Cisco Data Center Fundamentals, 1st edition
Published by Cisco Press (September 28, 2022) © 2023
- Somit Maloo
- Iskren Nikolov
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Thousands of network engineers and other technology professionals need to demonstrate a solid understanding of the fundamentals of modern data center technologies. Today, one of the best ways to demonstrate this understanding is to earn Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Data Center certification. Earning the CCNP Data Center credential is an especially valuable next step for many professionals who hold entry-level CCNA certification. Cisco Data Center Fundamentals is the complete guide for CCNA holders and other early-career network professionals who want to fill their knowledge gaps, earn their CCNP DC certifications, and succeed with Cisco data center technologies. Authored by two long-time experts in operating Cisco data center environments and developing official Learning@Cisco training content for them, this guide covers each relevant product and solution, including:
- Networking: Data center network architectures, Cisco Nexus switches, Cisco NX-OS software, virtualization, Cisco ACI, cloud computing, and more
- Storage: Core concepts, Fibre Channel, virtualization, Ethernet enhancements, and FCoE
- Compute: Cisco UCS components and abstraction
- Automation: to make Cisco data center environments more productive and agile, including the use of Cisco's APIs
   Introduction xxiv
Part I Networking
Chapter 1 Data Center Architectures 1
   Data Center Basics 1
   Cisco Unified Data Center Platform 4
   Data Center Network Infrastructure 6
   Data Center Storage Infrastructure 10
       Data Center Computing Infrastructure 12
   Summary 19
   References 20
Chapter 2 Describing the Cisco Nexus Family and Cisco NX-OS Software 21
   Cisco Nexus Data Center Product Overview 21
   Cisco FEX Overview 35
   Cisco NX-OS Software Architecture 44
   Exploring Cisco NX-OS CLI 48
   Summary 61
   References 62
Chapter 3 Describing Layer 3 First-Hop Redundancy 65
   Default Gateway Redundancy 65
   Hot Standby Router Protocol 68
   Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol 78
   Gateway Load Balancing Protocol 82
   Summary 86
   References 86
Chapter 4 Port Channels and vPCs 87
   Ethernet Port Channels 88
   Virtual Port Channels 93
   Summary 124
   References 125
Chapter 5 Switch Virtualization 127
   Cisco Nexus Switch Functional Planes 127
   Cisco Nexus Switch Process Separation and Restartability 132
   Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) 134
   Cisco Nexus 7000 VDCs 144
   Summary 177
   References 177
Chapter 6 Nexus Switch Routing 179
   Routing Fundamentals 179
   RIPv2 on NX-OS 190
   EIGRP on NX-OS 198
   OSPFv2 on NX-OS 210
   Multicast Fundamentals 227
   Multicast Configuration on NX-OS 240
   Summary 254
   References 255
Chapter 7 Network Virtualization 257
   Overlay Network Protocols 257
   Network Interface Virtualization Using FEX 286
   VMware vSphere Virtual Switches 287
   Summary 291
   References 292
   Contents xv
Chapter 8 Describing Cisco ACI 295
   Cisco ACI Overview 295
   Cisco ACI Building Blocks 299
   Cisco ACI Deployment Models 303
   Cisco ACI Hardware 307
   ACI Startup Discovery 313
   Cisco ACI Policy Model 314
   Packet Forwarding within the ACI Fabric 327
   Summary 328
   References 330
Chapter 9 Operating Cisco ACI 333
   Cisco ACI External Connectivity Options 333
   Cisco ACI and VMM Integration 339
   Cisco ACI and L4–L7 Integration 342
   Cisco ACI Management and Automation 343
   Cisco ACI Anywhere 352
   Cisco Nexus Dashboard 356
   Summary 358
   References 359
Part II Storage
Chapter 10 Data Center Storage Concepts 361
   Storage Connectivity Options in the Data Center 361
   Fibre Channel Storage Networking 376
   Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) 383
   NVM Express and NVM Express over Fabrics 385
   Cisco MDS Product Overview 389
   Summary 401
   Reference 402
Chapter 11 Fibre Channel Protocol Fundamentals 403
   Fibre Channel Layered Model 403
   Building the Switched Fabric 412
   Fibre Channel Flow Control 419
   Fabric Shortest Path First 421
   Summary 423
   Reference 424
Chapter 12 Describing VSANs and Fibre Channel Zoning 425
   VSAN Overview 425
   VSAN Configuration 430
   Fibre Channel Zoning 439
   Zoning Configuration 441
   Zoning Management 448
   Summary 451
   Reference 453
Chapter 13 Storage Virtualization 455
   Cisco Fibre Channel NPIV Feature 456
   Cisco Fibre Channel NPV Mode 460
   Summary 469
   Reference 470
Chapter 14 Describing Data Center Ethernet Enhancements 471
   IEEE Data Center Bridging 472
   Priority Flow Control 472
   Enhanced Transmission Selection 475
   DCBX Protocol 476
   Summary 478
   References 478
Chapter 15 Describing FCoE 479
   Cisco Unified Fabric 479
   FCoE Architecture 482
   FCoE Initialization Protocol 488
   FCoE Configuration 490
   Summary 495
   References 496
Part III Compute
Chapter 16 Describing Cisco UCS Components 497
   Cisco UCS Components 497
   Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnect Product Overview 503
   Cisco UCS Blade Chassis 506
   Cisco IOM Product Overview 509
   Cisco UCS B-Series Servers 510
   Cisco UCS C-Series Servers and the Cisco IMC Supervisor 514
   Cisco UCS S-Series Storage Server 521
   Cisco HyperFlex Data Platform 524
   Cisco UCS X-Series Modular System 527
   Summary 529
   References 530
Chapter 17 Describing Cisco UCS Abstraction 531
   Cisco UCS Manager Overview 532
   Exploring the Cisco UCS Server Environment 543
   Identity and Resource Pools for Hardware Abstraction 548
   Service Profiles and Service Profile Templates 552
   Cisco UCS Polices for Use in Service Profiles 555
   Cisco UCS Service Profile Configuration 556
   Cisco UCS Central Overview 564
   Summary 566
   References 568
Chapter 18 Server Virtualization 569
   Virtual Machine 569
   Hypervisor 574
   Virtual Switch 575
   VMware vSphere 576
   VMware ESXi Installation 582
   VMware vCenter Installation 592
   Summary 611
   References 612
Part IV Automation
Chapter 19 Using APIs 613
   Common Programmability Protocols and Methods 613
   Configuring Cisco NX-OS with APIs 624
   Exploring the Cisco UCS Manager XML API Management Information Tree 626
   Summary 629
   Reference 629
Chapter 20 Automating the Data Center 631
   Automation Basics 631
   Automation and Orchestration Technologies 634
   Choosing the Automation Toolset 642
   Summary 643
   Reference 644
Part V Cloud
Chapter 21 Cloud Computing 645
   Cloud Computing Overview 645
   Cloud Computing Services 653
   Cloud Deployment Models 660
   Cisco Intersight 666
   Summary 669
   References 671
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9780137638246, TOC, 8/29/2022
Somit Maloo, CCIE No. 28603, CCDE No. 20170002, is a content architect from the data center team at Learning@Cisco. He holds a master's degree in telecommunication networks and a bachelor's degree in electronics and telecommunication engineering. He is also a penta-CCIE in enterprise infrastructure, service provider, enterprise wireless, security, and data center technologies. Somit holds various industry-leading certifications, including CCDE, PMP, RHCSA, and VMware VCIX6 in Data Center and Network Virtualization. Somit has extensive experience in designing and developing various data center courses for the official Cisco curriculum. He started his career as a Cisco TAC engineer. Somit has more than 12 years of experience in the networking industry, working mostly with data center networks. You can reach Somit on Twitter: @somitmaloo.
Iskren Nikolov, CCIE No.20164, CCSI No.32481, MCT Alumni, Content architect, engineer, and developer with the Cisco Learning & Certifications Data Center and Cloud team. He is responsible for designing, developing, reviewing Data Center Official Learning Cisco courses, including lab infrastructures and exercises. He holds a master's degree in computer systems and management from the Technical University-Sofia, Bulgaria. Iskren has more than 26 years of experience in designing, implementing, and supporting solutions based on technologies such as data center, security, storage, wide area network, software-defined network, cloud, hybrid, and multicloud, including 11 years of teaching and developing Cisco Data Center and Cloud courses and Microsoft Azure courses. Because of his vast experience across technologies from multiple vendors, such as Cisco Systems, VMware, Microsoft, and Barracuda, combined with the different perspectives he has gained from his different work roles and working with customers from different industries, Iskren has a unique view of the current data center technologies and future trends. You can reach Iskren on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iskrennikolov.
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