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[music]

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Everybody, welcome today to our session on
effective techniques

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for building home labs, and effective
techniques for using remote

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equipment in remote, sort of rentable racks
and labs,

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and that's why I'm going
to be covering today.

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So let me set your expectations.

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I've see a lot of questions coming in here
before the session actually

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started, and I want to make sure that we're
all in the same page

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as to what I'm going to cover, and just as
importantly,

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what I'm not going to cover.

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By the way, for those of you who may have
never seen me before,

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I'm Keith Bogart.

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I'm one of the instructors here at INE,

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and I specialize in the CCNA and CCNP sort
of product lines here.

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So what am I going to cover?

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So I try to device the title of today's
session to give you a clue

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as to what I was going to cover and what I
was not going to cover.

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So when I'm talking about home labs.

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I'm talking about labs
that you build yourself,

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at home, with real hardware.

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When I'm talking about remote labs,
I'm talking about logging into

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someone's remote labs, like
logging into INE's remote racks,

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or logging into-- There's probably dozens
or hundreds of companies

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out there that for an hourly fee, you can
log into their remote equipment

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and use their racks, so you don't have to
build one yourself at home.

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The second part of today is going
to be talking about well what are

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some of the effective techniques for doing
that,

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for managing that time?

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This presentation's built around a couple
of assumptions.

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I'm trying to reach the broadest audience
possible worldwide.

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That being the case, there's somethings I'm
definitely not going

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to cover. My assumption is is that you are
someone who,

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number one, does not have access to Cisco
IOS images.

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There's a lot of people out there
in the world who are interested

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in getting a CCNA, all
the way up to a CCIE,

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but they're not a Cisco customer.

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And, they don't have legal access
- and I'll emphasize that - legal

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access to Cisco IOS images.

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And without access to Cisco IOS images,

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that precludes you're using things like GNS
and other emulated or

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simulated stuff.

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So, I'm going to make that assumption
number one - they don't have

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access to IOS.

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I'm also going to make the
assumption number two that,

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you're not like a server expert.

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There's some of you who are watching right
now,

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who know all the ins and outs of VMware,

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and ESXi, and you can manipulate and build
your own VRL server,

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and stuff like that.

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Once again, those of you
who fit that category,

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you're in the upper technical end already
coming into this.

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But there's probably thousands of
people over time who are going

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to watch this, who know
nothing about servers,

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who the only way the can get hands-on time
to practice CCNA,

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or CCNP, or even CCIE, is by
actually getting on real equipment.

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There's a lot of you that just don't have
the technical knowledge

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because of your prior skills -
that's because of what you've done

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previously - to build a VMware server, or
to build some of these

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complex virtual environments, and your only
option is to either build

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a lab at home with real equipment,
or to log into somebody's remote

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equipment. This is for you.

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This is for that group of people.

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When you start going down the
topic of virtual routers,

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and using VMware and stuff, that can lead
into a whole different

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rat hole, of-- we've seen some questions
coming in about,

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how much memory do I need for this,
and what images do I need for

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that? That could be a
whole day on it's own,

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so that's a different topic
for a future discussion.

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Today I'm going to break this presentation
into two parts.

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Part number one is going to be about, okay,

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if your objective is to build a home based
lab,

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if you want to go to eBay or some
other website and either buy new

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or probably used Cisco equipment, so
you can have a lab in your house,

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what are the processes, what's the design
process you have to go

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through, so by the time you're done you've
got a lab that will meet

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your purposes?

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That you won't have overlooked something or
maybe purchase something

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that you didn't need?

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So we're going to talk about that as part
one.

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And then part two is, for those of you that
either don't want to

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do that or don't have the money to do that,

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and you'd rather for $5
an hour or $3 an hour,

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log under somebody else's rack like INE's
rack,

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and use a preexisting rack.

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What are some effective
techniques for that?

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Because if you're paying anywhere from 3 to
$5 an hour to log

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into someone elses equipment
that-- you know time is money.

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Every single minute might be a nickle or 10
cents to you,

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and you don't just want to have idle time
where you're reading something

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or you're thinking about something for 15
minutes and your money

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is slipping away.

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You want to have everything lined up so you
can have the most effective

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time on that rack possible and do that as
best you can,

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so that will be part 2 of today's session.

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Some people have asked me how long this is
going to go,

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good question, I estimate that
it'll be somewhere between an hour

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and a half and two hours.

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That's just a rough estimate.

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A lot of it depends on the quantity
of questions you guys have.

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Alright, so let's just go ahead
and jump into this here and start

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out. So let's start with
part number 1 here.

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You've decided that you want to build your
own home based lab,

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and the biggest mistake that people
make when they're doing this

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- and I'm guilty of this myself because I
built a home based lab

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many years ago and I did not follow my own
advice that I'm writing

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here - is that you jump
into it too quickly.

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You're all really excited about, man I just
love this idea of I'm

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going to have a lab right here in my little
home office.

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I'm going to be able to wake up at 3:00 in
the morning,

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and slip out of my bedroom without waking
up my wife,

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and go down there and practice BGP.

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How fun will that be?

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You say, okay, great.

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Let's see here, let me go onto Ebay.

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Oh, wow, here's a great price for a Cisco
2900 something.

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Here's another great price for a set.

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You buy all this stuff.

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It ships to you.

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You're all excited.

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You've got these big boxes.

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You rack it all up and then
the problems start happening.

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You start tripping circuit breakers,
because you didn't account for

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how much electricity all this
stuff was going to draw.

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You turn it on and within 10 minutes
you got sweat running down your

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face, because you didn't realize how much
heat it was going to put

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out. Or you turn it on, and you realize,

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wait a second, this device isn't supporting
IPv6.

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How am I supposed to do an IPv6 lab?

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Certain protocols and features
aren't supported on what you bought.

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It's all because you
rushed into something.

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You didn't take the time to slow down and
really think through the

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design process of this.

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So as we can see here, we're
going to talk about this.

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There's a lot of decisions involved
in building your own home-based

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lab. Certainly money is a factor.

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Unless you're Donald Trump, you don't have
an unlimited supply of

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money to throw at this thing.

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So unless you want to get a divorce in two
months because you went

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into debt over this, you probably want to
think about just how much

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is this worth to me.

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Am I willing to spend $1000 on a home-based
lab,

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or am I kind of limited to only 300 bucks?

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What kind of money do I have?

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Space, we'll talk about that.

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Do you actually have space for this?

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If you look in your home-based office right
now,

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some of you guys, if you look
in your home-based office,

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it kind of looks like a junk yard.

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You just got stacks of stuff all over
the place,

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boxes. Do you really have a
place to put this stuff?

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Convenience and inconvenience of this.

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I'm going to talk a little bit more about
this,

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but the heat, the electrical
factor, tripping over cables,

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you've got to think about that.

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You've got to think about the hardware and
software selection.

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This is usually the first
thing people think about,

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is what hardware and software do I need,

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and they skip the first three items which
are actually pretty important.

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Building any lab, either a personal lab or
even a work lab,

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requires a logical thought process.

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There's nothing worse -
and take it from me,

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because I've done this - there's
nothing worse than spending hundreds

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of dollars, to realize that this lab
you put together is not meeting

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your actual needs - that
you've missed something.

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Horrible sinking feeling in your gut when
that happens.

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In order to prevent that, it's best to go
through PPDIOO.

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What's that? This is actually a concept.

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If you've studied for your CCNP you
probably ran across this in your

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CCNP switch exam topics.

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It is a Cisco methodology that defines the
continuous lifecycle of

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services required for a network.

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Now, you might be thinking, what does that
have to do with me?

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You might think of this and say, Oh, okay,

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if I'm a network engineer, and I am sort of
in charge of my enterprise

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network, my company network, yes.

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So I can see how I need to know
this to keep myself on track,

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to make sure I don't go off on a tangent,

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but what's this have to do with building my
lab?

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Well, keep in mind that when
you're building a home based lab,

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really the process involved in that is no
different than if I hired

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you to come work for my company.

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I said, I want you to build out the network
infrastructure for my

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company. I don't have a
network, I need one,

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I want you to create it,
design it, and build it.

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The process to do that and the process to
build your own home based

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lab is the same.

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Now, certainly the usage of those labs is
different.

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One is going to be used to basically help
the company make profit

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and to be more time effective
with the employees and stuff,

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but essentially they're carrying
data, they're being used for the

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same protocols.

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And so the design idea is the same, whether
you're building an enterprise

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lab, or a smaller form of
that in a home-based lab.

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So, going through the PPDIOO process will
slow you down,

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and make sure you hit every single task,

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so you don't miss something along the way.

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Okay, so what it this PPDIOO, and how's it
affect this?

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So, these acronyms stand for Prepare Plan
Design Implement Operate

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and Optimize. Now, the last
part of this - optimize.

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When you're actually designing and building
and using your own home-based

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lab, optimize isn't really a factor.

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That's really for when you're dealing with
an actual enterprise lab,

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and over time you want to go back to your
lab,

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and see, is this network for my
company operating in the most optimal

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way possible? Are there ways I could tweak
it to make it more efficient,

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more effective?

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Not really a consideration, when you just
built a lab to play around

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with. The first five of these are
really the ones that we have to

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concentrate on when building and designing
our own home-based lab.

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Let's just go through each of
these, starting with Prepare.

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Here's actually the definition of Prepare.

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I'm not going to read this to you, but the
ones that I've identified

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here in red are the aspects of Prepare that
actually do apply to

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designing and building your own home-based
lab,

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which is developing a network strategy and
coming up with a high-level

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conceptual architecture that
identifies technologies that can best

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support your requirements.

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So some of these other ones,
like developing a business case,

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that doesn't really apply in your
particular case when you're talking

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about a home-based lab.

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So, in the Prepare stage is where
you actually take a step back -

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you know, just temper your enthusiasm for
a minute to get on eBay

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and start spending your money - and here,

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you take a step back, you say, what are my
requirements?

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What do I want to use this lab for in the
immediate future,

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and if I plan on keeping it for a year,

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or two years, three years, how do
I envision using this lab in the

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long term future?

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Those are your requirements.

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Now, for those of you who are just starting
down the path of pursuing

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your CCNA, so I'm speaking to those of you
that fall into that category

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00:12:21,810 --> 00:12:29,089
right now. My best advice to you is don't
build a home-based lab.

233
00:12:29,089 --> 00:12:30,810
Don't do it. Now I know that, you know,

234
00:12:30,810 --> 00:12:34,749
as far as a CCNA is concerned, a
vast majority of the questions are

235
00:12:34,749 --> 00:12:37,999
multiple choice, some drag and
drop and stuff like that.

236
00:12:37,999 --> 00:12:42,999
You might get anywhere from three to
six questions are of the simulation

237
00:12:42,999 --> 00:12:46,529
type where you actually have to go into a
simulated router or switch

238
00:12:46,529 --> 00:12:48,779
and type in commands.

239
00:12:48,779 --> 00:12:51,290
Even at the CCNA level, yes it is true,

240
00:12:51,290 --> 00:12:53,310
you definitely need to know IOS commands.

241
00:12:53,310 --> 00:12:57,949
You can't pass that test just based
on knowing theory of protocols

242
00:12:57,949 --> 00:13:02,740
and features. You got to know IOS commands.
It is true that the best

243
00:13:02,740 --> 00:13:07,949
way to get these IOS commands memorized is
to do them hands on,

244
00:13:07,949 --> 00:13:12,490
so why am I saying right here don't build
your own rack?

245
00:13:12,490 --> 00:13:15,939
Why am I saying it's best to
use remote equipment instead?

246
00:13:15,939 --> 00:13:21,249
Well, here's why, when you're just starting
out with your CCNA,

247
00:13:21,249 --> 00:13:23,759
so I'm assuming here that if you're
starting out your CCNA you know

248
00:13:23,759 --> 00:13:26,339
little to nothing about networking.

249
00:13:26,339 --> 00:13:32,089
Okay, so if you're starting out
with the ICND1 or the CCENT examine

250
00:13:32,089 --> 00:13:35,949
your level of existing networking knowledge
is about this big if

251
00:13:35,949 --> 00:13:42,379
even that much, and quite frankly at that
level you don't know enough

252
00:13:42,379 --> 00:13:46,470
about networking to be able to
identify some of the critical things

253
00:13:46,470 --> 00:13:50,079
you need to know to build
a home based network.

254
00:13:50,079 --> 00:13:52,649
For example, these are some of the
questions you have to be able

255
00:13:52,649 --> 00:13:56,129
to answer to build a home based
network/ which at the CCNA level when

256
00:13:56,129 --> 00:13:58,850
you're just starting you probably won't be
able to answer.

257
00:13:58,850 --> 00:14:03,209
For example, what type of interfaces do
you need? Someone who's just starting

258
00:14:03,209 --> 00:14:06,769
out the CCENT level, they're not going to
know the difference between

259
00:14:06,769 --> 00:14:10,339
a high-speed or a low-speed serial, or even
what a serial interface

260
00:14:10,339 --> 00:14:14,149
is. They're not going to know the
difference between a Fiber Gigabit

261
00:14:14,149 --> 00:14:18,259
Ethernet interface and an RJ45
Gigabit Ethernet interface.

262
00:14:18,259 --> 00:14:23,509
So they're not going to know what kind of
interfaces they need.

263
00:14:23,509 --> 00:14:27,620
What type of hardware will you
need to support the protocols and

264
00:14:27,620 --> 00:14:31,040
features that are on the CCNA blueprint?

265
00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,259
You're not going to be able to answer that
at the CCENT level.

266
00:14:34,259 --> 00:14:37,120
How are you going to know which
feature sets or versions of Cisco

267
00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,449
IOS that you need on your devices?

268
00:14:39,449 --> 00:14:42,259
Once again, you're not even at the
level yet where you can do that.

269
00:14:42,259 --> 00:14:44,660
So here's an analogy.

270
00:14:44,660 --> 00:14:48,319
To ask someone who's just starting out on
the CCNA path,

271
00:14:48,319 --> 00:14:53,180
to ask them, Hey, I want you to design and
build a lab,

272
00:14:53,180 --> 00:14:55,850
to me, it's sort of like asking someone who
has only ever ridden

273
00:14:55,850 --> 00:14:59,129
a bicycle to pick out a new car.

274
00:14:59,129 --> 00:15:02,079
If you've only ridden a bicycle, you can't
go to a car dealership

275
00:15:02,079 --> 00:15:03,100
and pick out a new car.

276
00:15:03,100 --> 00:15:05,129
You have no idea what you're looking at.

277
00:15:05,129 --> 00:15:07,550
You have not idea what's better, and what's
not.

278
00:15:07,550 --> 00:15:09,519
You just can't do it.

279
00:15:09,519 --> 00:15:13,420
Really, I suggest that you wait until
you're at least ready to start

280
00:15:13,420 --> 00:15:17,410
pursuing your CCNP before you have enough
foundational knowledge

281
00:15:17,410 --> 00:15:22,399
to start putting a lab together.

282
00:15:22,399 --> 00:15:24,470
Let's assume that's where you are.

283
00:15:24,470 --> 00:15:29,129
You're starting your CCNP studies and you
want to build your own

284
00:15:29,129 --> 00:15:32,800
home-based lab.

285
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,790
At the CCNP level-- so you've got the CCNA
behind you.

286
00:15:35,790 --> 00:15:39,309
With the CCNA behind you, you
should be able to answer all these

287
00:15:39,309 --> 00:15:40,300
questions right here.

288
00:15:40,300 --> 00:15:44,569
How much money are you willing to invest in
this?

289
00:15:44,569 --> 00:15:48,920
Do you expect to use this rack for
any things that are not included

290
00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:51,240
in the CCNP/CCIE blueprints.

291
00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,069
For example, you look
at the CCNP blueprint,

292
00:15:53,069 --> 00:15:56,079
and you see a listing of features
and protocols right there.

293
00:15:56,079 --> 00:15:58,680
But at this point in time you know enough
about networking that you

294
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:05,220
say, well I've heard there's something out
there called DMVPN and,

295
00:16:05,220 --> 00:16:11,100
although at the CCNP level I have to know
at a real high level why

296
00:16:11,100 --> 00:16:17,170
someone would use DMVPN and maybe
just a paragraph or two describing

297
00:16:17,170 --> 00:16:21,600
what some of the overall features are that
make up DMVPN,

298
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:25,040
at the CCNP level they don't expect you to
know how to configure

299
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:28,879
it or troubleshoot DMVPN
but maybe you personally,

300
00:16:28,879 --> 00:16:31,279
you want to do that, you want to try that
out.

301
00:16:31,279 --> 00:16:34,259
Well, okay, that's something you'd have to
factor in.

302
00:16:34,259 --> 00:16:36,740
Can you answer that question, are there any
features or protocols

303
00:16:36,740 --> 00:16:40,600
that you already are somewhat aware of that
you're going to want

304
00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,259
to use this rack to play with that aren't
necessarily part of the

305
00:16:43,259 --> 00:16:47,180
blueprint that you're
studying for right now?

306
00:16:47,180 --> 00:16:51,369
This third bullet point is
probably the most important one.

307
00:16:51,369 --> 00:16:55,339
Do you have the ability to make a list of
all the required features

308
00:16:55,339 --> 00:16:58,990
and protocols that you plan on implementing
on this rack?

309
00:16:58,990 --> 00:17:03,800
Hopefully, you can. Do you effectively know
how to use the IOS feature

310
00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:08,610
navigator? When buying hardware, one of the
things you're going to

311
00:17:08,610 --> 00:17:13,510
have to know in advance, is what
version and what feature sets of

312
00:17:13,510 --> 00:17:19,089
software will support the features
and protocols that I want to use,

313
00:17:19,089 --> 00:17:20,880
and which ones won't?

314
00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,069
And chances are you probably don't
know that off the top of your

315
00:17:24,069 --> 00:17:27,329
head. So by going to the
IOS feature navigator,

316
00:17:27,329 --> 00:17:29,250
you can discover that information, you can
learn it.

317
00:17:29,250 --> 00:17:31,460
So you make sure that you buy a router or
a switch that's got the

318
00:17:31,460 --> 00:17:34,260
correct software, because once
again, remember what my assumption

319
00:17:34,260 --> 00:17:38,309
is here. My assumption is, you don't have
access to Cisco IOS

320
00:17:38,309 --> 00:17:40,500
images, you are not a Cisco customer.

321
00:17:40,500 --> 00:17:43,600
The only way you're going to get Cisco IOS
images is by buying a

322
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:47,720
piece of hardware on eBay or somewhere else
that already has the

323
00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:49,190
IOS loaded on it.

324
00:17:49,190 --> 00:17:51,600
And you're going to pull your hair out of
the roots if you buy

325
00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:56,250
a router only to discover that the IOS is
on there doesn't do what

326
00:17:56,250 --> 00:17:57,510
you need it to do.

327
00:17:57,510 --> 00:18:00,250
You're going to want to make sure
that before you plap down any money

328
00:18:00,250 --> 00:18:04,330
on any equipment you know exactly
what feature set is running

329
00:18:04,330 --> 00:18:07,090
on that router or on that switch, and that
that feature set will

330
00:18:07,090 --> 00:18:12,110
support what you want to do.

331
00:18:12,110 --> 00:18:15,480
Can you find or understand
Cisco data sheets?

332
00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:21,059
You know, one of the most frustrating,
complicated things to do when

333
00:18:21,059 --> 00:18:24,880
putting a rack together deals with serial
interfaces,

334
00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:29,250
because Cisco's got a dozen different kinds
of serial interface.

335
00:18:29,250 --> 00:18:32,450
I'm talking about the physical way a serial
interface looks.

336
00:18:32,450 --> 00:18:34,330
Some of them have 9 PINs, some of them are
big,

337
00:18:34,330 --> 00:18:36,350
monstrous things with 30 PINs.

338
00:18:36,350 --> 00:18:40,429
There's all sorts of different form factors
of serial interfaces.

339
00:18:40,429 --> 00:18:44,059
And you have to know, if I'm going to buy
this particular network

340
00:18:44,059 --> 00:18:47,919
module, or this particular WIC card that's
got a serial interface

341
00:18:47,919 --> 00:18:53,600
in my router, what is the actual form
factor of that serial interface?

342
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:58,149
What kind of serial cable goes with that so
I can buy the correct

343
00:18:58,149 --> 00:19:01,220
serial cable? A serial interface won't do
you any good if you've

344
00:19:01,220 --> 00:19:04,919
got the wrong cable that doesn't physically
plug into it.

345
00:19:04,919 --> 00:19:07,470
Finding a Cisco data sheet on that network
module,

346
00:19:07,470 --> 00:19:10,669
or on that WIC card, is the best way to
answer that question.

347
00:19:10,669 --> 00:19:14,020
What's the physically form factor of that
serial interface?

348
00:19:14,020 --> 00:19:18,860
What kind of cable does Cisco provide that
connects to that?

349
00:19:18,860 --> 00:19:19,559
And then the last question.

350
00:19:19,559 --> 00:19:24,830
Do you consider IOS 15.x mandatory in your
home lab?

351
00:19:24,830 --> 00:19:30,090
In today's world I think the
CCNA - definitely the CCNP,

352
00:19:30,090 --> 00:19:37,970
and the CCIE, and I think the CCNA as well
- are based on 15.x IOS.

353
00:19:37,970 --> 00:19:41,120
Does that mean that when you're putting a
lab together,

354
00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:44,090
you have to make sure that every
single piece of hardware you buy,

355
00:19:44,090 --> 00:19:44,770
supports 15.x?

356
00:19:44,770 --> 00:19:48,600
Are you just going to be totally messed up
and left out in the wind

357
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,080
to dry if you don't do that?

358
00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:56,340
It depends. If you're trying to put a lab
together to practice your

359
00:19:56,340 --> 00:20:01,370
CCNP - at CCNP level stuff -
not really that important.

360
00:20:01,370 --> 00:20:04,610
It's helpful, but you're actually going to
find yourself spending

361
00:20:04,610 --> 00:20:09,500
a little bit more money to get the devices
that support the 15 code.

362
00:20:09,500 --> 00:20:13,700
There's a lot more devices available
and they're a lot less expensive

363
00:20:13,700 --> 00:20:16,010
that support the older 12 code.

364
00:20:16,010 --> 00:20:20,039
And at the CCNP, that's probably okay.

365
00:20:20,039 --> 00:20:21,820
It's really once you get to the CCIE level,

366
00:20:21,820 --> 00:20:23,210
especially on routing.

367
00:20:23,210 --> 00:20:26,049
When you talk about the routing protocols
and stuff that you have

368
00:20:26,049 --> 00:20:29,840
to know about at the CCIE level, there are
a lot of little nitty-gritty

369
00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:35,090
commands that have changed from
12 to 15 - a lot of commands that

370
00:20:35,090 --> 00:20:39,470
now have different keywords, that
the structure of how you type the

371
00:20:39,470 --> 00:20:43,429
command in is a little bit different, that
the output you see is

372
00:20:43,429 --> 00:20:44,630
a little bit different.

373
00:20:44,630 --> 00:20:48,269
Once again, at the CCNP level, not so much,

374
00:20:48,269 --> 00:20:49,919
but the CCIE level, yeah.

375
00:20:49,919 --> 00:20:53,899
Especially with the routing stuff, that's
where it would really behoove

376
00:20:53,899 --> 00:20:57,600
you to get routers at least
that are running 15 code.

377
00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:01,370
I personally don't think you really have to
worry about getting switches

378
00:21:01,370 --> 00:21:02,890
that run 15 code.

379
00:21:02,890 --> 00:21:05,260
Pretty much all the features you
need to know about on switches -

380
00:21:05,260 --> 00:21:10,380
private VLANs, private access lists, VACLs
and RACLs - those are

381
00:21:10,380 --> 00:21:15,549
all doable in 12 versions of IOS.

382
00:21:15,549 --> 00:21:18,490
Here's the reality, here's the reality of
the situation - even at

383
00:21:18,490 --> 00:21:20,029
the CCIE level.

384
00:21:20,029 --> 00:21:22,610
Nowadays when you go to take the CCIE lab,

385
00:21:22,610 --> 00:21:25,399
the lab is all based on virtual equipment.

386
00:21:25,399 --> 00:21:28,260
Back when I took the CCIE lab, I actually
had a physical rack of

387
00:21:28,260 --> 00:21:30,840
equipment in front of me of routers
and switches that I had to cable

388
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:32,529
and plug into.

389
00:21:32,529 --> 00:21:33,990
That's not the case anymore.

390
00:21:33,990 --> 00:21:37,269
Nowadays the routers and the switches
in the CCNA lab are all virtualized.

391
00:21:37,269 --> 00:21:40,320
What does that mean to you?

392
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:44,440
The virtual version of software that Cisco
uses for their virtual

393
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:48,669
switches is very limited.

394
00:21:48,669 --> 00:21:51,500
It doesn't support a lot of stuff, and I'm
talking about - for those

395
00:21:51,500 --> 00:21:54,899
of you who are familiar, I'm talking about
- something called L2IOU,

396
00:21:54,899 --> 00:22:00,019
Layer 2 IOU, which is what they
use in their switches there.

397
00:22:00,019 --> 00:22:05,470
L2IOU to the last time I looked, still is
lacking a lot of feature

398
00:22:05,470 --> 00:22:08,010
support that you'd find in a real switch,

399
00:22:08,010 --> 00:22:11,750
like some of the security features
like dynamic ARP inspection and

400
00:22:11,750 --> 00:22:16,860
DHCP snooping and stuff like that
isn't really supported in the virtual

401
00:22:16,860 --> 00:22:21,419
IOS. It's still only supported in the real
IOS.

402
00:22:21,419 --> 00:22:26,149
So, as far as switches are concerned, don't
worry about it.

403
00:22:26,149 --> 00:22:28,039
12.something is perfectly fine.

404
00:22:28,039 --> 00:22:30,659
As far as routers are concerned, yeah.

405
00:22:30,659 --> 00:22:34,820
If you've got the money and you can find a
router that supports 15.x,

406
00:22:34,820 --> 00:22:37,299
that's probably good because then the lab
you're building right now

407
00:22:37,299 --> 00:22:41,419
not only will work for CCNP, but will still
work for you when you

408
00:22:41,419 --> 00:22:43,220
go on to the CCIE level.

409
00:22:43,220 --> 00:22:44,210
Let's see here.

410
00:22:44,210 --> 00:22:47,760
So some additional notes
I've got for myself here.

411
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,840
In the prepare stage, so at
the prepare stage of PPDIOO,

412
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:57,120
the end result of this stage when
you're building a home-based lab

413
00:22:57,120 --> 00:22:59,090
is just a detailed listing

414
00:22:59,090 --> 00:23:03,330
on like Word or Excel or something
of all the protocols and features

415
00:23:03,330 --> 00:23:06,149
that you'll need for your lab to support.

416
00:23:06,149 --> 00:23:07,419
So that's what you're trying to build right
here,

417
00:23:07,419 --> 00:23:11,010
a list of all the protocols
and features for your lab.

418
00:23:11,010 --> 00:23:13,779
Now, next to each one of those
protocols and features.

419
00:23:13,779 --> 00:23:15,059
Like let's say you've got on that list,

420
00:23:15,059 --> 00:23:19,679
I want frame relay, I want BGP, I want IPv6
for OSPF,

421
00:23:19,679 --> 00:23:21,750
and you just build a list like that.

422
00:23:21,750 --> 00:23:25,620
Now, next to each one of those things, you
should list some additional

423
00:23:25,620 --> 00:23:30,029
things. For example, is there any
particular hardware you're going

424
00:23:30,029 --> 00:23:32,690
to need to support that protocol?

425
00:23:32,690 --> 00:23:35,940
For example, if you say frame relay, next
to it you should write

426
00:23:35,940 --> 00:23:37,110
serial interfaces.

427
00:23:37,110 --> 00:23:41,169
If you build a lab of nothing but Ethernet
interfaces,

428
00:23:41,169 --> 00:23:42,460
you're not going to be
able to do frame relay.

429
00:23:42,460 --> 00:23:45,330
You're going to need serial interfaces.

430
00:23:45,330 --> 00:23:48,309
If one of the protocols you want
to practice is VLAN Trunking

431
00:23:48,309 --> 00:23:52,679
for example. Well, if you buy a really old
Cisco 2500 series router

432
00:23:52,679 --> 00:23:56,080
that only has 10 MB Ethernet interface,

433
00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:58,130
you're not going to be able
to trunk to that router,

434
00:23:58,130 --> 00:24:01,100
because trunking requires that a router has
at least a FastEthernet

435
00:24:01,100 --> 00:24:03,250
interface or higher.

436
00:24:03,250 --> 00:24:06,029
That's a hardware
requirement to do trunking.

437
00:24:06,029 --> 00:24:08,460
So those are some examples of that.

438
00:24:08,460 --> 00:24:13,779
So here at the Prepare stage, you're
not yet at the point where you're

439
00:24:13,779 --> 00:24:15,659
saying, I need a 29/61.

440
00:24:15,659 --> 00:24:19,320
or, I need a network module - an NM-4A/S.

441
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:20,740
You're not there yet.

442
00:24:20,740 --> 00:24:23,200
Right now, all you're doing is listing out
your protocols and features

443
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,700
that you're going to want to play
with - that you probably got from

444
00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:28,309
the blueprint, or the route, or the switch,

445
00:24:28,309 --> 00:24:31,519
or the CCIE - and then next to them, you're
porting just at a real

446
00:24:31,519 --> 00:24:36,279
high level, general characteristics
of hardware you'll need - if

447
00:24:36,279 --> 00:24:39,720
any; maybe there's not anything -
that you'll need to support that

448
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:40,740
particular protocol.

449
00:24:40,740 --> 00:24:45,080
Another thing you're going to want to list
is,

450
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:49,330
what's the minimum quantity of devices that
you would need to play

451
00:24:49,330 --> 00:24:50,799
with this protocol?

452
00:24:50,799 --> 00:24:54,590
For example, if the VLAN trunking protocol
of VTP is something you

453
00:24:54,590 --> 00:24:58,049
want to play with, you can't do that with
just one switch.

454
00:24:58,049 --> 00:25:00,620
You're going to have to get at least
two switches to support that.

455
00:25:00,620 --> 00:25:02,860
So that's one thing you'd put in there.

456
00:25:02,860 --> 00:25:06,899
If you're talking about frame relay, at a
minimum you would need

457
00:25:06,899 --> 00:25:09,090
two routers with serial interfaces.

458
00:25:09,090 --> 00:25:11,500
If you wanted to do back
to back frame relay,

459
00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:14,590
that would be your minimum you would need
to support that particular

460
00:25:14,590 --> 00:25:19,070
protocol or feature.

461
00:25:19,070 --> 00:25:23,620
What's the minimum version of IOS needed to
support this feature?

462
00:25:23,620 --> 00:25:28,850
Like I said, vast majority -
probably 90-95% of what you're going

463
00:25:28,850 --> 00:25:32,769
to want to play around with - will
be supported at some version of

464
00:25:32,769 --> 00:25:37,830
12 software, like 12.4 T, or something like
that.

465
00:25:37,830 --> 00:25:41,299
That's where using the Cisco IOS
feature navigator will answer that

466
00:25:41,299 --> 00:25:46,049
question. Here at the prepare stage, when
you're done that's what

467
00:25:46,049 --> 00:25:46,679
you should have.

468
00:25:46,679 --> 00:25:49,669
You should have a document or spreadsheet
that lists all that stuff

469
00:25:49,669 --> 00:25:53,690
out - the protocols you want to play with
and at a real high level,

470
00:25:53,690 --> 00:25:54,990
what they're dependencies are.

471
00:25:54,990 --> 00:25:56,690
What hardware you're going to need.

472
00:25:56,690 --> 00:25:57,889
What kinds of interfaces.

473
00:25:57,889 --> 00:26:01,019
What the minimum quantity of chassis you'll
need,

474
00:26:01,019 --> 00:26:05,019
or the minimum quantity of interfaces
you'll need to support each

475
00:26:05,019 --> 00:26:06,860
one of those features.

476
00:26:06,860 --> 00:26:10,120
Let me take a quick pause here
and just catch up and make sure

477
00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:17,690
there's not a gazillion questions I need to
answer.

478
00:26:17,690 --> 00:26:22,470
Someone here is mentioning Packet Tracer.

479
00:26:22,470 --> 00:26:26,359
I've looked into Packet Tracer, but
from what I've seen Packet Tracer

480
00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:29,840
- now remember, I'm talking about legally,

481
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:34,440
what you can get your hands on legally
- legally speaking from Cisco's

482
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,279
perspective, Packet Tracer is only supposed
to be available to people

483
00:26:37,279 --> 00:26:40,120
who are going through the Cisco Networking
Academy,

484
00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:43,730
or you're a Network Academy instructor.

485
00:26:43,730 --> 00:26:47,269
As far as I know, those are the only legal
approved methods by Cisco

486
00:26:47,269 --> 00:26:50,169
to get a hold of the
Packet Tracer software,

487
00:26:50,169 --> 00:26:53,980
so that's why I'm not including it in this
presentation right here.

488
00:26:53,980 --> 00:26:58,540
[music]