- Lesson 1 - Getting Started with Implementing Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) Training
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In this lesson, we’ll look at what we’ll cover in the course, you’ll meet your instructor, and we’ll discuss the Cisco Unified Computing System.
- About Your Instructor and About the Course
- Lesson 2 - Lab Setup and Platform Emulator Configuration
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In this lesson, we’ll walk through the lab configurations Jason uses in the course so you can follow along with the demonstrations. We’ll also introduce the Cisco UCS Platform Emulator and walk through a quick configuration so you can use it to follow along in case you don’t have access to a physical lab.
- An Overview of My Lab
- The Charlotte Lab
- The Greensboro Lab
- Cisco UCS Platform Emulator
- Using the UCS Platform Emulator
- Configuring the Network and Hardware Settings in the Platform Emulator
- Launching UCS Manager from the Platform Emulator
- Lesson 3 - An Introduction to Cisco’s Unified Data Center
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In this lesson, we’ll give a high level overview of Cisco’s data center strategy and how UCS fits in with the other components. This is really important information for the DCUCI exam. We’ll discuss infrastructure components including Nexus and MDS switches, introduce you to FEX, look at virtual infrastructure and Nexus 1000v, and cloud provisioning and automation.
- Cisco’s Virtualized Data Center
- Understanding the Components
- Infrastructure Components – Nexus Switches
- A Quick Overview of FEX
- Virtual Infrastructure – Nexus 1000v
- Infrastructure Components – MDS Switches
- Cloud Provisioning and Automation
- Lesson 4 - The Components of Cisco UCS B-Series
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This lesson will introduce the UCS components and provide the foundation in UCS architecture and terminology to help you understand how everything works together before we move into installation, configuration and management.
- How is Cisco UCS Different?
- An Overview of the UCS Components
- Fabric Interconnects
- Comparison of Interconnect Models
- Fabric Extenders
- The Chassis
- Front and Rear View of the UCS Infrastructure
- Compute Blades
- Mezzanine Adapters
- An Overview of the UCS Architecture
- Cisco UCS Logical View
- Available Connectivity and Bandwidth Options
- Common Questions About UCS
- Lesson 5 - Installing Cisco UCS Hardware
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In this lesson, we’ll discuss getting the UCS hardware installed and connected physically. We’re not just going to tell you how it’s done – we will also do a live walkthrough of the Greensboro UCS lab and show you all the components and how to actually perform the hardware installation.
- Physical Space in the Rack(s)
- Power Capacity and Plug Types
- Physical Installation in the Rack(s)
- Cabling - Interconnects
- Proper UCS Chassis Cabling
- Supported Cable Types
- Cabling to Existing Infrastructure
- Site Planning
- A Tour of the UCS Equipment
- The Blade Components and Installation
- Lesson 6 - Exploring UCS Manager
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Now that we have the UCS hardware installed, it’s time to move into the configuration, and before we start configuring, this lesson will give a tour of UCS manager and show what options are available on the tabs and nodes most commonly used in configuration and management.
- Introduction to UCS Manager
- Exploring the UCS Manager Interface
- The Equipment Tab in UCS Manager
- The Chassis Node in UCS Manager
- The Interconnects Node in UCS Manager
- The Servers Tab in UCS Manager
- The LAN and SAN Tabs in UCS Manager
- The VM and Admin Tabs in UCS Manager
- UCS Manager - Command-Line Interface
- Lesson 7 - Initial Configuration of Cisco UCS
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In this lesson, we’ll start bringing the interconnects online and do some basic configuration in UCS Manager. We’ll discuss what information you need to have before starting your configuration and then walk through configuration of policies including chassis discovery, power policies, MAC table aging, and defining DNS servers and time zones.
- Starting Initial Configuration
- Connecting to the Interconnects
- A Walkthrough of the Initial Configuration
- About Chassis Discovery Policy, Power Policy, MAC Aging, DNS Servers and Time Zones
- A Walkthrough of Initial UCSM Configuration
- Lesson 8 - Configuring LAN Connectivity
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In this lesson, we’ll configure the network and get the interconnects connected to the upstream physical switch. We’ll discuss fabric interconnect switching modes, uplink switch configuration, VLANs, upstream switch ports, vNICs, MAC address abstraction, port-channels, pin groups and network design considerations.
- Are the Fabric Interconnects Switches?
- Ethernet End Host Mode
- EHM Forwarding and Learning Rules
- Ethernet Switching Mode
- Uplink Switch Configuration
- Using VLANs
- Cisco Nexus 5000, 5500, 7000 and Port-Channel Configuration
- Configuring Cisco Nexus NX-OS
- Configuring Cisco Catalyst IOS
- Using vNICs
- MAC Address Abstraction and Configuring Port-Channels
- Configuring LAN Connectivity
- Configuring VLANs
- Using Pin Groups
- Network Considerations
- Lesson 9 - Configuring SAN Connectivity
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In this lesson, we’ll look at the next big step in configuring UCS – storage. We’ll start by talking about the different types of storage supported by UCS and the benefits of each. We’ll give an overview of Fibre Channel and how UCS integrates with the Fibre Channel fabric. Then we’ll walk through connecting SAN ports, we’ll discuss VSANs, Fibre Channel over Ethernet and Virtual Host Bus Adapters. There is a lot that we’ll talk about and demonstrate in this lesson and after we complete the demos, we’ll have storage up and running in our UCS environment.
- Benefits of iSCSI and Fibre Channel with UCS
- A Primer on Fibre Channel: Addressing, Zoning, Port Types
- N_Port Virtualization
- Fibre Channel Switching Mode
- Fibre Channel Port-Channels and Trunking
- Connecting SAN Ports
- What are VSANs?
- Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
- About Virtual HBAs
- Configuring SAN Connectivity
- Other Storage Ports
- Lesson 10 - Creating Pools
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Pools are a very important topic in UCS, especially in relation to configuring Service Profiles. In this lesson, we’ll discuss the different pools you create during UCS deployments. We’ll start by talking about what pools are and then we’ll discuss the different types of pools and show how to configure each of them.
- What are Pools?
- Management IP Address Pool
- Create Management IP Pool
- UUID Pools
- UUID Pool Creation
- MAC Address Pools
- MAC Address Pool Creation
- WWNN Pools
- WWPN Pools
- WWNN and WWPN Pool Creation
- Server Pools
- Server Pool Creation
- Lesson 11 - Creating and Managing Service Profiles
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Combined with the simplified architecture and reduced infrastructure, service profiles deliver the stateless nature of Cisco UCS. In this lesson, we’ll talk about the role of service profiles in UCS and then dive deep into creating service profiles and service profile templates and show the granular configuration options of each.
- Service Profiles and UCS
- Creating a Service Profile
- Creating a Service Profile Template
- Configuring Storage for a Service Profile Template
- Configuring Networking for a Service Profile Template
- Configuring the Service Profile Template Placement Policy, Server Boot Order and Maintenance Policy
- Configuring the Service Profile Server Assignment and Operational Policies
- Creating Service Profiles from a Template
- KVM Access and Associating Service Profiles with Blades
- Installing an Operating System
- KVM Access
- Lesson 12 - Routine Management of Cisco UCS
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In this lesson, we’ll cover some of the most common management tasks you’ll perform with UCS, from startup and shutdown to logging, upgrading firmware and licensing. These routine management tasks are crucial to understand in order to effectively administer Cisco UCS.
- Startup and Shutdown of the Interconnects
- Controlling Blade Server Power
- Status and Locator LEDs
- Configuring Logging
- Checking Status Via CLI
- Configuring the Call Home Feature
- Demo of Logging Capabilities
- Upgrading Component Firmware
- Downloading Firmware to UCS
- Upgrading UCS Firmware
- Licensing
- Lesson 13 - Managing Permissions in UCS Manager
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In this lesson, we’ll dive deep into permissions in UCS Manager and talk about how to secure the UCS environment. We’ll start with organizational structure and inheritance and then move on to role based access control and give a thorough discussion of roles and privileges. We’ll also cover locales and centralized authentication and then touch on how all of these capabilities can be combined for multi-tenancy.
- Organizational Structure in UCSM
- Organizational Inheritance
- Role Based Access Control
- The Predefined Roles
- Locales
- Permissions and Multi-tenancy
- Lesson 14 - Configuring Backup and Restore for Cisco UCS
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In this lesson, we’ll talk about backing up and restoring the UCS configuration. We’ll talk about the different backup options and walk through creating and importing backup jobs both from the GUI and from the command line.
- Backing Up UCS Configurations
- Types of Backups
- Creating Backup Jobs
- Creating UCS Backup Jobs
- Importing UCS Backups
- Importing UCS Backup Configurations via GUI and CLI
- Lesson 15 - Configuring High Availability of Cisco UCS
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In this lesson, we’ll start by talking about Cisco UCS and High Availability at a high level and give an overview of how UCS handles high availability. We’ll walk through high availability configuration and management so you get a thorough understanding of the options and we’ll also touch on split brain and how to resolve it.
- High Availability Connections and Clustering
- High Availability Terms and Data
- Fabric Interconnect Elections
- Configuring Node High Availability
- Resolving Split Brain
- Managing High Availability
- Lesson 16 - Virtual Networking and Cisco UCS
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In this lesson, we’ll talk about the integration of Cisco UCS and virtualization hypervisors, mostly with VMware vSphere. This will be crucial knowledge if you plan on taking the DCUCI exam and going for the Data Center Unified Computing Support Specialist certification, as both the exam and the certification require expertise with VMware virtualization.
- Overview of the Cisco Nexus 1000v
- Components of the Cisco Nexus 1000v
- Let's Talk About vSphere Networking
- What are Pass Through Switching and VM-FEX?
- Integrating UCS and vSphere
- The Two Modes of VM-FEX
- Requirements of VM-FEX
- Configuring and Using VM-FEX
- Lesson 17 - Troubleshooting Cisco UCS
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In this lesson, we’ll cover some of the techniques and tools you’ll need in order to troubleshoot Cisco UCS. We’ll start by talking about some of the common problem areas, walk through how to address these problems, and then cover some additional resources and reading you’ll want to do to solidify your troubleshooting skills.
- What are the Common Areas of Problems?
- General Troubleshooting
- Fault Severity Levels, States and Types
- What are Core Files?
- Tech Support Files
- Troubleshooting KVM Issues
- Troubleshooting Boot from SAN and Server Blades
- The Ethanalyzer Tool
- Powering Down the UCS Environment
- Other Resources
- Suggested Continual Reading
- Lesson 18 - Implementing Cisco UCS Start to Finish
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This lesson is intended to tie all the subjects we’ve covered throughout the course into a single overview. We’ll talk about the implementation process start to finish and recap important issues to consider along the way.
- Before You Order
- When the Gear Arrives
- Configuring UCS
- Service Profiles
- Lesson 19 - Preparing for the DCUCI Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Systems Implementation Exam
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If you’re planning to take the DCUCI exam, definitely watch this lesson to get a better understanding of the exam objectives and candidate profile, the components of the Data Center Unified Computing Support Specialist certification as well as some tips for preparing for the exam.
- About the Exam
- About the Data Center Unified Computing Support Specialist Certification
- Study Recommendations and Tips for Preparing for the Exam
- Lesson 20 - Next Steps
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In this lesson, we’ll discuss some directions you may want to take now that you’ve finished the course, including advanced areas of study and specialization, additional resources you may want to consider and what you’re now ready to start doing having completed this training.
- Cisco Virtualized Data Center
- Next Step Supporting Resources
- Literal Next Steps