR
LICENSE  KEY  PROVIDED FOR  ANY CISCO  PRODUCT  FEATURE  OR  USING SUCH
PRODUCT  FEATURE  CONSTITUTES  YOUR  FULL ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE FOLLOWING
TERMS. YOU MUST NOT PROCEED FURTHER IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO  BE BOUND
BY ALL THE TERMS SET FORTH HEREIN.

Use of this product feature requires  an additional license from Cisco,
together with an additional  payment.  You may use this product feature
on an evaluation basis, without payment to Cisco, for 60 days. Your use
of the  product,  including  during the 60 day  evaluation  period,  is
subject to the Cisco end user license agreement

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/warranty/English/EU1KEN_.html

If you use the product feature beyond the 60 day evaluation period, you
must submit the appropriate payment to Cisco for the license. After the
60 day  evaluation  period,  your  use of the  product  feature will be
governed  solely by the Cisco  end user license agreement (link above),
together  with any supplements  relating to such product  feature.  The
above  applies  even if the evaluation  license  is  not  automatically
terminated  and you do  not receive any notice of the expiration of the
evaluation  period.  It is your  responsibility  to  determine when the
evaluation  period is complete and you are required to make  payment to
Cisco for your use of the product feature beyond the evaluation period.

Your  acceptance  of  this agreement  for the software  features on one
product  shall be deemed  your  acceptance  with  respect  to all  such
software  on all Cisco  products  you purchase  which includes the same
software.  (The foregoing  notwithstanding, you must purchase a license
for each software  feature you use past the 60 days evaluation  period,
so  that  if you enable a software  feature on  1000  devices, you must
purchase 1000 licenses for use past  the 60 day evaluation period.)    

Activation  of the  software command line interface will be evidence of
your acceptance of this agreement.

ACCEPT? (yes/[no]): yes

*Apr 16 04:30:21.271: %LICENSE-6-EULA_ACCEPTED: EULA for feature prem_eval 1.0 has been accepted. UDI=CSR1000V:940WXLZ2LL4; StoreIndex=0:Built-In License Storage
Router(config)#
*Apr 16 04:30:23.939: %VXE_THROUGHPUT-6-LEVEL: Throughput level has been set to 50000 kbps
Router(config)#

This technically isn’t needed if you are going to use it in a lab environment. At this point your router is ready to go.

Router(config)#do sho run
Building configuration...

Current configuration : 1047 bytes
!
version 15.3
service timestamps debug datetime msec
service timestamps log datetime msec
no platform punt-keepalive disable-kernel-core
platform console serial
platform hardware throughput level 50000
!
hostname Router
!
boot-start-marker
boot-end-marker
!
!
vrf definition Mgmt-intf
 !
 address-family ipv4
 exit-address-family
 !
 address-family ipv6
 exit-address-family
!
!
no aaa new-model
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
multilink bundle-name authenticated
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
spanning-tree extend system-id
!
!
redundancy
 mode none
!
!
!
!
!
!
ip tftp source-interface GigabitEthernet0
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
interface GigabitEthernet1
 no ip address
 shutdown
 negotiation auto
!
interface GigabitEthernet2
 no ip address
 shutdown
 negotiation auto
!
interface GigabitEthernet0
 vrf forwarding Mgmt-intf
 no ip address
 shutdown
 negotiation auto
!
ip forward-protocol nd
!
no ip http server
no ip http secure-server
!
!
!
!
control-plane
!
 !
 !
 !
!
!
!
!
line con 0
 stopbits 1
line aux 0
 stopbits 1
line vty 0 4
 login
!
!
end

Router(config)#

Now that my router is ready to go I’ll clone it because a single router isn’t much to learn on. Ideally if you are going to reuse this machine in the future you wait to activate the license after the device is cloned. To clone the machine go to the server configuration tab and then select the datastore where you installed the CSR1000v onto and then right click on it. From there select “Browse Datastore…”

From here go under the directory for the CSR1000v and copy the contents of the directory. From there click on the root of the datastore and then select the folder icon to add a new directory.

Enter the directory name and then paste the contents into the new directory. After it has been pasted in, right click on the “Cisco CSR1000v Cloud Services Router.vmx” file and select “Add to Inventory”. Change the default name if you would like and select the “Resource Pool” and finally finish.

You should now see the second CSR1000v in your ESXi server’s inventory. From there we’ll edit the settings to change the TCP port number for the virtual serial port and apply any VLANs from the ESXi to the CSR1000v’s Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.

You are now ready to start up the second router. Note that after you start it VMware will ask you if you copied the virtual machine or moved it. Select “I copied it” and then click ok. Your router will now boot up.

ccie2210$ telnet 10.4.101.168 2006
Trying 10.4.101.168...
Connected to 10.4.101.168.
Escape character is '^]'.
    Entry 0 will be booted automatically in 1 seconds.
  Booting 'CSR1000v - packages.conf'

root (hd0,0)
 Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
kernel /packages.conf rw quiet root=/dev/ram console= max_loop=64 HARDWARE=virt
ual SR_BOOT=bootflash:packages.conf
Calculating SHA-1 hash...done
SHA-1 hash:
        calculated   6f85a7c5:ebd0151a:b5ada94a:f7a7be4b:d7de713f
        expected     6f85a7c5:ebd0151a:b5ada94a:f7a7be4b:d7de713f
package header rev 1 structure detected
Calculating SHA-1 hash...done

The router will now be booting up and ready to go.

Use the same procedure outlined above to create as many routers as you like. You will of course want to create VLANs within the ESXi server to allow communication between the routers. For an overview of how to manage the ESXi’s networking configuration go here.

Tomorrow I’ll post another installation guide on how to install the CSR1000v in VMware Workstation and use it as a production router providing internet access.

Lastly if anyone would like to try out a few of these send me an email and I’ll get you access.

Last week we quietly snuck into the All Access Pass the recordings of the live UC on UCS and Nexus 1000v on UCS classes that I ran just a few weeks back. If you have never run Unified Communications in a virtual environment or have never worked with a distributed virtual switch in a VMware environment, these classes will certainly aid you in preparing for that first deployment. If you have worked with either product for a little while, these classes will deepen your understanding of what’s needed and what’s really going on behind the scenes. The Nexus 1000v class is also very useful for the Unified Communications engineer, as most deployments these days are virtual machines, and the Nexus 1000v is the recommended L2 switch to run them on, since the UCS can only match/mark at L2 CoS, whereas the Nexus 1000v allows you to match the L3 DSCP that the UC servers are natively sending and map them to a L2 CoS value, which is currently the only value seen and honored by any of your UCS or Nexus switches in your modern data centers.

I will be furthering this series with classes on the VSG with VNMC, the ASA 1000v, and later with the InterCloud 1000v as well as possibly more virtual devices in the weeks to come.

Normally we don’t post many individual congratulations to new CCIEs, not at all because we don’t wish to recognize them, rather simply because the shear number of passers would overwhelm our blog. In fact we do recognize ever single CCIE passer with a very nice custom polo shirt with their name, number and CCIE logo on it. However, today we felt it important to recognize the first CCIE Data Center having passed using our materials. He talks quite openly about the preparation and his experience taking the lab in Brussels, here on his blog. In passing, Iwan mentions on his blog that he used our CCIE Data Center – Video Courses and our CCIE Data Center – Workbook, along with the myriad of reading material required to pass the exam. Iwan is no stranger to the CCIE exam, this being his 5th CCIE, along with Routing and Switching, Security, Service Provider and Voice, so for him to say this exam was difficult and that he was working up to the last moment is actually saying quite a lot.

Congratulations Iwan!

Also to note, we recently put on our schedule our brand new CCIE Data Center 10-Day Bootcamps with 2 locations in both Los Angeles and Seattle.

Cisco Nexus, Cisco Unified Computing Systemn (UCS), Cisco MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches, and Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR) are all based on the Cisco NX-OS operating system. These products are affected by one or more of the following vulnerabilities:

Multiple Cisco Discovery Protocol Vulnerabilities in Cisco NX-OS-Based Products
Cisco NX-OS Software SNMP and License Manager Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
Cisco NX-OS Software SNMP Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
Cisco NX-OS Software Jumbo Packet Denial of Service Vulnerability

Cisco has released free software updates that address these vulnerabilities.

This advisory is available at the following link:
http://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20130424-nxosmulti

Our new “CCIE Data Center – Implementing Nexus” course is now available in AAP and members site accounts. The course is just under 18 hours in length and covers the Nexus 7k, 5k and 2k platforms. It’ll be available for direct purchase in the next few hours.

http://www.ine.com/all-access-pass/training/playlist/ccie-dc-implementing-nexus

The image below says it all.

Congratulations to Brian McGahan on passing the CCIE Data Center Lab Exam today on his first attempt!  This makes Brian a 4 x CCIE (R&S, SP, Security, DC) and CCDE!  Brian will be writing up a follow-up post on his way back from San Jose with more information on his journey to passing the CCIE DC.  Congrats BM!

A few changes have occurred with regards to the CCIE Data Center certification, some on Cisco’s part and a few on ours.

Cisco Makes a Change

Firstly, released a new testing rack into the system in the middle of last week, and a lot of new seats have opened up to sit for the CCIE Data Center exam. Jump online and book yours today if you’ve been waiting for one.

Next, Cisco made a seemingly inconspicuous change a few weeks back to the “Lab Equipment and Software Versions” document, not by adding anything, but rather by removing most minor version numbers from software that was previously listed. This doesn’t go against anything Cisco has done in the past or anything that they normally let the candidate know six months ahead of time – that goes for major software revisions or hardware changes only.

For instance, the software section previously looked like this:
• NXOS v6.0(2) on Nexus 7000 Switches
• NXOS v5.1(3) on Nexus 5000 Switches
• NXOS v4.2(1) on Nexus 1000v
• NXOS v5.2(2) on MDS 9222i Switches
• UCS Software release 2.0(1x) for UCS-6248 Fabric Interconnect
• Software Release A5(1.0) for ACE 4710
• Cisco Data Center Manager software v5.2(2)

And today looks simply like this:
• NXOS v6.x on Nexus 7000 Switches
• NXOS v5.x on Nexus 5000 Switches
• NXOS v4.x on Nexus 1000v
• NXOS v5.x on MDS 9222i Switches
• UCS Software release 2.x for UCS-6248 Fabric Interconnect
• Software Release A5(1.0) for ACE 4710
• Cisco Data Center Manager software v5.x
_{(A bit funny that ACE didn’t feel the love and remained untouched)}

The implications to this are that things like a ‘true’ Admin context in Nexus 7Ks Sup1s (Sup2(e)s already have this) as well as Native FC Zoning in UCS, Single-Wire Cable Management for UCS C-Series from FIs and the biggest of all, Northbound FCoE from the UCS, can be potentially tested in the future. We’re told that for now many of these new UCS 2.1 features are not being tested, but we’ll go ahead and add content for them to prepare you.

What INE is Doing About it

We will be upgrading our code following our currently full bootcamp, which will give you the option to practice with the new features, while changing nothing from the current features that you already test with on our racks. We also will be adding scenarios to our online workbooks in the coming weeks, specifically demonstrating and testing you on these new features. Finally, beginning on November 16, you will see the amount of racks we have available for rent more than double.

We’ll continue to stay ahead of all major and minor changes that occur in the CCIE Data Center space and alert you as things progress.

Also, we’re currently completely booked full in our Data Center classes until March, and even now March and April classes are nearing capacity. If you have any intention of getting into one of these, you’d better head over here and register for one today.

We’ve heard you loud and clear, and we understand that gaining access to Nexus 7000s, Nexus 5000s, UCS and Storage for hands-on practice is probably one of the more difficult parts of studying for the CCNA/CCNP and CCIE Data Center certifications. That’s why we’re happy to announce that we have just added 5 new DC racks available for rental immediately.

Enjoy – and remember to lab responsibly this holiday season.

In an effort to make our CCIE Data Center Rack Rentals have a better fair scheduler, we’ve implemented a new QoS policy for them as follows:

• Users can have a maximum of 3 concurrent sessions scheduled
• Sessions can be a maximum of 9 hours apiece
• Maximum hours per month limit is now removed
• Base sessions (Nexus 7K/5K) and add-ons (UCS/SAN & Nexus 2K/SAN) are now 8 tokens per hour

Note that these changes will only affect new session bookings, not any sessions that you already have reserved.

For those of you looking for more dedicated rack time I would suggest to look into our CCIE Data Center Bootcamp, where students get 12 days of 24/7 access to all hardware platforms in our racks (Nexus 7K/5K/2K, MDS, & UCS).

Happy Labbing!

Our CCIE Data Center version 2.0 Rack Rental system is now in beta testing phase.  Click here to submit a request for beta access and I will contact you directly with more details on timing and availability.

Our CCIE DCv2 Rack Rentals consist of the following:

• Nexus 9300 ACI Spines
• Nexus 9300 ACI Leafs
• Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC)
• Nexus 7000s with F3 line cards
• Nexus 5600s
• Nexus 2300 & 2200 10GigE Fabric Extenders
• UCS C series rack servers
• UCS B series blade servers
• UCS 6248 Fabric Interconnects
• Nexus 1000v virtual switch
• Dual 10GigE attached hosts for application testing
• Fibre Channel SAN
• iSCSI SAN

The visual topology topology diagrams are as follows:

One of the most anticipated videos series in INE history is now available in our streaming library – Cisco’s Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Part 1 – Network Centric Mode!

This course is part of our new CCIE Data Center v2 Advanced Technologies Series, which also currently includes the following new courses:

• Layer 2 Switching on Nexus NX-OS
• Nexus Virtual Port Channels (vPC)
• Nexus Fabric Extenders (FEX)
• Nexus FabricPath
• Layer 3 Routing on Nexus NX-OS
• Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) on Nexus NX-OS
• Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Part 1 – Network Centric Mode

Access to these courses and more is now available through INE’s All Access Pass subscription.

The DCv2 Advanced Technologies Series also has additional upcoming courses scheduled that include:

• Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Part 2 – Application Centric Mode
• Nexus Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV)
• Locator/ID Separation Protocol (LISP) on Nexus NX-OS
• Storage Area Network (SAN) Switching on Nexus NX-OS
• Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS)
• Nexus NX-OS Security
• Nexus NX-OS Security
• Quality of Service (QoS) on Nexus NX-OS
• Network Services & Management on Nexus NX-OS
• Automation and Orchestration with Nexus NX-OS

In addition to the video courses, INE’s CCIE DCv2 Lab Workbook is currently available in beta testing, along with our CCIE DCv2 Rack Rentals. The public rack rental scheduler will be posted shortly, and a separate announcement will be posted about its availability and how to use it.

Happy Studying!