Implementing Cisco Storage Networking Solutions v4.2 (ICSNS)

Module 1: MDS 9000 Platform Overview Given a SAN environment, the learner will be able to identify the components, services and features of the MDS 9000 platform that can be used to improve the availability, scalability, performance, and manageability of the SAN.

Lesson 1: Introducing MDS 9000 Platform Components

• Describe Cisco MDS 9100, 9200 and 9500 series
• Describe Cisco MDS line card modules
• Describe Cisco MDS Supervisor Modules
• Describe Cisco MDS 9500 Fabric Modules

Lesson 2: System Architecture

• Explain the performance characteristics of the crossbar architecture and separation of the control plane from the data plane
• Describe the architecture of Cisco MDS 9000 switch line card modules and data flow across the crossbar
• Describe the benefits of VOQ and explain the purpose of destination indexes
• Explain the use of planned oversubscription in a SAN environment
• Explain the use of Port Bandwidth Reservation on second and third-generation line card modules
• Explain how Buffer Credits are allocated to Fibre Channel (FC) interfaces and their importance over long-distance communication
• Explain the recommended practices for configuring port speed, rate mode, BB_Credits, and Bandwidth Reservation

Lesson 3: Using Intelligent Fabric Services

• Describe SAN scalability features on Cisco MDS 9000 Switch
• Describe VSAN and virtual fabrics
• Explain Dynamic Port VSAN Membership
• Explain SAN Device Virtualization
• Explain the Flex Attach feature
• Identify SAN protocols supported by the Cisco MDS 9000 Switch
• Describe Cisco MDS 9000 Switch High Availability features
• Describe Traffic Engineering features on Cisco MDS 9000 Switch
• Describe SAN Security features on Cisco MDS 9000 Switch
• Describe the CFS infrastructure and discuss the benefits of maintaining configuration synchronization to provide fabric consistency

Lesson 4: Implementing Integrated Management

• Explain the architecture of the Cisco NX-OS on the Cisco MDS 9000 Series and Cisco Nexus product range
• Describe the Cisco NX-OS Command Line Interface (CLI) and explain how it is used to configure the Cisco MDS 9000 switch and obtain status info
• Describe the installation, connectivity, functions and capabilities of the Cisco Fabric Manager.
• Describe the architecture and features of the Cisco Fabric Manager Server.
• Describe the capabilities and applications of the Cisco Performance Manager and Cisco Traffic Analyzer

Module 2: System Installation and Initial Configuration Given an MDS 9000 switch, the learner will be able to safely install the switch hardware and perform the initial software configuration process

Lesson 1: Installing Switch Hardware

• Describe the installation guidelines for the Cisco MDS 9000 Series platform
• Describe the power supply configuration options for the Cisco MDS 9000 Series platform, and state the power requirements of individual modules
• Describe the functions, interfaces, and installation requirements of the Cisco MDS 9000 Series supervisor and line card modules

Lesson 2: Performing the Initial Switch Configuration

• Describe the steps that are necessary to complete the initial setup routine on a newly installed switch
• Describe the purpose and settings of default values to successfully manage the switch
• Describe the NX-OS software command-line interface (CLI)
• Describe and explain the Cisco Fabric Manager installation process
• Outline the process for completing the initial switch configuration and for creating a simple SAN using Cisco Fabric Manager and Cisco Device Manager

Lesson 3: Installing and Licensing Cisco NX-OS

• Describe the software licensing practices for the Cisco MDS 9000 Series
• Describe the guidelines for successful image installation and upgrade
• Describe the mechanisms for upgrading the Cisco MDS 9000 switch software image
• Describe how to successfully downgrade a Cisco NX-OS version that is incompatible with the current configuration

Lesson 4: Call Home

• Describe the capabilities of the Call Home feature
• Describe the message event categories, severity levels, and triggers associated with the Call Home feature
• Describe significant details of the different output options for Call Home messages
• Describe how to configure the Call Home feature
• Explain the process for configuring customized Call Home alert messages
• Explain the process of configuring Call Home configuration distribution

Module 3: Building Virtual SANs Given a SAN design, the learner will be able to implement the logical topology specified by a SAN design, so that connectivity between end devices can be verified.

Lesson 1: Configuring VSANs

• Describe how VSANs provide logical separation of fabric services in a unified physical infrastructure
• Describe the process of creating VSANs and assigning interface members
• Describe the process for displaying the attributes of configured VSANs
• Present and describe the recommended practices for creating and managing VSANs

Lesson 2: Managing Domains

• Describe the four FCDomain configuration phases
• Configure the principal switch priority
• Describe the steps to manually configure domain ID settings
• Describe how to view configured and runtime fcdomain information from the command line interface and Device Manager
• Configure CFS distribution of allowed domain ID lists
• List and describe the configuration settings that determine whether switches achieve adjacency or become isolated during a fabric merge event
• Describe the effects of configurating the auto-reconfigure, rcf-reject, and fcdomain options for fabric merge options
• Describe how to view Fibre Channel Name Server entries on the Cisco MDS 9000 switch
• Configure FC-ID assignment policies
• Describe how the Cisco NX-OS provides FC-ID persistence
• Explain why and how to configure static FCIDs

Lesson 3: Using Distributed Device Aliases

• Describe the purpose of Distributed Device Aliases
• Describe the purpose of Legacy Zone Aliases
• Explain how to configure the Distributed Device Alias Database
• Explain how to configure Distributed Device Aliases in a Multiswitch Fabric
• Explain how to verify the Distributed Device Alias Database configuration

Lesson 4: Configuring Interfaces

• Describe the basic interface configuration required on the switch
• Describe the guidelines for configuring Generation 1, 2 and 3 modules
• Describe the different buffer credits available on the Cisco MDS 9000 series switch and modules
• Describe the trunking feature of the Cisco MDS 9000 switches
• Describe how N-Port Identifier Virtualization (NPIV) provides a means to assign multiple FCIDs to a single N-port
• Describe the benefits of N-Port Virtualization (NPV)

Lesson 5: Configuring PortChannels

• Describe the purpose and use of PortChannel funcationality on the Cisco MDS 9000 series switch
• Explain how to configure PortChannels
• Describe the interface configuration for a PortChannel including interface addition and deletion
• Describe how to configure the PortChannel protocol
• Describe how to configure F and TF PortChannels
• Explain how to verify the PortChannel configuration

Lesson 6: Configuring Fabric Services

• Discuss the benefits and use of Cisco Fabric Services (CFS)
• Describe the architecture of the Cisco Fabric Services infrastructure
• Describe the applications that use Cisco Fabric services
• Configure Cisco Fabric Services distribution for compatible features and applications
• Configure Cisco Fabric Services Distribution over IP
• Describe and configure Cisco Fabric Service regions

Lesson 7: Improving Management Security

• Describe the secure protocols that can be employed to provide secure access to Cisco MDS 9000 series management ports
• Describe how to configure SSH services
• Explain how digital certificates can be used to enhance scalability and management of SSH
• Describe the use of role-based access control for secure SAN management of the Cisco MDS 9000 switches
• Describe the RBAC configuration steps
• Explain how to use RADIUS and TACACS+ servers to centralize management of security
• Explain how to use enhanced AAA services for monitoring, specifying login servers and displaying AAA statistics

Lesson 8: Implementing Zones

• Describe the purpose and use of zoning within Fibre Channel SANs
• Describe the zone configuration process
• Explain how to verify the zone configuration
• Describe how to configure zoneset distribution
• Explain how to merge zones and zone configurations without causing fabric disruption
• Explain how to recover from a zone merge failure
• Describe how to rename, clone, copy, backup and restore a zoneset
• Describe the enhanced zoning feature and configuration requirements
• Describe the process of committing configuration changes to the zone database in enhanced mode
• Describe how to configure and use zone attribute groups
• Describe read-only zone features and configuration
• Describe LUN zoning features and configuration
• Describe how to configure and use Fibre Channel broadcast zoning
• Describe recommended zoning practices

Module 4: Implementing FCIP Given a SAN environment, the learner will be able to describe how to use FCIP to implement appropriate solutions for SAN extension

Lesson 1: FCIP Protocol Overview

• Describe the relevant characteristics of the FCIP protocol
• Describe the frame encapsulation scheme that is used by the FCIP protocol
• List and describe the relevant FCIP industry specifications
• Describe how the Cisco FCIP model extends the ANSI and IETF FCIP models
• Describe IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
• Identify IP routing protocols and where they are commonly used
• Describe the TCP/IP protocol headers

Lesson 2: Configuring FCIP

• Describe the process of configuring FCIP
• Describe the process of configuring Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and static IP routes
• Describe the process of enabling FCIP and configuring the FCIP profiles and interfaces that define the FCIP tunnel
• Describe the commands and tools used to display and validate an FCIP configuration
• Explain how to use the Cisco Fabric Manager FCIP Wizard
• Explain VLAN subinterface configuration requirements

Lesson 3: Configuring FCIP High Availability

• Describe guidelines for using port channels with FCIP links
• Describe the steps to configure port channels with FCIP tunnels
• Describe how to use the PortChannel protocol to automatically create PortChannels
• Describe how to use the Command Line Interface (CLI) or Cisco Fabric Manager to verify that the port channels are operational
• Describe additional high-availability options for FCIP

Lesson 4: Implementing IVR for SAN Extension

• Describe the purpose and use of IVR
• Describe the use of IVR zones and zonesets
• Describe the process of configuring IVR
• Describe the IVR verification commands and tools
• Describe recommended practices for using and configuring IVR

Lesson 5: Tuning FCIP Performance

• Identify the parameters of an FCIP configuration that are tuned to improve performance
• Describe how to configure TCP timeout and retransmit and SACK parameters
• Describe how to configure the IP MTU size and PMTU discovery
• Explain the flow control process on an FCIP link
• Explain how TCP packet shaping improves the performance of storage traffic on an IP network
• Describe the process of configuring FCIP compression
• Explain how FCIP write acceleration improves performance of storage traffic
• Explain how FCIP tape acceleration improves performance of storage traffic
• Explain the deployment and configuration requirements for using the Cisco I/O Accelerator
• Explain how to configure IP QoS parameters to prioritize FCIP control and data traffic
• Describe how to use the SAN extension tuner to generate test workloads and measure performance

Module 5: Troubleshooting Tools and Scenarios Given a SAN environment, the learner will be able to identify MDS 9000 diagnostic tools in order to diagnose SAN problems and common configuration errors

Lesson 1: Diagnostic Tools and Methodologies

• Describe a basic methodology for isolating faults in a SAN
• Explain how to view module power status
• Identify show commands and Cisco Fabric Manager tools used to diagnose and resolve interface problems
• Identify show commands and Cisco Fabric Manager tools used to diagnose and resolve issues with VSAN activation and membership
• Explain how to use the FCPing and FCTrace commands to verify end-to-end connectivity
• Describe how to use the Cisco Fabric Manager troubleshooting tools to diagnose problems
• Describe troubleshooting procedures for solving common problems in an FCIP SAN extension environment
• Describe how to verify the operating status of the Cisco IPS capable modules and physical ports.
• Describe the different segments of an FCIP environment and explain how to verify connectivity on each segment

Lesson 2: Capturing and Analyzing SAN Traffic

• Describe how to configure a SPAN session
• Explain the capabilities and limitations of RSPAN sessions
• Describe how to install and configure the Cisco PAA
• Explain the use of the Cisco Fabric Analyzer feature
• Describe how to configure Wireshark to capture and view protocol traces

Lesson 3: Basic Troubleshooting Scenarios

• Explain how to inspect host-to-switch connections to determine why a host is not logging in to the switch
• Explain how to determine why E-ports fail to merge when an ISL is connected between two switches
• Describe how to determine why two fabrics do not merge when an ISL is connected between two switches
• Describe common configuration errors and basic techniques for troubleshooting FCIP connections

Appendix A: Configuring Dynamic VSANs

• Describe how DPVM differs from interface-based VSAN membership, and how device VSAN membership is assigned dynamically from the DPVM database
• Describe how to configure DPVM entries
• Describe how to simplify the configuration of DPVM by using the autolearn feature
• Describe how to configure DPVM distribution via CFS

Appendix B: Improving Device Flexibility

• Describe the SAN Device Virtualization (SDV) feature
• Explain how to configure SAN Device Virtualization (SDV)
• Describe the Flex Attach feature
• Describe the FlexAttach virtual port world-wide name (pWWN) feature