WEBVTT

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 Everybody, welcome today to our session
 on effective techniques for building

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 home labs and effective techniques for
 using remote equipment in remote

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 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 seen 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 on the same page as to

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 what I'm going to cover and just as
 importantly what I'm not going to

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 cover. 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
 and I specialize in the CCNA and

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 CCNP sort of product lines here.

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 So what am I going to cover?

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 So I tried to devise the title of today's
 session to give you a clue as

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 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,
 I'm talking about labs that you build

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 yourself at home with
 real hardware.

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 And 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 or logging

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 into, you know, there's probably dozens
 or hundreds of companies out there

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 that for an hourly fee, you can log
 into their remote equipment and use

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

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 And so the second part of today is going
 to be talking about, well, what

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 are some effective techniques
 for managing that time?

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 So this presentation's built around
 a couple of assumptions.

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 I'm trying to reach the broadest audience
 possible worldwide and that

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 being the case, there's some things
 I'm definitely not going to cover.

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 My assumption is that you are someone
 who, number one, does not have access

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 to Cisco iOS images.

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 Okay, 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, but they're not a Cisco customer

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

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 to Cisco iOS images.

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 And without access to Cisco iOS images,
 that precludes you using things

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 like GNS and other sort of emulated
 or simulated stuff.

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 So I'm going to make that assumption number
 one, that you don't have access

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 to iOS. I'm also going to make the assumption
 number two that you're not

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 like a server expert.

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 You know, there's some of you who are
 watching right now who know all

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 the ins and outs of VMM, VMware and ESXi
 and you know, you can manipulate

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 and build your own, you know, virile
 server and stuff like that.

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 Once again, those of you who fit that
 category, you know, you're in the

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 upper technical end already coming into
 this, but there's, you know, probably

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 thousands of people over time who are
 going to watch this who know nothing

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 about servers, who the only way they
 can get hands on time to practice

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

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

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 of your prior skillsets, because of
 what you've done previously to build

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 a VMware server or to build some of these
 complex sort of virtual environments.

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 And your only option is to either build
 a lab at home with real equipment

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 or to log into somebody's
 remote equipment.

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 So this is for you.

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 This is for that group of people.

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 You know, when you start going down the
 topic of virtual routers and using

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 VMware and stuff, that can lean into
 a whole different rat hole of, you

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 know, we've seen some questions coming
 in about, well, how much memory

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 do I need for this and what
 images do I need for that?

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 And, you know, that could
 be a whole day on its own.

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

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 So today I'm going to sort of break
 this presentation into two parts.

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 Part number one is going to be about,
 okay, if your objective is to build

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 a home-based lab, if you want to go
 to eBay or some other website and

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 either buy new or probably used Cisco
 equipment, so you can have a lab

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 in your house, what
 are the processes?

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 What's the design process
 you have to go through?

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 So by the time you're done, you've got
 a lab that will meet your purposes,

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 that you won't have overlooked something
 or maybe purchased something

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 that you didn't need.

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 So we're going to talk about that.


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 That's part one.

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

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 or don't have the money to do that,
 and you'd rather, you know, for, you

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 know, $5 an hour or $3 an hour log
 on to somebody else's rack, like I

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&E's rack, and use a preexisting rack,
 what are some effective techniques

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

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 on to someone else's equipment, that,
 you know, time is money, right?

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 Every single minute might be, you
 know, a nickel or $0.10 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 is slipping

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 away. 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 two
 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 and

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 a half and two hours.

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 That's just a rough estimate.

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 Loved it depends on the quantity
 of questions you guys have.

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 All right. So let's just go ahead and
 jump into this here and start out.

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 So let's start with part
 number one 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, and

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 I'm guilty of this myself, because
 I built a home-based lab many years

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 ago and I did not follow my own advice
 that I'm writing here, is that

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 you jump into it too quickly.

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 You're all really excited about, oh
 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 and I'm going

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 to be able to wake up at three o'clock
 in the morning and slip out of

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 my bedroom without waking up my wife
 and go down there and practice BGP.

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 How fun will that be?

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 So you say, okay, great.

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 Let's see here. Let
 me go on an 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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 And so 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 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 how

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 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 face

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 because you didn't realize how much
 heat it was going to put out.

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 Or you turn on and you
 realize, wait a second.

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 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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 And 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 design

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 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 lab.

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 Certainly money is
 a factor, right?

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 You know, unless you're Donald Trump,
 you don't have an unlimited supply

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 of money to throw at this thing.

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

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 went 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 $1
,000 on a home-based lab?

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 Or am I kind of limited
 to only $300?

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 You know, 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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 You know, if you look in your home
-based office right now, some of you

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 guys, if you look in your home-based office,
 it kind of looks like a junkyard,

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 right? You just got stacks of stuff
 all over the place, boxes, and do

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 you really have a place
 to put this stuff?

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 Convenience and inconvenience
 of this.

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 We talk, I'm going to talk a little
 bit more about this, but the heat,

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 the electrical factor,
 tripping over cables.

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 Got to think about that.

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 Got to think about the hardware
 and software selection.

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 Now, this is usually the first thing
 people think about is, what hardware

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 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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 So, building any lab, either their personal
 lab or even a work lab, requires

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 a logical thought process.

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 There's nothing worse, and take it
 from me because I've done this.

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 There's nothing worse than spending
 hundreds of dollars to realize that

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 this lab you put together is not meeting
 your actual needs, that you've

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 missed something.

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 Horrible sinking feeling in
 your gut when that happens.

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 Okay, so in order to prevent that, it's
 best to go through the PPD IOO.

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 What's that? Well, this is actually
 a concept if you've studied for your

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 CCNP. You probably ran across this
 in your CCNP switch exam topics.

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 It is a Cisco methodology that defines
 the continuous life cycle of services

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 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, well,
 okay, if I'm a network engineer,

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 and I am sort of in charge of my enterprise
 network, my company network,

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 yes, I can see how I'd need to know
 this, to keep myself on track, to

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 make sure I don't go off on a tangent,
 but what does this have to do with

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 building my lab?

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

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 the process involved in that is no different
 than if I hired you to come

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 work from my company.

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

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 I don't have a network, I need one,
 I want you to create it, design it,

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 and build it. The process to do that
 and the process to build your own

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 home-based 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 and

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 to be more time-effective with the employees
 and stuff, but essentially,

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 they're carrying data, they're being
 used for the same protocols, and

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 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 PPD-IOO process
 will help slow you down and make

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 sure you hit every single task so you
 don't miss something along the way.

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 Okay, so what is this?

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 PPD-IOO and how does
 it affect this?

0:10:22.780000 --> 0:10:31.220000
 So these acronyms stand for prepare,
 plan, design, implement, operate,

0:10:31.220000 --> 0:10:36.120000
 and optimize. Now, the last part of
 this, optimize when you're actually

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 designing and building and using your
 own home-based lab, optimize isn't

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 really a factor.

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

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 over time you want to go back to your
 lab and see, okay, is this network

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 for my company operating in the
 most optimal way possible?

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 Are there ways I could tweak it to make
 it more efficient, more effective,

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 not really a consideration when you just
 built a lab to play around with?

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 So the first five of these are really
 the ones that we have to concentrate

0:11:04.560000 --> 0:11:08.160000
 on when building and designing
 our own home-based lab.

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 So let's just go through each of
 these starting with prepare.

0:11:10.940000 --> 0:11:15.500000
 Now here's actually the
 definition of prepare.

0:11:15.500000 --> 0:11:18.600000
 I'm not going to read this to you, but
 the ones that I've identified here

0:11:18.600000 --> 0:11:23.360000
 in red are the aspects of prepare that
 actually do apply to designing

0:11:23.360000 --> 0:11:28.220000
 and building your own home-based lab,
 which is developing a network strategy

0:11:28.220000 --> 0:11:32.380000
 and coming up with a high-level conceptual
 architecture that identifies

0:11:32.380000 --> 0:11:35.900000
 technologies that can best
 support your requirements.

0:11:35.900000 --> 0:11:40.080000
 So some of these other ones, like developing
 a business case, that doesn't

0:11:40.080000 --> 0:11:42.580000
 really apply in your particular case
 when you're talking about a home

0:11:42.580000 --> 0:11:48.700000
-based lab. So in the prepare stage is
 where you actually take a step back,

0:11:48.700000 --> 0:11:52.300000
 just temper your enthusiasm from it
 to get on eBay and start spending

0:11:52.300000 --> 0:11:56.780000
 your money. And here you take a step back
 and you say, what are my requirements?

0:11:56.780000 --> 0:12:00.620000
 What do I want to use this lab
 for in the immediate future?

0:12:00.620000 --> 0:12:05.500000
 And if I plan on keeping it for a year,
 two years, three years, how do

0:12:05.500000 --> 0:12:08.820000
 I envision using this lab
 in the long-term future?

0:12:08.820000 --> 0:12:12.320000
 So those are your requirements.

0:12:12.320000 --> 0:12:17.680000
 Now, for those of you who are just
 starting down the path of pursuing

0:12:17.680000 --> 0:12:21.580000
 your CCNA, okay, so I'm speaking to those
 of you that fall into that category

0:12:21.580000 --> 0:12:28.920000
 right now. My best advice to you
 is don't build a home-based lab.

0:12:28.920000 --> 0:12:33.020000
 Don't do it. Now, I know that, you know,
 as far as the CCNA is concerned,

0:12:33.020000 --> 0:12:36.500000
 vast majority of the questions are multiple
 choice, you know, some drag

0:12:36.500000 --> 0:12:37.760000
 and drop and stuff like that.

0:12:37.760000 --> 0:12:42.220000
 And you might get anywhere from, oh,
 three to six questions are of the

0:12:42.220000 --> 0:12:43.400000
 simulation type.

0:12:43.400000 --> 0:12:47.040000
 We actually have to like go into a
 simulated router or switch and type

0:12:47.040000 --> 0:12:51.220000
 in command. So, you know, even at
 the CCNA level, yes, it is true.

0:12:51.220000 --> 0:12:53.080000
 You definitely need to
 know iOS commands.

0:12:53.080000 --> 0:12:57.340000
 You know, you can't pass that test just
 based on knowing theory of protocols

0:12:57.340000 --> 0:13:00.840000
 and features. You got
 to know iOS commands.

0:13:00.840000 --> 0:13:05.480000
 And it is true that the best way to
 get these iOS commands memorized is

0:13:05.480000 --> 0:13:07.480000
 to do them, to do them hands-on.

0:13:07.480000 --> 0:13:11.720000
 So why am I saying right here,
 don't build your own rack?

0:13:11.720000 --> 0:13:15.600000
 Why am I saying it's best to
 use remote equipment instead?

0:13:15.600000 --> 0:13:17.780000
 Well, here's why.

0:13:17.780000 --> 0:13:22.180000
 When you're just starting out with your
 CCNA, so I'm assuming here that

0:13:22.180000 --> 0:13:26.340000
 if you're starting out your CCNA, you know
 little to nothing about networking.

0:13:26.340000 --> 0:13:31.740000
 Okay? So if you're starting out with
 like the ICND1 or the CCENT exam,

0:13:31.740000 --> 0:13:36.100000
 your level of existing networking knowledge
 is about this big, if even

0:13:36.100000 --> 0:13:42.420000
 that much. And quite frankly, at that
 level, you don't know enough about

0:13:42.420000 --> 0:13:46.840000
 networking to be able to identify some
 of the critical things you need

0:13:46.840000 --> 0:13:49.840000
 to know to build a
 home-based network.

0:13:49.840000 --> 0:13:53.020000
 For example, these are some of the questions
 you have to be able to answer

0:13:53.020000 --> 0:13:56.300000
 to build a home-based network, which
 at the CCNA level, when you're just

0:13:56.300000 --> 0:13:58.740000
 starting, you probably won't
 be able to answer.

0:13:58.740000 --> 0:14:01.920000
 For example, what type of
 interfaces do you need?

0:14:01.920000 --> 0:14:05.860000
 Someone who's just starting out the
 CCENT level, they're not going to

0:14:05.860000 --> 0:14:08.820000
 know the difference between a high speed
 or a low speed serial, or even

0:14:08.820000 --> 0:14:10.380000
 what a serial interface is.

0:14:10.380000 --> 0:14:14.480000
 They're not going to know the difference
 between a fiber gigabit ethernet

0:14:14.480000 --> 0:14:18.200000
 interface and an RJ45 gigabit
 ethernet interface.

0:14:18.200000 --> 0:14:22.500000
 So they're not going to know what
 kind of interfaces they need.

0:14:22.500000 --> 0:14:27.800000
 What type of hardware will you need to
 support the protocols and features

0:14:27.800000 --> 0:14:30.680000
 that are on the CCNA blueprint?

0:14:30.680000 --> 0:14:33.980000
 You're not going to be able to
 answer that at the CCENT level.

0:14:33.980000 --> 0:14:37.400000
 How are you going to know which feature
 sets or versions of Cisco iOS

0:14:37.400000 --> 0:14:39.240000
 that you need on your devices?

0:14:39.240000 --> 0:14:42.100000
 Once again, you're not even at the
 level yet where you can do that.

0:14:42.100000 --> 0:14:47.920000
 So here's an analogy to ask someone
 who's just starting out on the CCNA

0:14:47.920000 --> 0:14:52.800000
 path to ask them, hey, I want
 you to design and build a lab.

0:14:52.800000 --> 0:14:56.340000
 To me, it's sort of like asking someone
 who has only ever driven a bicycle

0:14:56.340000 --> 0:14:59.340000
 to pick out a new car.

0:14:59.340000 --> 0:15:02.140000
 If you've only driven a bicycle, you
 can't go to a car dealership and

0:15:02.140000 --> 0:15:03.000000
 pick out a new car.

0:15:03.000000 --> 0:15:06.720000
 You have no idea what you're looking
 at, you have no idea what's better

0:15:06.720000 --> 0:15:08.660000
 and what's not, you
 just can't do it.

0:15:08.660000 --> 0:15:13.280000
 So really, I suggest that you wait until
 you're at least ready to start

0:15:13.280000 --> 0:15:18.340000
 pursuing your CCNP before you have enough
 foundational knowledge to start

0:15:18.340000 --> 0:15:20.960000
 putting a lab together.

0:15:20.960000 --> 0:15:24.120000
 Okay, so let's assume
 that's where you are.

0:15:24.120000 --> 0:15:29.260000
 So you're starting your CCNP studies
 and you want to build your own home

0:15:29.260000 --> 0:15:35.920000
-based lab. So at the CCNP levels,
 you've got the CCNA behind you.

0:15:35.920000 --> 0:15:39.620000
 So with the CCNA behind you, you should
 be able to answer all these questions

0:15:39.620000 --> 0:15:43.120000
 right here. How much money are
 you willing to invest in this?

0:15:43.120000 --> 0:15:49.020000
 Do you expect to use this rack for
 any things that are not included in

0:15:49.020000 --> 0:15:51.120000
 the CCNP, CCIE blueprints?

0:15:51.120000 --> 0:15:54.180000
 For example, you look at the CCNP blueprint
 and you see a listing of features

0:15:54.180000 --> 0:15:55.840000
 and protocols right there.

0:15:55.840000 --> 0:15:58.900000
 But by this point in time, you know
 enough about networking, you say,

0:15:58.900000 --> 0:16:04.220000
 well, I've heard there's something
 out there called DMVPN.

0:16:04.220000 --> 0:16:09.520000
 And although with the CCNP level, I
 have to know sort of at a real high

0:16:09.520000 --> 0:16:16.120000
 level why someone would use DMVPN and
 maybe, you know, just like a paragraph

0:16:16.120000 --> 0:16:19.920000
 or two describing what some of the
 overall features are that you that

0:16:19.920000 --> 0:16:24.500000
 make up DMVPN. At the CCNP level, they
 don't expect you to know how to

0:16:24.500000 --> 0:16:27.260000
 configure it or troubleshoot
 DMVPN.

0:16:27.260000 --> 0:16:29.720000
 But maybe you personally,
 you want to do that.

0:16:29.720000 --> 0:16:31.280000
 You want to try that out.

0:16:31.280000 --> 0:16:33.660000
 Well, okay, that's something
 you have to factor in.

0:16:33.660000 --> 0:16:35.240000
 You know, can you answer
 that question?

0:16:35.240000 --> 0:16:40.140000
 Are there any features or that you
 already are somewhat aware of that

0:16:40.140000 --> 0:16:42.320000
 you're going to want to use this rack
 to play with that aren't necessarily

0:16:42.320000 --> 0:16:46.660000
 part of the blueprint that you're
 studying for right now?

0:16:46.660000 --> 0:16:51.000000
 This third bullet point is probably
 the most important one.

0:16:51.000000 --> 0:16:55.440000
 Do you have the ability to make a list
 of all the required features and

0:16:55.440000 --> 0:16:58.860000
 protocols you plan on implementing
 on this rack?

0:16:58.860000 --> 0:17:01.500000
 Hopefully you can.

0:17:01.500000 --> 0:17:04.680000
 Do you effectively know how to
 use the iOS feature navigator?

0:17:04.680000 --> 0:17:08.680000
 You know, when buying hardware, one
 of the things you're going to have

0:17:08.680000 --> 0:17:14.900000
 to know in advance is what version and
 what feature sets of software will

0:17:14.900000 --> 0:17:20.580000
 support the features and protocols that
 I want to use and which ones won't.

0:17:20.580000 --> 0:17:24.440000
 And chances are you probably don't
 know that off the top of your head.

0:17:24.440000 --> 0:17:28.220000
 So by going to the iOS feature navigator,
 you can discover that information.

0:17:28.220000 --> 0:17:29.200000
 You can learn it.

0:17:29.200000 --> 0:17:31.640000
 So you make sure that you buy a router
 or switch that's got the correct

0:17:31.640000 --> 0:17:34.960000
 software because once again, remember
 what my assumption is here.

0:17:34.960000 --> 0:17:38.680000
 My assumption is you don't have
 access to Cisco iOS images.

0:17:38.680000 --> 0:17:40.420000
 You are not a Cisco customer.

0:17:40.420000 --> 0:17:43.780000
 The only way you're going to get Cisco
 iOS images is by buying a piece

0:17:43.780000 --> 0:17:48.200000
 of hardware on eBay or somewhere else
 that already has the iOS loaded

0:17:48.200000 --> 0:17:51.060000
 on it. And you're going to pull
 your hair out of the roots.

0:17:51.060000 --> 0:17:55.760000
 If you buy a router, only to discover
 that the iOS is on there doesn't

0:17:55.760000 --> 0:17:57.220000
 do what you need it to do.

0:17:57.220000 --> 0:18:00.140000
 You're going to want to make sure that
 before you plop down any money

0:18:00.140000 --> 0:18:04.620000
 on any equipment, you know exactly
 what feature set is running on that

0:18:04.620000 --> 0:18:08.700000
 router or on that switch and that feature
 set will support what you want

0:18:08.700000 --> 0:18:14.880000
 to do. Can you find or understand
 Cisco data sheets?

0:18:14.880000 --> 0:18:20.580000
 You know one of the most probably most
 frustrating, complicated things

0:18:20.580000 --> 0:18:24.780000
 to do when putting a rack together deals
 with serial interfaces because

0:18:24.780000 --> 0:18:29.240000
 Cisco has got like a dozen different
 kinds of serial interface.

0:18:29.240000 --> 0:18:32.380000
 I'm talking about the physical
 way a serial interface looks.

0:18:32.380000 --> 0:18:33.640000
 Some of them have nine pins.

0:18:33.640000 --> 0:18:36.260000
 Some of them are big monstrous
 things with like 30 pins.

0:18:36.260000 --> 0:18:40.620000
 There's all sorts of different form
 factors of serial interfaces.

0:18:40.620000 --> 0:18:43.900000
 And you have to know well if I'm going
 to buy this particular network

0:18:43.900000 --> 0:18:48.240000
 module or this particular wick card
 that's got a serial interface in my

0:18:48.240000 --> 0:18:53.160000
 router, what is the actual form
 factor of that serial interface?

0:18:53.160000 --> 0:18:58.360000
 What kind of serial cable goes with
 that so I can buy the correct serial

0:18:58.360000 --> 0:19:01.580000
 cable. A serial interface won't do you
 any good if you've got the wrong

0:19:01.580000 --> 0:19:04.060000
 cable that doesn't physically
 plug into it.

0:19:04.060000 --> 0:19:08.300000
 Finding a Cisco data sheet on that
 network module or on that wick card

0:19:08.300000 --> 0:19:10.220000
 is the best way to answer
 that question.

0:19:10.220000 --> 0:19:13.700000
 What's the physical form factor
 of that serial interface?

0:19:13.700000 --> 0:19:18.340000
 What kind of cable does Cisco
 provide that connects to that?

0:19:18.340000 --> 0:19:23.620000
 And then the last question, do you
 consider iOS 15.x mandatory in your

0:19:23.620000 --> 0:19:30.160000
 home lab? Now in today's world, I think
 the CCNA, definitely the CCNP

0:19:30.160000 --> 0:19:37.340000
 and the CCIE and I think the CCNA
 as well are based on 15.x iOS.

0:19:37.340000 --> 0:19:41.440000
 Now does that mean that when you're
 putting a lab together, you have to

0:19:41.440000 --> 0:19:45.980000
 make sure that every single piece
 of hardware you buy supports 15.x.

0:19:45.980000 --> 0:19:48.660000
 Are you just going to be totally messed
 up and left out in the wind to

0:19:48.660000 --> 0:19:50.780000
 dry if you don't do that?

0:19:50.780000 --> 0:19:56.840000
 It depends. If you're trying to put
 a lab together to practice your CCNP

0:19:56.840000 --> 0:20:01.180000
 at CCNP level stuff, not
 really that important.

0:20:01.180000 --> 0:20:04.900000
 It's helpful but you're actually going
 to find yourself spending a little

0:20:04.900000 --> 0:20:09.320000
 bit more money to get the devices
 that support the 15 code.

0:20:09.320000 --> 0:20:12.760000
 There's a lot more devices available
 and they're a lot less expensive

0:20:12.760000 --> 0:20:16.420000
 that support the older 12 code.

0:20:16.420000 --> 0:20:19.800000
 And at the CCNP, that's
 probably okay.

0:20:19.800000 --> 0:20:23.120000
 It's really once you get to the CCIE
 level, especially on routing.

0:20:23.120000 --> 0:20:25.940000
 When you talk about the like the routing
 protocols and stuff you have

0:20:25.940000 --> 0:20:29.740000
 to know about at the CCIE level, there
 are a lot of little nitty gritty

0:20:29.740000 --> 0:20:34.160000
 commands that have changed
 from 12 to 15.

0:20:34.160000 --> 0:20:38.180000
 A lot of commands that now have different
 keywords that the structure

0:20:38.180000 --> 0:20:42.380000
 of how you type the command in is a little
 bit different, that the output

0:20:42.38000f 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]