Buying a CCNA / CCNP home lab is the best way to be totally prepared for your Cisco exams. Most home labs are put together one router or switch at a time, but many CCNA / CCNP candidates prefer to buy kits where you get multiple routers and switches, along with all the cables and other connection devices you'll need.
While this is a good idea, keep a few things in mind when purchasing Cisco home lab kits.
Don't buy anything you don't need. The problem is that when you're first starting out with your Cisco home lab, you don't know everything that you need. (I sure didn't!) Keep in mind that you only need one transceiver per AUI port on a Cisco router, so if you're getting routers with two AUI ports in all, you don't need five transceivers in the kit. It doesn't hurt to have one spare, but three is a little too much.
More importantly, don't buy kits with old CCNA or CCNP study guides included. I've seen kits with books that were three years old and were of no use to the candidate. If you see a kit that looks good but includes books or manuals you just don't want, ask the vendor for a price that doesn't include the books. It never hurts to ask.
Watch the IOS version. Unless you've got access to IOS upgrades, you'll be working with the IOS version that's on the routers and switches when you buy the kit for a while. You don't necessarily need the latest and greatest IOS version for CCNA study, but don't buy routers with IOS versions beginning with "10" unless you have an IOS to upgrade them with. (And make sure the routers have enough memory to handle the IOS you plan on putting on them.)
Purchasing a Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab is one of the best investments in your career that you will ever make. Exercise just a bit of caution when purchasing your kit, and you'll be on your way to true Cisco success, in the exam room and on your network!
Showing posts with label version. Show all posts
Showing posts with label version. Show all posts
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: Leading Zero Compression
The BSCI exam and CCNP certification requires that you be well versed in the basics of IP Version 6, or IPv6. If you're new to IPv6, you'll quickly learn that it's not exactly just two more octets slapped onto an IPv4 address! IPv6 addresses are quite long, but there are two ways to acceptably shorten IPv6 address expression. To pass the BSCI exam, become a CCNP, and get that all-important understanding of IPv6, you've got to understand these different methods of expressing an IPv6 address. My last IPv6 tutorial discussed zero compression; today we'll take a look at leading zero compression.
Leading zero compression allows us to drop the leading zeroes from every field in the address. Where we could only use zero compression once in an IPv6 address expression, leading zero compression can be used as often as is appropriate. The key with leading zero compression is that there must be at least one number left in each field, even if that remaining number is a zero.
You sometimes see books or websites refer to leading zero compression as "dropping zeroes and replacing them with a colon", but that explanation can be a little confusing, since the blocks are separated with a colon to begin with. You're not really replacing the leading zeroes, you're dropping them.
Let's look at an example of leading zero compression. Taking the address 1234:0000:1234:0000:1234:0000:1234:0123, we have four different fields that have leading zeroes. The address could be written out as it is, or drop the leading zeroes.
Original format: 1234:0000:1234:0000:1234:0000:0123:1234
With leading zero compression: 1234:0:1234:0:1234:0:123:1234
There's no problem with using zero compression and leading zero compression in the same address, as shown here:
Original format: 1111:0000:0000:1234:0011:0022:0033:0044
With zero and leading zero compression: 1111::1234:11:22:33:44
Zero compression uses the double-colon to replace the second and third block of numbers, which were all zeroes; leading zero compression replaced the "00" at the beginning of each of the last four blocks. Just be careful and take your time with both zero compression and leading zero compression and you'll do well on the exam and in the real world. The keys to success here are remembering that you can only use zero compression once in a single address, and that while leading zero compression can be used as often as needed, at least one number must remain in each field, even if that number is a zero.
Leading zero compression allows us to drop the leading zeroes from every field in the address. Where we could only use zero compression once in an IPv6 address expression, leading zero compression can be used as often as is appropriate. The key with leading zero compression is that there must be at least one number left in each field, even if that remaining number is a zero.
You sometimes see books or websites refer to leading zero compression as "dropping zeroes and replacing them with a colon", but that explanation can be a little confusing, since the blocks are separated with a colon to begin with. You're not really replacing the leading zeroes, you're dropping them.
Let's look at an example of leading zero compression. Taking the address 1234:0000:1234:0000:1234:0000:1234:0123, we have four different fields that have leading zeroes. The address could be written out as it is, or drop the leading zeroes.
Original format: 1234:0000:1234:0000:1234:0000:0123:1234
With leading zero compression: 1234:0:1234:0:1234:0:123:1234
There's no problem with using zero compression and leading zero compression in the same address, as shown here:
Original format: 1111:0000:0000:1234:0011:0022:0033:0044
With zero and leading zero compression: 1111::1234:11:22:33:44
Zero compression uses the double-colon to replace the second and third block of numbers, which were all zeroes; leading zero compression replaced the "00" at the beginning of each of the last four blocks. Just be careful and take your time with both zero compression and leading zero compression and you'll do well on the exam and in the real world. The keys to success here are remembering that you can only use zero compression once in a single address, and that while leading zero compression can be used as often as needed, at least one number must remain in each field, even if that number is a zero.
Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: IP Version 6 Zero Compression
BSCI exam success is all part of becoming a CCNP, and part of that success is now learning the basics of IP Version 6, or IPv6. One of the most difficult parts of learning IPv6 concepts is the radically different addressing scheme that IPv6 uses as compared to IPv4. Just look at these sample addresses:
Typical IPv4 address: 129.14.12.200
Typical IPv6 address: 1029:9183:81AE:0000:0000:0AC1:2143:019B
As you can see, IPv6 isn't exactly just tacking two more octets onto an IPv4 address!
I haven't met too many networkers who really like typing, particularly numbers. You'll be happy to know there are some rules that will shorten those addresses a bit, and it's a very good idea to be fluent with these rules for your exam.
You remember from your CCNA studies that there's no difference between an upper-case letter and lower-case letter in hexadecimal. That's one of three basic rules you need to know when working with IPv6 addressing. The other factors deal with all the zeroes you'll run into in IPv6 addresses! One of these rules is the rule of zero compression.
The rule of zero compression states that if an address contains consecutive fields of zeroes, they can be expressed with two colons. It doesn't matter if you have two fields or eight, you can simply type two colons and that will represent all of them. The key here is that you can only do this once in an IPv6 address. This is referred to as zero compression. Here's an example:
Original format: 1234:1234:0000:0000:0000:0000:3456:3434
Using zero compression: 1234:1234::3456:3434
Again, you must remember that you can only do this once in an IPv6 address expression.
What if there are zeroes in the address that don't quite fit this rule? The next part of our IPv6 tutorial will deal with leading zero compression, another tool you can use to shorten these long, long addresses!
Typical IPv4 address: 129.14.12.200
Typical IPv6 address: 1029:9183:81AE:0000:0000:0AC1:2143:019B
As you can see, IPv6 isn't exactly just tacking two more octets onto an IPv4 address!
I haven't met too many networkers who really like typing, particularly numbers. You'll be happy to know there are some rules that will shorten those addresses a bit, and it's a very good idea to be fluent with these rules for your exam.
You remember from your CCNA studies that there's no difference between an upper-case letter and lower-case letter in hexadecimal. That's one of three basic rules you need to know when working with IPv6 addressing. The other factors deal with all the zeroes you'll run into in IPv6 addresses! One of these rules is the rule of zero compression.
The rule of zero compression states that if an address contains consecutive fields of zeroes, they can be expressed with two colons. It doesn't matter if you have two fields or eight, you can simply type two colons and that will represent all of them. The key here is that you can only do this once in an IPv6 address. This is referred to as zero compression. Here's an example:
Original format: 1234:1234:0000:0000:0000:0000:3456:3434
Using zero compression: 1234:1234::3456:3434
Again, you must remember that you can only do this once in an IPv6 address expression.
What if there are zeroes in the address that don't quite fit this rule? The next part of our IPv6 tutorial will deal with leading zero compression, another tool you can use to shorten these long, long addresses!
Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: A Guide To Ipv6 Addressing
Learning IPv6 is paramount in your efforts to pass the BSCI exam and go on to earn your CCNP, and it's going to help in your real-world networking career as well. IPv6 can be confusing at first, but it's like anything else in Cisco or networking as a whole - learn one part at a time, master the fundamentals, and you're on your way to success. In today's article we're going to take a look at IPv6 address types.
In IPv4, a unicast address is simply an address used to represent a single host, where multicast addresses represent a group of hosts and broadcasts represent all hosts.
In IPv6, it's not quite that simple. There are actually different types of unicast addresses, each with its own separate function. This allows IPv6 to get data where it's supposed to go quicker than IPv4 while conserving router resources.
IPv6 offers two kinds of local addresses, link-local and site-local. Site-local addresses allow devices in the same organization, or site, to exchange data. Site-local addresses are IPv6's equivalent to IPv4's private address classes, since hosts using them are able to communicate with each other throughout the organization, but these addresses cannot be used to reach Internet hosts.
Site-local and link-local addresses are actually derived from a host's MAC address. Therefore, if HostA has HostB's IPv6 address, HostA can determine HostB's MAC address from that, making ARP unnecessary.
Link-local addresses have a smaller scope than site-local. Link-local addresses are just that, local to a physical link. These particular addresses are not used at all in forwarding data. One use for these addresses is Neighbor Discovery, which is IPv6's answer to ARP.
You can identify these and other IPv6 addresses by their initial bits:
001 - Global address
(first 96 bits set to zero) - IPv4-compatible address
1111 1111 – Multicast
1111 1110 11 - Site local
1111 1110 10 - Link Local
As a future CCNP, you're more than familiar with the reserved IPv4 address classes. You also know that they're not exactly contiguous. The developers of IPv6 took a structured approach to IPv6 reserved addresses - any address that begins with "0000 0000" is an IPv6 reserved address. One of these is the IPv6 loopback address, and this will give you some practice with your zero compression!
IP v6 Loopback: 0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001
Using Leading Zero Compression Only: 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1
Combining Leading Zero and Zero Compression: ::1
Zero compression looks pretty good now, doesn't it? You just have to get used to it and keep the rules in mind. You can use all the leading zero compression you want, but zero compression ("double-colon") can only be used once in a single address.
IPv6 is here to stay, not only on your BSCI and CCNP exams, but in the real world as well. Learning it now will not only aid you in passing your Cisco exams, but in supporting IPv6 in the future.
In IPv4, a unicast address is simply an address used to represent a single host, where multicast addresses represent a group of hosts and broadcasts represent all hosts.
In IPv6, it's not quite that simple. There are actually different types of unicast addresses, each with its own separate function. This allows IPv6 to get data where it's supposed to go quicker than IPv4 while conserving router resources.
IPv6 offers two kinds of local addresses, link-local and site-local. Site-local addresses allow devices in the same organization, or site, to exchange data. Site-local addresses are IPv6's equivalent to IPv4's private address classes, since hosts using them are able to communicate with each other throughout the organization, but these addresses cannot be used to reach Internet hosts.
Site-local and link-local addresses are actually derived from a host's MAC address. Therefore, if HostA has HostB's IPv6 address, HostA can determine HostB's MAC address from that, making ARP unnecessary.
Link-local addresses have a smaller scope than site-local. Link-local addresses are just that, local to a physical link. These particular addresses are not used at all in forwarding data. One use for these addresses is Neighbor Discovery, which is IPv6's answer to ARP.
You can identify these and other IPv6 addresses by their initial bits:
001 - Global address
(first 96 bits set to zero) - IPv4-compatible address
1111 1111 – Multicast
1111 1110 11 - Site local
1111 1110 10 - Link Local
As a future CCNP, you're more than familiar with the reserved IPv4 address classes. You also know that they're not exactly contiguous. The developers of IPv6 took a structured approach to IPv6 reserved addresses - any address that begins with "0000 0000" is an IPv6 reserved address. One of these is the IPv6 loopback address, and this will give you some practice with your zero compression!
IP v6 Loopback: 0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001
Using Leading Zero Compression Only: 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1
Combining Leading Zero and Zero Compression: ::1
Zero compression looks pretty good now, doesn't it? You just have to get used to it and keep the rules in mind. You can use all the leading zero compression you want, but zero compression ("double-colon") can only be used once in a single address.
IPv6 is here to stay, not only on your BSCI and CCNP exams, but in the real world as well. Learning it now will not only aid you in passing your Cisco exams, but in supporting IPv6 in the future.
Cisco CCNP / BSCI Certification: Troubleshooting Route Redistribution, Part I
If there's one CCNP / BSCI topic that looks so easy but can lead to a real headache, it's route redistribution. I'm not even talking about the routing loops and suboptimal routing that can result when route redistribution is done without proper planning - I'm talking about the basic commands themselves. Leaving out one single command option, or forgetting what else needs to be redistributed when redistributing dynamically discovered routes, can leave you with a routing table that looks complete but does not result in full IP connectivity.
In this free CCNP / BSCI tutorial series, we'll take a look at three common errors in route redistribution configurations, and how to fix them. We'll use three routers, R1, R3, and R5. R1 and R5 are in a RIPv2 domain and R1 and R3 are in an OSPF domain. R1 will be performing two-way route redistribution.
R5 is advertising its loopback, 5.5.5.5/24, into the RIPv2 domain. R1 sees this route in its RIP routing table:
R1#show ip route rip
5.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
R 5.5.5.0 [120/1] via 100.1.1.5, 00:00:01, Ethernet0
For R3 to see this route, route redistribution must be configured on R1. We'll use the redistribute rip command to do so.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#redistribute rip
% Only classful networks will be redistributed
The router immediately gives us a message that "only classful networks will be redistributed". What does this mean? Let's go to R3 and see if that router is receiving this route.
R3#show ip route ospf
< no output >
When we get no result from a show command, that means there's nothing to show. The only routes that will be successfully redistributed with the current configuration on R1 are classful networks, and 5.5.5.0/24 is a subnet.
To further illustrate the point, a classful network has been added to R5. This network is 16.0.0.0 /8, and is now being advertised by RIP. R1 sees this network as classful...
R1#show ip route rip
R 16.0.0.0/8 [120/1] via 100.1.1.5, 00:00:00, Ethernet0
5.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
R 5.5.5.0 [120/1] via 100.1.1.5, 00:00:00, Ethernet0
... and R3 is receiving the route through redistribution.
R3#show ip route ospf
O E2 16.0.0.0/8 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:08, Serial0.31
To redistribute both classful and classless networks, the option "subnets" must be added to the redistribute command on R1.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#no redistribute rip
R1(config-router)#redistribute rip subnets
R3 will now see both the classful and classless networks being redistributed into OSPF. (100.1.1.0 is the network connecting R1 and R5.)
R3#show ip route ospf
O E2 16.0.0.0/8 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:20, Serial0.31
100.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
O E2 100.1.1.0 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:20, Serial0.31
5.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
O E2 5.5.5.0 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:20, Serial0.31
This is one of the most common errors made during route redistribution, but now you know what to look out for! In the next part of this free CCNP / BSCI tutorial, we'll take a look at another such error.
In this free CCNP / BSCI tutorial series, we'll take a look at three common errors in route redistribution configurations, and how to fix them. We'll use three routers, R1, R3, and R5. R1 and R5 are in a RIPv2 domain and R1 and R3 are in an OSPF domain. R1 will be performing two-way route redistribution.
R5 is advertising its loopback, 5.5.5.5/24, into the RIPv2 domain. R1 sees this route in its RIP routing table:
R1#show ip route rip
5.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
R 5.5.5.0 [120/1] via 100.1.1.5, 00:00:01, Ethernet0
For R3 to see this route, route redistribution must be configured on R1. We'll use the redistribute rip command to do so.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#redistribute rip
% Only classful networks will be redistributed
The router immediately gives us a message that "only classful networks will be redistributed". What does this mean? Let's go to R3 and see if that router is receiving this route.
R3#show ip route ospf
< no output >
When we get no result from a show command, that means there's nothing to show. The only routes that will be successfully redistributed with the current configuration on R1 are classful networks, and 5.5.5.0/24 is a subnet.
To further illustrate the point, a classful network has been added to R5. This network is 16.0.0.0 /8, and is now being advertised by RIP. R1 sees this network as classful...
R1#show ip route rip
R 16.0.0.0/8 [120/1] via 100.1.1.5, 00:00:00, Ethernet0
5.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
R 5.5.5.0 [120/1] via 100.1.1.5, 00:00:00, Ethernet0
... and R3 is receiving the route through redistribution.
R3#show ip route ospf
O E2 16.0.0.0/8 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:08, Serial0.31
To redistribute both classful and classless networks, the option "subnets" must be added to the redistribute command on R1.
R1(config)#router ospf 1
R1(config-router)#no redistribute rip
R1(config-router)#redistribute rip subnets
R3 will now see both the classful and classless networks being redistributed into OSPF. (100.1.1.0 is the network connecting R1 and R5.)
R3#show ip route ospf
O E2 16.0.0.0/8 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:20, Serial0.31
100.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
O E2 100.1.1.0 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:20, Serial0.31
5.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets
O E2 5.5.5.0 [110/20] via 172.12.123.1, 00:00:20, Serial0.31
This is one of the most common errors made during route redistribution, but now you know what to look out for! In the next part of this free CCNP / BSCI tutorial, we'll take a look at another such error.
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