In this 5-day course, Understanding Cisco Data Center Foundations (DCFNDU), students will gain the foundational knowledge and skills needed to configure Cisco data center technologies including: networking, virtualization, storage area networking, and unified computing.
Students will be introduced to Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (Cisco ACI), automation, and cloud computing. You will get hands-on experience with configuring features on Cisco Nexus Operating System (Cisco NX-OS) and Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS).
This course will help students:
- Prepare for entry-level job roles in the high-demand area of data center environments
- Prepare for courses that support the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center certification exams
- Gain knowledge and hands-on skills through Ciscos unique combination of lessons and hands-on practice using enterprise-grade Cisco learning technologies, data center equipment, and software
Skills Gained
Upon completing this course, the learner will be able to meet these overall objectives:
- Describe the foundations of data center networking
- Describe Cisco Nexus products and explain the basic Cisco NX-OS functionalities and tools
- Describe Layer 3 first-hop redundancy
- Describe Cisco Fabric Extender (FEX) connectivity
- Describe Ethernet port channels and virtual port channel (VPCs)
- Introduce switch virtualization, machine virtualization, and network virtualization
- Compare storage connectivity options in the data center
- Describe Fibre Channel communication between the initiator server and the target storage
- Describe Fibre Channel zone types and their uses
- Describe N-Port Virtualization (NPV) and N-Port Identifier Virtualization (NPIV)
- Describe data center Ethernet enhancements that provide a lossless fabric
- Describe Fibre Channel over Ethernet FCoE
- Describe data center server connectivity
- Describe Cisco UCS Manager
- Describe the purpose and advantages of APIs
- Describe Cisco ACI
- Describe the basic concepts of cloud computing
Who Can Benefit
The primary audience for this course is as follows:
- Data center administrators
- Data center engineers
- Systems engineers
- Server administrators
- Network managers
- Cisco integrators and partners
Prerequisites
The knowledge and skills that the learner should have before attending this course are as follows:
- Good understanding of networking protocols
- Good understanding of the VMware environment
- Basic knowledge of Microsoft Windows operating systems
Module 1: Describing the Data Center Network Architectures
- Cisco Data Center Architecture Overview
- Three-Tier Network: Core, Aggregation, and Access
- Spine-and-Leaf Network
- Two-Tier Storage Network
Module 2: Describing the Cisco Nexus Family and Cisco NX-OS Software
- Cisco Nexus Data Center Product Overview
- Cisco NX-OS Software Architecture
- Cisco NX-OS Software CLI Tools
- Cisco NX-OS Virtual Routing and Forwarding
Module 3: Describing Layer 3 First-Hop Redundancy
- Default Gateway Redundancy
- Hot Standby Router Protocol
- Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol
- Gateway Load Balancing Protocol
Module 4: Describing Cisco FEX
- Server Deployment Models
- Cisco FEX Technology
- Cisco FEX Traffic Forwarding
- Cisco Adapter FEX
Module 5: Describing Port Channels and VPCs
- Ethernet Port Channels
- Virtual Port Channels
- Supported VPC Topologies
Module 6: Describing Switch Virtualization
- Cisco Nexus Switch Basic Components
- Virtual Routing and Forwarding
- Cisco Nexus 7000 Virtual Device Contexts (VDCs)
- VDC Types
- VDC Resource Allocation
- VDC Management
Module 7: Describing Machine Virtualization
- Virtual Machines
- Hypervisor
- VM Manager
Module 8: Describing Network Virtualization
- Overlay Network Protocols
- Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) Overlay
- VXLAN Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Ethernet VPN (EVPN) Control Plane
- VXLAN Data Plane
- Cisco Nexus 1000VE Series Virtual Switch
- VMware vSphere Virtual Switches
Module 9: Introducing Basic Data Center Storage Concepts
- Storage Connectivity Options in the Data Center
- Fibre Channel Storage Networking
- Virtual Storage Area Network (VSAN) Configuration and Verification
Module 10: Describing Fibre Channel Communication Between the Initiator Server and the Target Storage
- Fibre Channel Layered Model
- Fabric Login (FLOGI) Process
- Fibre Channel Flow Control
Module 11: Describing Fibre Channel Zone Types and Their Uses
- Fibre Channel Zoning
- Zoning Configuration
- Zoning Management
Module 12: Describing Cisco NPV Mode and NPIV
Module 13: Describing Data Center Ethernet Enhancements
- Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Data Center Bridging
- Priority Flow Control
- Enhanced Transmission Selection
- Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX) Protocol
- Congestion Notification
Module 14: Describing FCoE
- Cisco Unified Fabric
- FCoE Architecture
- FCoE Initialization Protocol
- FCoE Adapters
Module 15: Describing Cisco UCS Components
- Physical Cisco UCS Components
- Cisco Fabric Interconnect Product Overview
- Cisco I/O Module (IOM) Product Overview
- Cisco UCS Mini
- Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) Supervisor
- Cisco Intersight
Module 16: Describing Cisco UCS Manager
- Cisco UCS Manager Overview
- Identity and Resource Pools for Hardware Abstraction
- Service Profiles and Service Profile Templates
- Cisco UCS Central Overview
- Cisco HyperFlex Overview
Module 17: Using APIs
- Common Programmability Protocols and Methods
- How to Choose Models and Processes
Module 18: Describing Cisco ACI
- Cisco ACI Overview
- Multitier Applications in Cisco ACI
- Cisco ACI Features
- VXLAN in Cisco ACI
- Unicast Traffic in Cisco ACI
- Multicast Traffic in Cisco ACI
- Cisco ACI Programmability
- Common Programming Tools and Orchestration Options
Module 19: Describing Cloud Computing
- Cloud Computing Overview
- Cloud Deployment Models
- Cloud Computing Services
Lab Outline:
Labs are designed to assure learners a whole practical experience, through the following practical activities:
- Explore the Cisco NX-OS CLI
- Explore Topology Discovery
- Configure Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP)
- Configure the Cisco Nexus 2000 FEX
- Configure VPCs
- Configure VPCs with Cisco FEX
- Configure Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF)
- Explore the Virtual Device Contexts (VDC) Elements
- Install VMware Elastic Sky X Integrated (ESXi) and vCenter
- Configure VSANs
- Validate FLOGI and FCNS
- Configure Zoning
- Configure Unified Ports on a Cisco Nexus Switch and Implement FCoE
- Explore the Cisco UCS Server Environment
- Configure a Cisco UCS Server Profile
- Configure Cisco NX-OS with APIs
- Explore the Cisco UCS Manager XML API Management Information Tree