Course Overview
The Understanding Cisco Data Center Foundations course helps you prepare for entry-level data center roles. In this course, you will learn the foundational knowledge and skills you need to configure Cisco® data center technologies including: networking, virtualization, storage area networking, and unified computing. You will get an introduction 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 does not lead directly to a certification exam, but it does cover foundational knowledge that can help you prepare for several professional-level data center courses and exams.
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you should be able to:
- 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 EthernetFCoE
- 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
Course Content
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
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
Describing Fibre Channel Communication Between the Initiator Server and the Target Storage
- Fibre Channel Layered Model
- Fabric Login (FLOGI) Process
- Fibre Channel Flow Control
Describing Fibre Channel Zone Types and Their Uses
- Fibre Channel Zoning
- Zoning Configuration
- Zoning Management
Describing Cisco NPV Mode and NPIV
- Cisco NPV Mode
- NPIV Mode
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
Describing FCoE
- Cisco Unified Fabric
- FCoE Architecture
- FCoE Initialization Protocol
- FCoE Adapters
Describing Cisco UCS Components
- Physical Cisco UCS Components
- Cisco HyperFlex Data Platform
- Cisco Fabric Interconnect Product Overview
- Cisco I/O Module (IOM) Product Overview
- Cisco UCS Mini
- Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) Supervisor
- Cisco Intersight™
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
Automating the Data Center
- Automation Basics
- Choosing the Automation Toolset
- Management and Orchestration Systems
Describing Cisco ACI
- Cisco ACI Overview
- Cisco ACI Topology and Hardware
- Cisco ACI Policy Model
- Cisco ACI External Connectivity Options
- Cisco ACI and VMM Integration
- Cisco ACI and Layer4-Layer 7 Integration
- Cisco ACI Management and Automation
- Cisco ACI Anywhere
Describing Cloud Computing
- Cloud Computing Overview
- Cloud Deployment Models
- Cloud Computing Services
Labs
- Explore the Cisco NX-OS CLI
- Explore Topology Discovery
- Configure Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP)
- Configure VPCs
- Configure Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF)
- Explore the Virtual Device Contexts (VDC) Elements
- Install VMware 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
- Explore Cisco ACI