About this Course

The Cisco NX-OS for IOS Administrators (DCNXA) v1.0 is a five-day instructor-led course designed for network administrators who are migrating from a traditional Cisco IOS environment to routing and switching platforms that use the Nexus Operating System (NX-OS). This course covers the key components and procedures you need to know to install and manage Cisco Nexus 7000, 5000, and 1000-series switches. This course will also cover important troubleshooting procedures for these platforms as well.

Audience Profile

• Network, systems, and consulting systems engineers
• Network designers, administrators, and managers
• Data Center administrators, designers and system engineers

At Course Completion

Upon completing this course, students will be able to meet these objectives:

• Describe the differences between the Cisco IOS and NX-OS operating systems.
• Describe the features and functionality of the Cisco NX-OS.
• Describe how the Cisco NX-OS is used for functionality specific to different Cisco Nexus switching platforms, such as the 7000-series, 5000-series, and 1000-series switches.
• Understand basic and advanced configurations of the Cisco Nexus 7000-series, 5000-series, and 1000-series switches using the NX-OS.
• Understand basic and advanced configurations of the Cisco Virtual Security Gateway.
• Understand troubleshooting techniques for the Cisco Nexus 7000-series, 5000-series, and 1000-series switches using the NX-OS.

Prerequisites

The following skills and knowledge are recommended for learners to fully benefit from this course:

• CCNA Switching and Routing knowledge level

Course Outline

Module 1: The Cisco Nexus platform and NX-OS

• Identifying Cisco Nexus Products
• Nexus 7000 Features at a high level
• The NX-OS Software Architecture  
• Configuring Nexus Management Features
  • Modularity
  • Features
  • Licensing
  • Command syntax
  • Context-sensitive help
  • RBAC
  • Navigation between configuration modes
  • ISSU

Module 2: Configuring Layer 2 Features using the NX-OS

• Configuring Layer 2 Switching Features    
  • Unidirectional Link Detection (UDLD)
  • Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)
  • Port Profiles
  • Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)
  • Multiple Spanning Tree
  • Traffic Storm Control
  • Configuring Nexus Fabric Extenders (FEX)
  • Port Channels and Virtual Port Channels (VPCs)  
  • FabricPath      
  • Virtual Device Contexts (VDCs)    

Module 3: Layer 3 Features using the NX-OS  

• Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) Contexts
• Static Routing
• EIGRP
• OSPF
• BGP
• IS-IS
• Unicast RIB and FIB
• Route Policy Manager
• Policy-Based Routing (PBR)
• First Hop Redundancy Protocols (HSRP/VRRP/GLBP)
• Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)  
• Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV)  

Module 4: Fiber Channel and FCoE

• Understanding the Fiber Channel protocol
• Configuring FCoE
• Configuring SAN Switching Features

Module 5: Troubleshooting Cisco NX-OS

• SPAN/ERSPAN
• NetFlow
• GOLD
• Embedded Event Manager (EEM)
• Onboard Failure Logging (OBFL)

Module 6: Cisco NX-OS on the Nexus 1000v Virtual Switch

• Fundamentals of the Nexus 1000v Virtual Switch
• Integrating the Nexus 1000v with the VMware vCenter Server
  • Basic Integration process  
  • Configuring Port Profiles  
  • Configuring Security Features

Hands On Labs

• Connecting to the NterOne Lab Environment
• Familiarization of the Cisco NX-OS Command-Line Interface (CLI)
• Initial Configuration of the Nexus 5548 switches
• Advanced Layer 2 Configuration of Nexus 5548 switches
• Advanced Layer 3 Configuration of Nexus 5548 switches
• Initial Configuration of Nexus 7004 switches with SUP2E Supervisor Module
• Advanced Layer 2 Configuration of Nexus 7004 switches
• Advanced Layer 3 Configuration of Nexus 7004 switches
• Initial Configuration of Nexus 1000v switches
• Advanced Configuration of Nexus 1000v switches
• Troubleshooting Scenarios for the Nexus switching platforms