Brian McGahan, CCIE #8593, CCDE #2013::13

Author Archives: Brian McGahan, CCIE #8593, CCDE #2013::13

CCIE DCv2 Update – Cisco ACI, VXLAN EVPN Videos, & More Now Available

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:

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 Continue reading

CCIE DCv2 Beta Rack Rentals Now Available

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:

INE’s CCIE DCv2 Topology & Content Updates

Now that Cisco Live US 2016 is winding down, we’re going full steam ahead with our CCIE Data Center version 2.0 Blueprint updates.  For those of you that haven’t seen it, my live blog of the CCIE DCv2 Techtorial @ Cisco Live US 2016 can help to answer some additional questions about the exam content and format changes.

Some important upcoming dates in the short term are:

For those of you that have already spent time working on the DCv1 blueprint and are transitioning to DCv2, I would highly recommend to check out the online class the week of August 1st.  I’ll mainly be focusing on the technologies that changed in the blueprint, such as Nexus 9k, ACI, BGP EVPN signaled VxLAN, etc.

Additionally, our new class and rack rental topology has been finalized.  Some of the key topology changes are as follows:

CCIE DCv2 Techtorial @ Cisco Live US 2016

This morning I’m in Las Vegas for Cisco Live 2016, and am attending TECCCIE-3644 – CCIE DC Techtorial which focuses on the new CCIE Data Center v2 updates.

I’m live blogging the session so please feel free to submit your questions for the CCIE team as a comment here and I’ll try to get an answer for you.

Slides from the session are available here.

Update 6 – 13:55PDT - UCS will be running 3.x, not 2.x as currently listed on the blueprint.

Update 5 – 11:30PDT - Starting Storage Networking now. Interested to see what the scope is going to be now with the MDSes removed and the N9K’s added.

Update 4 – 09:15PDT - One major format change for the CCIE DCv2 Lab Exam is the introduction of the Diagnostics section, similar to other tracks such as RSv5. Here are some highlights and demo questions illustrating the format of the Diag section.

  • Diag section consists of one or more independent Tasks.
  • Each Task can have one or more Questions.
  • Questions are typically 1 point apiece, but could be 2 or 3 points.
  • Each Question within a task is graded individually. It is possible to get Task Continue reading

Congrats to Neil Moore – **NINE TIME** CCIE & CCDE!

Congratulations to Neil Moore on passing the CCDE Practical Exam this week, and becoming a NONTUPLE (9x) CCIE & CCDE!

Neil was a student in both my CCIE Data Center Bootcamp and CCDE Bootcamp within the past few years, and is truly an inspiration to us all. Neil’s brother Kelly is also a CCIE in Data Center. Neil likes to introduce himself and his brother to people at Cisco Live that they have 9 CCIEs between the two of them! ;) This year Neil gets to bump that up to 10 CCIEs and CCDE between the two of them!

Neil for sure will win the longest badge this year at Cisco Live 2016 Las Vegas!

Neil currently works for VMWare as an NSX Systems Engineer, is a VMware Certified Implementation Expert — Network Virtualization (VCIX-NV), and has plans to pursue the VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX).

Congrats Neil!

INE & VIRL Webinar – Using INE, VIRL, & the Cloud for Large Scale CCIE Preparation

This coming Tuesday, April 19th 2016, at 09:00 PDT (17:00 UTC) I will be joining the VIRL team for a discussion and demo of using cloud hosted servers, VIRL, and INE material for CCIE preparation, with a focus on large topologies (30+ devices). The Webex signup link is here. The session will also be simulcast on live.ine.com.

Specifically in this session I will be covering:

  • How to deploy VIRL on cloud servers
  • Loading INE topology files into the VIRL cloud instance through GIT
  • Launching and managing multiple large topologies

Attendees will also have an opportunity to submit questions to me as well as the VIRL team.

Hope to see you there!

CCIE SPv4 Rack Rentals Now Available

Rack Rentals for INE’s CCIE Service Provider v4 topology are now available at rentals.ine.com.

Both CCIE RSv5 Full Scale Labs and CCIE SPv4 now share the same topology in the scheduler, which consists of the following devices:

  • 20 x IOS XE virtual machine instances (R1 – R20)
  • 4 x IOS XRv virtual machine instances (R21 – R24)
  • 4 x Catalyst 3560 physical switches (SW1 – SW4)

IOS XRv instances can be managed through the control panel similar to other devices in the topology, as seen below:

CCIE Data Center v2.0 Blueprint Announced

Cisco has just announced CCIE Data Center Written and Lab Exam Content Updates.Important dates for the changes are:

  • Last day to test for the v1.0 written – July 22, 2016
  • First day to test for the v2.0 written – July 25, 2016
  • Last day to test for the v1.0 lab – July 22, 2016
  • First day to test for the v2.0 lab – July 25, 2016

Key hardware changes in the v2.0 blueprint are:

  • APIC Cluster
  • Nexus 9300
  • Nexus 7000 w/ F3 Module
  • Nexus 5600
  • Nexus 2300 Fabric Extender
  • UCS 4300 M-Series Servers

Key technical topic changes in the v2.0 blueprint are:

  • VXLAN
  • EVPN
  • LISP
  • Policy Driven Fabric (ACI)

More details to come!

Cisco Reverses CCIE Scheduling Policy Changes

As we reported last April, Cisco changed the CCIE Lab Exam retake policy to an exponential backoff, meaning that the more attempts you took at the lab the more time you had to wait between attempts.

In a sudden change of heart, today Cisco announced that they are reversing their policy change until at least December 31st 2015. Per Cisco:

“For a limited time, we will waive the current lab retake policy so that all lab candidates will be able to retest for their lab exam with only a 30-day wait period.” “If you register for any CCIE lab exam between now and December 31, 2015, you will have the option of retaking the exam with only a 30-day wait regardless of the number of attempts you may have already made.”

Frequently Asked Questions about the policy changes:

Q: Does this mean that between now and December 31, I can take the lab every 30 days?
A: Yes.

Q: Is the original policy back in place after December 31?
A: What happens after December 31 is dependent on the results of our research from now until that date.

Q: What does this mean if my current Continue reading

CCIE SPv4 Advanced Technologies Class Continues Today

INE’s CCIE Service Provider v4 Advanced Technologies Class continues today at 08:00 PDT (15:00 UTC) with Inter-AS MPLS L3VPN. All Access Pass subscribers can attend at http://live.INE.com. Recordings of some of the previous class sessions up to this point are now available via AAP library here.

Additionally, INE’s CCIE SPv4 Workbook is now available in beta format here.

Hope to see you in class!

CCIE RSv5 Lab Cram Session & New CCIE RSv5 Mock Labs Now Available

INE CCIE RSv5 Lab Cram Session is now available for viewing in our All Access Pass Library. This course includes over 35 hours of new content for CCIE Routing & Switching Version 5, including both technology review sessions as well as a step-by-step walkthrough of two new CCIE RSv5 Mock Lab Exams. These new Mock Labs are available here as part of INE’s CCIE RSv5 Workbook.

This class is designed as a last minute review of technologies and strategy before taking the actual CCIE RSv5 Lab Exam. Each of the two Mock Labs covered in class are subdivided into three sections – just like the actual exam – Troubleshooting, Diagnostics, and Configuration.

Rack rentals are available for these mock labs here. Technical discussion of the labs is through our Online Community, IEOC.

Happy Labbing!

OSPF Path Selection Challenge

I had an interesting question come across my desk today which involved a very common area of confusion in OSPF routing logic, and now I’m posing this question to you as a challenge!

The first person to answer correctly will get free attendance to our upcoming CCIE Routing & Switching Lab Cram Session, which runs the week of June 1st 2015, as well as a free copy of the class in download format after it is complete.  The question is as follows:

Given the below topology, where R4 mutually redistributes between EIGRP and OSPF, which path(s) will R1 choose to reach the network 5.5.5.5/32, and why?

Bonus Questions:

  • What will R2′s path selection to 5.5.5.5/32 be, and why?
  • What will R3′s path selection to 5.5.5.5/32 be, and why?
  • Assume R3′s link to R1 is lost.  Does this affect R1′s path selection to 5.5.5.5/32? If so, how?

Tomorrow I’ll be post topology and config files for CSR1000v, VIRL, GNS3, etc. so you can try this out yourself, but first answer the question without seeing the result and see if your expected result matches the actual result!

 

Good luck everyone!

New CCIE SPv4, CCIE RSv5 & Multicast Classes This Week

This week I will be running the following free online classes:

*Free for AAP Members

INE will also be offering the following free upcoming online classes:

  • CCNA R&S Overview and Preparation – Tues April 21st @ 09:00 PDT (16:00 UTC)
  • CCNP R&S Overview and Preparation – Thurs April 23rd @ 09:00 PDT (16:00 UTC)
  • CCNP R&S TSHOOT Overview and Preparation – Thurs April 30th @ 09:00 PDT (16:00 UTC)

More information on these classes can be found here.



CCIE Service Provider v4 Kickoff

This class marks the kickoff of INE’s CCIE SPv4 product line for the New CCIE Service Provider Version 4 Blueprint, which goes live May 22nd 2015!  In this class we’ll cover the v3 to v4 changes, including exam format changes and topic adds and removes, recommended readings and resources, INE’s new CCIE SPv4 hardware specification and CCIE SPv4 Workbook, and the schedule for INE’s upcoming CCIE Service Continue reading

CCIE Data Center Rack Rental Scheduling Changes

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!

Share your Expertise – Become an INE Instructor!

Do you think you have what it takes to become a featured instructor at INE? We are looking for talented individuals to propose and execute new courses across multiple domains including: networking, programming, systems administration, and security. If you’re an expert in any of these domains, or related topics, then it’s time to share your knowledge with the world! Speak a language other than English? That’s great! We’re open to ideas for courses in different languages.

Click here for more information and to submit an application.

Not interested in becoming an instructor but have some ideas for content you’d like to see us cover? Drop us a line at [email protected].

New CCIE RSv5 Workbook Troubleshooting & Full Scale Labs Posted

Troubleshooting Lab 3 and Full Scale Lab 3 have now been added to the CCIE RSv5 Workbook!

The new Troubleshooting Lab 3 uses the Full Scale Lab 1 logical topology, but breaks all of the protocols you’ve previously built. I suggest you take your time with each ticket so that you can fully digest why each fault occurs. Practice your time and knowledge skills by taking the Troubleshooting Lab 3 challenge!

Full Scale Lab 3 is built on a brand new logical topology, and has a strong focus in MPLS and BGP technologies. The solution guide features detailed breakdowns of each topic domain to give you a better understanding of the solutions used to solve each task. Keep in mind that there are multiple ways to solve most problems.

For discussion on these new labs visit our online community, IEOC.

Enjoy!

New CCIE RSv5 Workbook Labs & Enhancements

Foundation Lab 2 has now been added to the CCIE RSv5 Workbook.  This lab is great for working on your configuration speed and accuracy when combining multiple technologies together.  It also has a great redistribution section that I hope you’ll all enjoy ;)  More Full Scale, Troubleshooting, and Foundation labs are in progress and will be posted soon.  I’ll post another update about them when they are available.

In addition to this we’ve added some feature enhancements to the workbook in response to customer requests and feedback.  First, there is a new Table of Contents for the workbook that allows you to view all tasks, and to check off tasks that you’ve already completed.  This will help you track your progress as you’re going through the workbook.

You can additionally check off the progress of a task in the upper right hand portion of the individual lab page.

Multiple bookmarks are now supported, and will be added to a section under the Table of Contents.  When you open the workbook it will now also prompt you to load your latest bookmark.

Lastly, configuration solutions are now hidden by default when you open a lab.  This will help prevent “spoilers” in the Continue reading

Using Cisco VIRL for CCIE Preparation

Click here to download the INE VIRL topology and initial configs

After long anticipation, Cisco’s Virtual Internet Routing Lab (VIRL) is now publicly available. VIRL is a network design and simulation environment that includes a GNS3-like frontend GUI to visually build network topologies, and an OpenStack based backend which includes IOSv, IOS XRv, NX-OSv, & CSR1000v software images that run on the built-in hypervisor. In this post I’m going to outline how you can use VIRL to prepare for the CCIE Routing & Switching Version 5.0 Lab Exam in conjunction with INE’s CCIE RSv5 Advanced Technologies Labs.

The first step of course is to get a copy of VIRL. VIRL is currently available for purchase from virl.cisco.com in two forms, a “Personal Edition” for a $200 annual license, and an “Academic Version” for an $80 annual license. Functionally these two versions are the same. Next is to install VIRL on a hypervisor of your choosing, such as VMWare ESXi, Fusion, or Player. Make sure to follow the installation guides in the VIRL documentation, because the install is not a very straightforward process. When installing it on VMWare Player I ran into a problem with the NTPd Continue reading

New CCIE Service Provider Version 4.0 Blueprint Announced

Cisco has announced their plans to transition the CCIE Service Provider certification blueprint from Version 3.0 to Version 4.0 starting May 22nd, 2015.  The official announcement for the Written and Lab Exam Content Updates can be found here.

There are four key points to this announcement, which are:

  • Lab Exam format changes
  • Hardware & software version changes
  • New technical topics added
  • Old technical topics removed

CCIE SPv4 Lab Exam Format Changes

The Lab Exam format of SPv4 has been updated to follow the same format as the new CCIE Routing & Switching Version 5.0.  This means the exam now consists of three sections: Troubleshooting, Diagnostic, and Configuration.

CCIE SPv4 Hardware & Software Version Changes

Following along with the current CCIE RSv5, CCIE SPv4 now uses all virtual hardware as well.  Specifically the new hardware and software variants are as follows:

  • ASR 9000 running Cisco IOS XR 5.2
  • ASR 1000 running Cisco IOS XE 3.13S.15.4(3)S
  • Cisco 7600 running Cisco IOS 15.5(3)S
  • Cisco ME 3600 running Cisco IOS 15.5(3)S

Both the IOS XR and IOS XE variants are already available as virtual machines that you can download from cisco.com Continue reading

New CCIE RSv5 Troubleshooting/Full Scale Rack Rentals & Labs

Rack Rentals for INE’s CCIE RSv5 Workbook’s Troubleshooting Labs and Full Scale Labs are now available via the Members Site. To access them login to http://members.ine.com, click “Rack Rentals” on the dashboard on the left, and then click “Schedule” under “CCIE Routing & Switching v5 Full Scale.”

This topology uses 20 routers and 4 switches and is for both Troubleshooting and Full Scale Labs. The topology above it, “CCIE Routing & Switching v5″, uses 10 routers and 4 switches, and supports all the Advanced Technology Labs and Foundation Labs.

The loading and saving of initial configs is supported through the Rack Control Panel, which can greatly save you time in your studies, especially with very large topologies such as those used in the Troubleshooting and Full Scale Labs.

Additionally, Full Scale Lab 2 and Troubleshooting Lab 2 have been posted to the CCIE RSv5 Workbook. More Foundation, Troubleshooting, and Full Scale Labs are currently in development and will be posted soon. For discussion on these new labs please visit the CCIE RSv5 Workbook section of IEOC, our online community.

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