Course Overview

AIX Advanced Shell Programming Tools Course Overview

This IBM AIX Advanced Shell Programming Tools training course is designed to give delegates practical experience using a range of AIX tools to manipulate text and incorporate them into AIX shell scripts.

Exercises and examples are used throughout the course to give practical hands-on experience with the techniques covered.

Course Objectives

To provide the knowledge and skills to make effective use of a wide range of standard AIX programming and development tools.

Course Content

AIX Advanced Shell Programming Tools Training Course

Course Contents – DAY 1

Course Introduction

  • Administration and Course Materials
  • Course Structure and Agenda
  • Delegate and Trainer Introductions

Session 1: BACKUP AND RESTORE UTILITIES

  • Backing-up and restoring files
  • Basic and advanced use of tar
  • Compression utilities gzip,bzip2,zip and compress
  • Exercise: Backing up and restoring files using tar
  • Exercises: Compressing files

Session 2: BACKGROUND JOB SCHEDULING

  • Scheduling jobs with the cron command
  • Scheduling jobs with the at command
  • Exercises: Running background jobs

Session 3: COMMANDS FOR COMPARING FILES

  • Compare files with the cmp command
  • Compare and format files with pr
  • Compare files with the comm command
  • Compare files with the diff and sdiff commands
  • Compare large files with the bdiff command
  • Exercises: Identifying file differences

Session 4: SPLITTING FILES

  • The fold command
  • Split files using context and content rules
  • Exercises: Splitting files

AIX Advanced Shell Programming Tools Training Course

Course Contents – DAY 2

Session 5: IDENTIFYING AND TRANSLATING CHARACTERS

  • od – octal dump
  • Use cat to display non-printing characters
  • View and format files with nl
  • The expand and unexpand commands to convert between tab and space characters
  • The tr command for character translation
  • Exercises: Translating characters with tr

Session 6: REGULAR EXPRESSION NOTATION REVIEW

  • Standard regular expressions
  • Searching with grep
  • Metacharacters,positional characters and quantifiers
  • Extended regular expressions
  • POSIX character classes
  • PERL expressions

Session 7: THE STREAM EDITOR sed

  • sed command line syntax
  • sed script files
  • sed command processing
  • sed addresses and simple instructions
  • sed pattern space and hold space
  • Grouping sed commands
  • Hold and get functions
  • Advanced flow control
  • Write output to temporary files
  • Exercises: Text processing with sed

Session 8: FUNDAMENTALS OF AWK

  • Basic AWK usage
  • AWK program-files
  • AWK scripts
  • AWK variables
  • Pattern matching with AWK
  • AWK extended patterns

Session 9: AWK OPERATORS

  • AWK AND,OR and range operators
  • AWK arithmetic operations
  • AWK output
  • Formatting output with printf
  • Exercises: Create awk scripts to extract selected data from a file and generate reports

AIX Advanced Shell Programming Tools Training Course

Course Contents – DAY 3

Session 10: AWK PROGRAM CONTROL STRUCTURES

  • The BEGIN and END functions
  • The AWK if construct
  • The AWK else if construct
  • The AWK while construct
  • Other program control statements
  • The AWK break,continue and exit statements
  • User defined functions
  • Exercises: Create AWK scripts and program-files utilising program control structures

Session 11: AWK FUNCTIONS

  • AWK string functions
  • AWK length,tolower,toupper,index,sub,gsub,match,substr,split,sprintf,system and getline functions
  • Exercises: Generate AWK scripts and program-files to extract and format data using AWK functions

Session 12: AWK ARRAYS

  • AWK associative arrays
  • Multi-dimensional arrays
  • Exercises: Create AWK associative arrays to process text files and generate reports

Session 13: MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS

  • bc (calculator)
  • fuser (testing for files in use)
  • getops (checking options passed to shell scripts)
  • printf (formatting screen output)
  • logger (script logging)
  • xargs (generating arguments for a command)
  • eval (re-evaluating variables)
  • Exercises: Using tools within a shell script

Course Overview

Develop the skills to use kernel traces, trace based utilities, and svmon to measure and analyze CPU, memory, and I/O performance issues on IBM systems running AIX. Reinforce each lecture during extensive hands-on lab exercises and get practical experience applicable to their performance management requirements.

This course provides lectures and hands on labs in a face-to-face classroom setting. The course is also offered in a live virtual classroom environment (ILO – Instructor Led Online) with hands-on labs Advanced Tools for AIX Performance Analysis (ILO) (AX520).

Virtual Learning

This interactive training can be taken from any location, your office or home and is delivered by a trainer. This training does not have any delegates in the class with the instructor, since all delegates are virtually connected. Virtual delegates do not travel to this course, Global Knowledge will send you all the information needed before the start of the course and you can test the logins.

Course Objectives

Use the trace facility to collect data and create a trace reportUse the kernel trace facilities to analyze CPU performance issuesDescribe causes and impacts of high context switching ratesIdentify what causes a thread to block and what causes a later wake upExplain the relationship between the output of svmon -G, svmon -P, and svmon -SCalculate the amount of memory in use on the systemExplain the relationship between svmon, vmstat, and ipcs outputCategorize the memory in use on the system by segment typeIdentify which processes are using the most memoryIdentify which segments are using the most paging spaceDescribe the characteristics of asynchronous I/O, synchronous I/O, direct I/O and concurrent I/OIdentify if the expected type of I/O is being executedTune asynchronous I/O

Course Content

Day 1

  • (00:30) Welcome
  • (01:00) Unit 1 – Trace Facilities
  • (01:00) Exercise 1 – Trace Facilities
  • (02:30) Unit 2 – Advanced Memory Topics – I
  • (00:20) Exercise 2 – Advanced Memory Topics – I

Day 2

  • (02:30) Unit 3 – Advanced Memory Topics – II
  • (00:40) Exercise 3 – Advanced Memory Topics – II
  • (02:00) Unit 4 – Advanced CPU Topics – I
  • (00:30) Exercise 4 – Advanced CPU Topics – I
  • (00:25) (optional) Exercise 4 – Advanced CPU Topics – I (Part 2)

Day 3

  • (02:00) Unit 5 – Advanced CPU Topics – II
  • (00:30) Exercise 5 – Advanced CPU Topics – II
  • (02:00) Unit 6 – Advanced I/O Topics – I
  • (00:45) Exercise 6 – Advanced I/O Topics – I – Part 1
  • (00:30) (optional) Exercise 5 – Advanced CPU Topics – II (Parts 2 & 3)

Day 4

  • (00:35) Exercise 6 – Advanced I/O Topics – I – Part 2
  • (02:00) Unit 7 – Advanced I/O Topics – II
  • (01:45) Exercise 7 – Advanced I/O Topics – II
  • (00:20) (optional) Exercise 7 – Advanced I/O Topics – II – (Part 3)

Course Overview

This course is designed to enhance the skills of a IBM i System Operator. In this class, we will explain the concept of how LPAR works and discuss the functions provided by the HMC. We will discuss the IBM i Access Family of products in general and Access Client Solutions, specifically.

We will discuss the different types of security that you can implement in order to control who has access to your data and what they can do with that data if they are allowed access. We will discuss security control via system values, user and group profiles, authorization lists, and adopted authority.

This course will help you to develop additional skills in the areas of work management and how to create a basic CL program. In the area of CL programming, we will discuss concepts of programming, then how to create a basic CL program using the traditional application development tools PDM and SEU. You will also learn the steps to create a menu using SDA. You will learn some tips that you can use to help improve your IBM i operations. We will also discuss about journaling overview and some tips which improved operator work.

Virtual Learning

This interactive training can be taken from any location, your office or home and is delivered by a trainer. This training does not have any delegates in the class with the instructor, since all delegates are virtually connected. Virtual delegates do not travel to this course, Global Knowledge will send you all the information needed before the start of the course and you can test the logins.

Course Objectives

  • Explain the concept of how LPAR works
  • Explain the functions served by the HMC
  • Explain the functions of IBM i Access Client Solutions
  • Explain how user versus resource security are implemented
  • Explain the difference between group profiles and authorization lists
  • Describe how adopted authority works
  • Describe how work is managed on the system and the concepts of the performance tuning process on the system
  • Explain how Management Central can be used to manage a single system or a network of Power i servers
  • Perform the steps to create a basic CL program using both the traditional (PDM and SEU) application development tools
  • Perform the steps to create a menu using SDA
  • Provide some tips on how you can improve your operations

Course Content

  • LPAR concepts and overview
  • Console options and HMC overview
  • Basic management using HMC
  • IBM i Access Family overview
  • IBM i Access Client Solutions
  • Security concepts and overview
  • System values
  • User security
  • Resource security
  • Authorization lists and adopted authority
  • Work management: Concepts and overview
  • Work management: Subsystem concepts and overview
  • Work management: Job processing concepts and interactive jobs
  • Work management: Job processing concepts of other job types
  • Work management: Submitting and tracking of batch jobs
  • Programming concepts
  • CL programming concepts
  • CL programming using PDM and SEU- Creating a menu using SDA
  • Tips for improved operation
  • Journaling overview and basic operation

Course Overview

This course provides instruction and practice in the use of the more complex S/390 Assembler Language facilities for the experienced assembler language programmer. The course includes a discussion of standard linkage conventions, use of BSAM/QSAM and selected system macros, the macro definition language, and reentrant coding considerations.

Emphasis is placed on enhancing skills in problem resolution through analysis of more complex system-provided dumps.

Virtual Learning

This interactive training can be taken from any location, your office or home and is delivered by a trainer. This training does not have any delegates in the class with the instructor, since all delegates are virtually connected. Virtual delegates do not travel to this course, Global Knowledge will send you all the information needed before the start of the course and you can test the logins.

Course Objectives

After this course participants should be able to:

  • Identify data management considerations and access methods
  • Code assembler language programs which:
    • Conform to standard linkage conventions using save area chaining
    • Define and use BSAM/QSAM datasets through standard I/O macros
  • Define and execute user macros which contain:
    • Positional and/or keyword parameters
    • Fixed or variable entry parameter lists
    • Conditional assembly logic
  • Use variable length storage operations (that is, EX, MVCL, and so on)
  • Employ more complex instructions (that is, TR, TRT, BXLE, and so on)
  • Access JCL parameter data
  • Employ LE date/time handling services
  • Identify reentrant coding considerations and dynamic storage acquisition

Course Content

Day 1

  • (00:15) Welcome
  • (01:00) Unit 1: Review
  • (00:15) Unit 2: Assembler instructions
  • (01:45) Unit 3: Linkage
  • (01:30) Unit 4: LE date/time handling
  • (02:30) Exercise 1: PARM handling and search

Day 2

  • (00:15) Lab review
  • (03:00) Unit 5: Access methods: BSAM/QSAM
  • (03:00) Exercise 2: File handling

Day 3

  • (00:15) Lab review
  • (00:30) Unit 6: Assembler compile-time options
  • (00:30) Unit 7: SNAP dumps
  • (03:30) Unit 8: Macros and the Conditional Assembly Language
  • (02:30) Exercise 3: Macro modification

Day 4

  • (00:25) Lab review
  • (01:15) Unit 9: Miscellaneous instructions
  • (00:25) Unit 10: Floating point data
  • (00:25) Unit 11: Reentrant coding
  • (00:15) Class wrap-up

Course Overview

This course describes advanced operator actions to implement new policies, coupling facilities, structures and sysplex related operational enhancements. It diagnoses problems and demonstrates recovery techniques in these areas. These include:

  • Identifying HMC problems and recovery, including IPL problems during system and sysplex activation
  • Recovery with and without SFM policies
  • Couple data set failures
  • CF and CF structure failures

Labs are provided to submit jobs to format CDS, define policies, start and verify that they are working as desired, identify any policy change pending conditions and correct as needed. Labs take students through the required steps to implement ECS, GRS star, JES checkpoint, Operlog, Logrec, and SM duplexing on the CF. Students will also identify potential problems during the implementation process, identify various CDS and other sysplex related problems. Students will remove a CF from the sysplex as in the case of required maintenance to a CF; add a new CF to the sysplex and perform system and CF failure and recovery scenarios.

Course Objectives

  • Use the HMC classic or tree UI:
    • Identify and define operational usage of the HMC with CPC and IMAGE groups and objects
    • Determine object status, build, identify, and assign activation profiles
  • Describe the difference between:
    • Base sysplex and a Parallel Sysplex
    • Resource sharing and data sharing
  • Identify and describe Parallel Sysplex hardware and software key components:
    • Coupling facilities, couple data sets and STP hardware
    • z/OS operating system, XCF and XES code
    • IEASYSxx and COUPLExx statements used in a sysplex
  • Describe how signaling is provided in a sysplex
  • Describe structure types and usage by the CF
  • Identify CF availability characteristics
  • Explain the difference between ICF and non-ICF configurations, benefits and availability requirements
  • Describe system managed CF structure duplexing and its purpose
  • Identify System z CF link connectivity options
    • Internal and external CF link types and speeds, including PSIFB link options
  • Identify commands to use to determine operational state of sysplex components
    • z/OS Systems
    • CF, CF links and structures
  • Describe the steps used to initialized a system image into a sysplex during NIP
  • Identify and explain key NIP messages that surface during sysplex initialization
  • Describe why WTOR messages can be issued for normal and problem scenarios during sysplex initialization
  • Properly remove a system from the sysplex
  • Describe z/OS 1.10 and 1.11 changes that relate to how systems are removed from the sysplex
  • Describe the purpose and use of sysplex couple data sets
  • Identify and explain new information provided in the output of the D XCF, C command with z/OS 1.10, 1.11, and 1.12
  • Describe CFRM policy requirements to define CFs and structures
  • Use commands to manage couple data sets and identify support options
  • Describe CFRM CDS format options to support and how they are used
  • Describe the difference between a GRS ring and a GRS star complex
  • Identify GRS star requirements and its structure attributes
  • Describe how JES2 checkpoint uses the CF
  • Use the JES2 reconfiguration dialog to move checkpoint from DASD to CF
  • Identify recovery options for JES2 checkpoint
  • Describe enhanced catalog sharing, operation and recovery considerations
  • Explain the purpose of the system logger component in a sysplex
  • Describe how Operlog and logrec can use logstreams and structures in a sysplex
  • Identify CF logger recovery actions for system, CF logger failures
  • Describe recovery terms and use for:
    • Rebuild percent and SFM weights
    • Structure and connector persistence
  • Remove a coupling facility
  • Activate CFRM policies
  • Explain, identify and correct policy pending conditions
  • List different command options to move structures in and out of CFs
  • Define Reallocate command usage and benefits
  • Identify structure hang recovery options
  • Add an external CF to the sysplex
  • Manage Reset profile to update IOCDS pointer
  • Activate CFRM policy, verify CF connectivity and resolve policy pending conditions
  • List and describe recent OS enhancements addressing sympathy sickness
  • Describe the purpose and use of SFM
  • Activate an SFM policy, verify SFM policy settings and identify SFM action messages
  • Describe the purpose and use of ARM
  • Activate a default ARM policy and verify ARM status
  • Describe Server Time Protocol (STP)
    • Identify various STP terminology and supported configurations
  • Identify DB2 overall configuration and structure recovery concepts
  • Identify the steps necessary to remove or delete:
    • DB2 cache structure for group buffer pools
    • CICS temporary storage queue pool structures
    • RACF database cache structures
    • IMS OSAM and VSAM cache structures
    • IRLM lock structure
    • DB2 list (SCA) structure
    • VSAM RLS lock and cache structures
    • IMS shared-queue or EMH structures
    • Global resource serialization lock structure

Course Content

Day 1

  • Welcome
  • Unit 1 – Parallel Sysplex overview
  • Machine lab exercises

Day 2

  • Unit 2 – Sysplex initialization, CDS usage, and recovery
  • Machine lab exercises

Day 3

  • Unit 3 – Managing CFs, structures, policies, and recovery
  • Machine lab exercises

Day 4

  • Unit 4 – Dynamic CF implementation, Sysplex Failure Manager, and Automatic Restart Manager
  • Machine lab exercises

Day 5

  • Machine lab exercises
  • Unit 5 – STP, DB2 and structure recovery and removal overview

Course Overview

This hands-on, advanced technical-level, instructor-led course provides a deep dive into Amazon Web Services (AWS) best practices to help you perform effective and efficient AWS Well-Architected Framework reviews. The course covers the phases of a review, including how to prepare, run, and get guidance after a review has been performed. This course is designed for AWS customers and AWS Partners. Attendees should have familiarity with the AWS concepts, terminology, services, and tools that are covered in the intermediate 200-level precursor to this course. This course provides an AWS Well-Architected Framework review simulation and instructor led group exercises and discussions about prioritizing and resolving risks.
The content focuses on how to prepare proposals on high and medium risk issues using the AWS Well-Architected Tool.

Course Objectives

In this course, you will learn to:

  • Recognize workload definition and key concepts
  • Identify the AWS Well-Architected Framework review phases, process, best practices, and anti-patterns
  • Identify high and medium risks
  • Prioritize improvements to the AWS Well-Architected workflow
  • Locate and use the AWS Well-Architected Framework white paper, labs, and prebuilt solutions in the AWS solutions library
  • Locate and use AWS Well-Architected independent software vendors (ISVs)
  • Locate and use the AWS Well-Architected Partner Program (WAPP)

Course Content

Module 0: Course Introduction

Module 1: AWS Well-Architected Framework Reviews

  • AWS Well-Architected Framework workload
  • AWS Well-Architected Framework review phases
  • AWS Well-Architected review approach, lessons learned, and use cases
  • AWS Well-Architected review best practices
  • AWS Well-Architected review anti-patterns
  • Knowledge check

Module 2: Customer Scenario Group Sessions

  • Customer Story
  • Demonstration of the workflow
  • Hands-on group exercise
  • Demonstration: Running a review in the Operational Excellence pillar
  • Role-play exercise: Running a review in the Security pillar
  • Role-play exercise: Running a review in the Reliability pillar
  • Role-play exercise: Running a review in the Performance Efficiency pillar
  • Role-play exercise: Running a review in the Cost Optimization pillar

Module 3: Risk Solutions and Priorities

  • AWS Well-Architected Framework review engagement workflow
  • High risk and medium risk issues
  • Defining risks
  • Resolving high-risk issues (HRIs) and medium-risk issues (MRIs)
  • Group discussion: Identifying and resolving significant risks for:
  • Operational Excellence
  • Security
  • Reliability
  • Performance Efficiency
  • Cost Optimization
  • Prioritizing improvements
  • AWS Well-Architected improvement workflow

Module 4: Resources

  • Resource pages
  • AWS Well-Architected ISVs
  • AWS Well-Architected Partner Program (WAPP)

Module 5: Course Summary

  • Debrief
  • What’s next?
  • Course feedback

Course Overview

This course provides the learner with an in-depth understanding of how to manage, monitor and maintain the operational aspects of VPLEX systems (Local and Metro) using Unisphere for VPLEX and the VPLEX CLI. Provisioning storage from both the local and remote clusters are topics covered in lecture and labs. Distributed volumes and working with Consistency Groups are discussed and practiced. Protecting VPLEX Virtual Volumes with RecoverPoint is covered, along with the MetroPoint feature. Monitoring a VPLEX System is also covered using both lecture and lab exercises. This course covers version 5.4

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, participants should be able to:

  • Describe common VPLEX terms, configuration options, hardware and software architecture
  • Describe high level data flow within a VPLEX system.
  • Create Virtual Volumes and provision them to Hosts 
  • Create and Manage VPLEX Distributed Devices
  • Manage VPLEX using Unisphere and CLI
  • Perform volume expansion or migration
  • Protect VPLEX Devices with RecoverPoint
  • Perform Monitoring in VPLEX including batched mobility.

Course Content

The content of this course is designed to support the course objectives.

  • VPLEX Product and Technology Details
  • VPLEX Storage Provisioning
  • Provisioning Remote Access with VPLEX
  • VPLEX Distributed Devices
  • Monitoring

Course Overview

This Expert level course provides a thorough exposure to performance on the VNX Unified Storage platform. This is a workshop-format course, with heavy emphasis on performance analysis student activities and instructor debriefs. Topical areas include the use of Unisphere Analyzer, command outputs from Navisphere Secure CLI and File server_stats, and the analysis of those performance statistics. Other topics include evaluating performance statistics utilizing different workload patterns, RAID and disk types. The performance implications of using VNX Replication Software such as SnapSure, Replicator, VNX Snapshots, SnapView and SAN Copy. Also covered are VNX features including data compression and deduplication, FAST VP, and FAST Cache, among others.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, participants should be able to:

  • Determine VNX Unified performance using metrics and workload analysis
  • Use Block and File performance tools for analysis and troubleshooting
  • Describe the performance implications regarding different drive types and LUN Layout
  • Identify AVM performance considerations
  • Describe the performance implications of data compression and deduplication, FAST VP and FAST Cache
  • Explain the performance impact of using File deduplication, SnapSure, and Replicator
  • Identify performance considerations when using SnapView and VNX Snapshots
  • Explain the impact in using SAN Copy and MirrorView on an application
  • Size and validate a VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) storage solution for application performance

Course Content

The content of this course is designed to support the course objectives.

Performance Overview

  • Performance Review
  • VNX Cache Considerations

Analysis of Performance Data

  • Unisphere Statistics and Secure CLI
  • Unisphere Analyzer

Disk Type and LUN Layout Impact on Performance

  • Disk Considerations
  • LUN Layout and metaLUN Considerations

VNX File System Impact on Performance

  • Automatic Volume Management
  • Manual Volume Management

Storage Efficiency Features and Performance

  • Data Compression Performance Considerations
  • Block Deduplication Performance Considerations

FAST Suite Performance Considerations

  • FAST Cache and FAST VP Performance

Local Replication Performance Considerations

  • VNX SnapSure, Snapshots, and SnapView Performance

Remote Replication Performance Considerations

  • VNX Replicator, SAN Copy, and MirrorView Performance

Host Performance Considerations

  • Host Performance
  • EMC Xtrem Performance

Storage Performance Planning and Sizing for Desktop-as-a-Service

  • VDI Performance Overview
  • Measuring Virtual Desktop IO
  • Sizing the Number of VMs per RG/Pool

Course Overview

This five-day, hands-on training course provides the advanced knowledge, skills, and tools to achieve competency in operating and troubleshooting the VMware NSX infrastructure. This course introduces you to workflows of various networking and security constructs along with several operational and troubleshooting tools that help you manage and troubleshoot your VMware NSX environment.

In addition, various types of technical problems are presented to you, which you will identify, analyze, and solve through a systematic process.

Product Alignment

– VMware NSX 4.0.0.1
– VMware NSX 4.0.1.1

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

  • Use the native tools available in NSX to identify and troubleshoot the problems.
  • Use VMware Aria Operations for Logs and VMware Aria Operations for Networks to identify and troubleshoot problems related to the NSX environment
  • Explain the NSX infrastructure components and the communications between them
  • Identify, analyze, and troubleshoot problems related to the management, control, and data planes in NSX
  • Identify, analyze, and troubleshoot problems related to infrastructure preparation and VMware NSX Edge deployments
  • Identify, analyze, and troubleshoot problems related to logical switching and logical routing
  • Identify, analyze, and troubleshoot network security problems related to the Distributed firewalls, Gateway firewalls, and Distributed IDS/IPS.
  • Identify, analyze, and troubleshoot problems related to VPN and VMware NSX Advanced Load Balancer
  • Identify the components and packet flows involved in the NSX datapath and troubleshoot related problems

Course Content

1 Course Introduction

  • Introduction and course logistics
  • Course objectives

2 NSX Operations and Tools

  • Explain and validate the native troubleshooting tools for NSX
  • Configure syslog, IPFIX, and log collections for the NSX environment
  • Integrate NSX with VMware Aria Operations for Logs and VMware Aria Operations for Networks
  • Validate and review the API methods available to configure the NSX environment

3 Troubleshooting the NSX Management Cluster

  • Describe the NSX Management cluster architecture, components, and communication channels
  • Identify the workflows involved in configuring the NSX Management cluster
  • Validate and troubleshoot the NSX Management cluster formation

4 Troubleshooting Infrastructure Preparation

  • Describe the data plane architecture, components, and communication channels
  • Explain and troubleshoot VMware ESXi transport node preparation issues
  • Explain and troubleshoot NSX Edge deployment issues

5 Troubleshooting Logical Switching

  • Describe the architecture of logical switching
  • List the modules and processes involved in configuring logical switching
  • Explain the importance of VDS in transport nodes
  • Review the architecture and workflows involved in attaching workloads to segments
  • Identify and troubleshoot common logical switching issues

6 Troubleshooting Logical Routing

  • Review the architecture of logical routing
  • Explain the workflows involved in the configuration of Tier-0 and Tier-1 gateways
  • Explain the high availability modes and validate logical router placements
  • Identify and troubleshoot common logical routing issues using both BGP and OSPF

7 Troubleshooting Security

  • Review the architecture of the Distributed Firewall
  • Explain the workflows involved in configuring the Distributed Firewall
  • Review the architecture of the Gateway Firewall
  • Explain the workflows involved in configuring the Gateway Firewall
  • Identify and troubleshoot common Distributed firewall and Gateway Firewall issues
  • Review the architecture and workflows involved in configuring Distributed IDS/IPS
  • Identify and troubleshoot common Distributed IDS/IPS problems.

8 Troubleshooting Services

  • Review the NSX Advanced Load Balancer architecture and components
  • Identify and troubleshoot common NSX Advanced Load Balancer issues
  • Review the IPsec and L2 VPN architecture and components
  • Identify and troubleshoot common IPsec and L2 VPN issues

9 Datapath Walkthrough

  • Verify and validate the path of the packet on the NSX datapath
  • Identify and perform packet captures at various points in the datapath
  • Use NSX CLI and native hypervisor commands to retrieve configurations involved in the NSX datapath

Course Overview

This five-day course provides comprehensive training on considerations and practices to design a VMware NSX® environment as part of a software-defined data center strategy. This course prepares the student with the skills to lead the design of an NSX environment, including design principles, processes, and frameworks. The student gains a deeper understanding of the NSX architecture and how it can be used to create solutions to address the customer’s business needs.

Product Alignment

– VMware NSX 4.1.0

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

  • Describe and apply a design framework
  • Apply a design process for gathering requirements, constraints, assumptions, and risks
  • Design a VMware vSphere® virtual data center to support NSX requirements
  • Create a VMware NSX® Manager™ cluster design
  • Create a VMware NSX® Edge™ cluster design to support traffic and service requirements in NSX
  • Design logical switching and routing
  • Recognize NSX security best practices
  • Design logical network services
  • Design a physical network to support network virtualization in a software-defined data center
  • Create a design to support the NSX infrastructure across multiple sites
  • Describe the factors that drive performance in NSX

Course Content

1 Course Introduction

  • Introduction and course logistics
  • Course objectives

2 NSX Design Concepts

  • Identify design terms
  • Describe framework and project methodology
  • Describe the role of VMware Cloud Foundation™ in NSX design
  • Identify customers’ requirements, assumptions, constraints, and risks
  • Explain the conceptual design
  • Explain the logical design
  • Explain the physical design

3 NSX Architecture and Components

  • Recognize the main elements in the NSX architecture
  • Describe the NSX management cluster and the management plane
  • Identify the functions and components of management, control, and data planes
  • Describe the NSX Manager sizing options
  • Recognize the justification and implication of NSX Manager cluster design decisions
  • Identify the NSX management cluster design options

4 NSX Edge Design

  • Explain the leading practices for edge design
  • Describe the NSX Edge VM reference designs
  • Describe the bare-metal NSX Edge reference designs
  • Explain the leading practices for edge cluster design
  • Explain the effect of stateful services placement
  • Explain the growth patterns for edge clusters
  • Identify design considerations when using L2 bridging services

5 NSX Logical Switching Design

  • Describe concepts and terminology in logical switching
  • Identify segment and transport zone design considerations
  • Identify virtual switch design considerations
  • Identify uplink profile and transport node profile design considerations
  • Identify Geneve tunneling design considerations
  • Identify BUM replication mode design considerations

6 NSX Logical Routing Design

  • Explain the function and features of logical routing
  • Describe the NSX single-tier and multitier routing architectures
  • Identify guidelines when selecting a routing topology
  • Describe the BGP and OSPF routing protocol configuration options
  • Explain gateway high availability modes of operation and failure detection mechanisms
  • Identify how multitier architectures provide control over stateful service location
  • Identify EVPN requirements and design considerations
  • Identify VRF Lite requirements and considerations
  • Identify the typical NSX scalable architectures

7 NSX Security Design

  • Identify different security features available in NSX
  • Describe the advantages of an NSX Distributed Firewall
  • Describe the use of NSX Gateway Firewall as a perimeter firewall and as an intertenant firewall
  • Determine a security policy methodology
  • Recognize the NSX security best practices

8 NSX Network Services

  • Identify the stateful services available in different edge cluster high availability modes
  • Describe failover detection mechanisms
  • Compare NSX NAT solutions
  • Explain how to select DHCP and DNS services
  • Compare policy-based and route-based IPSec VPN
  • Describe an L2 VPN topology that can be used to interconnect data centers
  • Explain the design considerations for integrating VMware NSX® Advanced Load Balancer™ with NSX

9 Physical Infrastructure Design

  • Identify the components of a switch fabric design
  • Assess Layer 2 and Layer 3 switch fabric design implications
  • Review guidelines when designing top-of-rack switches
  • Review options for connecting transport hosts to the switch fabric
  • Describe typical designs for VMware ESXi™ compute hypervisors with two pNICs
  • Describe typical designs for ESXi compute hypervisors with four or more pNICs
  • Differentiate dedicated and collapsed cluster approaches to SDDC design

10 NSX Multilocation Design

  • Explain scale considerations in an NSX multisite design
  • Describe the main components of the NSX Federation architecture
  • Describe the stretched networking capability in Federation
  • Describe stretched security use cases in Federation
  • Compare the Federation disaster recovery designs

11 NSX Optimization and DPU-Based Acceleration

  • Describe Geneve Offload
  • Describe the benefits of Receive Side Scaling and Geneve Rx Filters
  • Explain the benefits of SSL Offload
  • Describe the effect of Multi-TEP, MTU size, and NIC speed on throughput
  • Explain the available enhanced datapath modes and use cases
  • List the key performance factors for compute nodes and NSX Edge nodes
  • Describe DPU-Based Acceleration
  • Define the NSX features supported by DPUs
  • Describe the hardware and networking configurations supported with DPUs