These 3 diagrams have been publicly available for years, I downloaded this TSHOOT Topology off Cisco's official learning forum, post can be viewed here. I doubt this is exactly the Topology used on exam day, it very well could be, however if this is not it the Topology will be something extremely similar to this. … Continue reading TSHOOT – Critical understanding of Cisco Published Topologies, troubleshooting methods, and must knows for exam day!
Credit to @SpanningTreeDC on Twitter for the awesome STP logo! Wanted to throw some notes on here on which STP features are global, interface level, how the global configs will impact interfaces that are configured and also how error-recovery can save the day when you don't want to have to shut/no shut every err-disable interface … Continue reading Pretty easy read on STP Sub-Commands, what they do, errdisable demo, some labbing, lots of good info for exam day!
The above Topology has been configured for the labbing portion of configuring VTP Authentication, I won't go int every detail, but I will bullet point the basics, before reviewing authentication methods to know for exam day + full explanation of VTP Pruning as it can be a tricky topic if you don't know the mechanisms … Continue reading VTP v3 – Review of v1/v2/v3 basics and updates to v3, an in depth look at VTP Pruning and mechanisms that drive it, and VERY important v3 Auth info and concepts to finish up!
I figured I would take it easy on a Friday night, and do a full blow lab on CEF 🙂 This Topology is a good example to review CEF FIB and Adjacency tables, as you don't need a really large Topology to demonstrate, provides "Packet Switching" information meaning it just wants to read the packet … Continue reading CEF – Deep dive into FIB and AT Tables, how packet MAC Addresses are re-written, and diagrams to explain along the way! IMPORTANT for Exam Day!!!
The above illustration is exactly how a MultiLayer Switch interconnects logically The MultiLayer Switching segment confused of my studies confused me to no end, and when studying some material today it clicked what is meant by "Hardware Switching" vs Process or Fast Switching, and wanted to review it here as well in a more visual … Continue reading MultiLayer Switching / CEF – Packet processing explained in depth, and visually presented for clarity!
The last thing I left on from Cisco forums was an issue with their exam experiences in regards to the topic of L3 EtherChannel configuration, so I thought a good place to start would be where I left off, and this will be important for exam day I expect! If you read nothing else, skip … Continue reading EtherChannel Review – VERY Important Layer 3 EtherChannel proper configuration for Exam Day!
This is very complex (like pulling teeth), prepare yourself for a LOT of info! On an MLS Switch we have the TCAM that covers IP Routing, including Access-Control for Inter-VLAN communication (between VLANs / Subnets) at Layer 3, and for Access-Control for Intra-VLAN Communication (Between Hosts in the same VLAN / Subnet) we have VACLs … Continue reading VLAN Access-Control List / VACL – DEEP DIVE into Configuration, Verification, and a LOT of explanation! Prepare yourself!!
Fundamentals and Details for exam day GLBP is the final FHRP to be reviewed among the three, and is the only one that is truly made to load balance evenly among Group members, by the use of round Robin where ARP requests cycle in order from Switch 1 - Switch 4 and back to … Continue reading GLBP – Gateway Load Balancing Protocol DEEP DIVE, heavy configuration and verification review for exam day!
I've added SW3 to the Router Group to fully demonstrate all States and behaviors, starting with an overview of the States and leading into an in depth review of each Router State, along with a Timers section worked into the Active State section! Preemption is not completely reviewed in this post, but for context to … Continue reading HSRP – Active / Standby Election reviewed through DEEP DIVE of all HSRP Router States, and HSRP Timers reviewed!
I've removed the 2 x 1Gig links and replaced them with 3 FastEthernet links for this lab, as I wanted to do some adjusting of speed and duplex throughout the lab, but with multi-mode fiber it is not having any of those sort of changes: SW2(config)#int gi1/0/1 SW2(config-if)#speed ? nonegotiate Do not negotiate speed SW2(config-if)#duplex … Continue reading STP EtherChannel – All modes DEEP DIVE, cross-stack EtherChannel / channel-protocol reviewed, and verification cmds demonstrated!
The above Topology represents a failure on a Fiber Optic Transmit / Receive cable pair on one cable, on one end of the link, which would leave the link up and Unidirectional. Here is an example of the SFP Transceiver and Fiber cable connecting to a switch: Source : This Cisco.com 2960x Fiber Stacking article … Continue reading STP – Fiber Cabling, Loop Guard and UDLD DEEP DIVE, and important notes for exam day!
Topology has been reset to VTP Version 2, Domain CCNP, and above Topology configured. Note that the two VTP Client switches both have interfaces in a common VLAN, interfaces in separate VLANs, and the VTP Server only has Trunk interfaces which are considered to be in "all VLANs" by default. The Fundamentals of VTP … Continue reading VTP – Pruning VLAN explanation and lab to demonstrate, and example of trick question for Exam day (bottom of post)!
I will only be using the 3560 stand alone for IOS difference comparisons, and will only be using the 3750's in a two layer Core / Access switch model to demonstrate the differences between the 3 different VTP versions. This will be a long, lab heavy post to demonstrate behaviors, so prepare yourself for a … Continue reading VTP – Versions / Passwords / Extended VLANs DEEP DIVE – Explained and labbed exhaustively so prepare thyself!
And so the Elephant begins the Trunking negotiation with the humans face! First I will tackle both modes and encapsulation types using IOS help, review as I go along, and a quick summary to wrap up both Modes and Encapsulations: SW2(config-if)#switchport mode ? access Set trunking mode to ACCESS unconditionally dot1q-tunnel set trunking mode to … Continue reading Trunking Modes, Encapsulation Types, and Trunk behaviors DEEP DIVE on the lab, NEED TO KNOW info for exam day!
The DEVNET GRIND! 