AOS-CX Switching Fundamentals (CXF) – Outline

Detailed Course Outline

Network Fundamentals
  • What is a network?
  • What is a Protocol?
  • OSI Reference Model
  • Encapsulation, frames, packets, segments
  • Layer 2 to Layer 7 headers
  • Media, cabling, Ethernet/wifi headers
  • Binary/Hex/Decimal theory and conversion
  • TCP/IP Stack (IP addressing & Transport Protocols TCP/UDP)
  • Types of traffic: Unicast, Broadcast, Multicast
TCP/IP Stack
  • Overview
  • Ethernet frames
  • IPv4 Header
  • TCP Header – Three-way Handshake
  • TCP Header – Sequence Numbers
  • TCP Header – Port Numbers
  • TCP Header
  • UPD Header
Basic Networking with Aruba Solutions
  • Networking devices: Switches, Routers, Multilayer Switches, APs, Mobility Controllers, Firewalls, Servers (HTTP, DHCP, DNS, Telnet, FTP)
  • 2-Tier vs 3-Tier hierarchy
  • Switching Portfolio (AOS switches & AOS-CX switches) is this introducing both portfolio on a couple of slide and few slides on AOS-CX hardware architecture, software architecture and intro to NAE high level.
  • Introduction to AOS-CX and feature set
  • Port numbering
  • Accessing Aruba OS-CX CLI
  • Prompt modes/levels and navigation
  • Context sensitive help
  • Show logs, configuration, interfaces, transceivers, flash, version
  • Hostname/interface name, enabling interfaces
  • Link Layer Discovery Protocol
  • ICMP and reachability testing tools: Ping and Traceroute
  • PoE (standards one slide and what we support and one or two slide on configuration and verifications.)
VLANs
  • Broadcast/collision domains
  • VLAN benefits
  • VLAN creation
  • DHCP server configuration in switches (optional)
  • 802.1Q tagging
  • Switchports vs. Routed ports
  • MAC address table
  • ARP table
  • Packet Delivery part 1
Spanning Tree Protocol
  • Redundant network
  • L2 loops
  • 802.1D
  • Common Spanning Tree
  • 802.1s
  • 802.1w overview
  • 802.1w load balancing
  • 802.1w region configuration
Link Aggregation
  • Static Aggregation
  • LACP
  • Load Balancing
IP Routing - Part 1
  • Default Gateway
  • DHCP IP Helper Address
  • IP Routing Service
  • Inter-VLAN routing
  • Packet Delivery Part 2
  • Need for layer 3 redundancy
  • Introduction to VRF
VRRP
  • VRRP overview
  • VRRP basic operation
  • VRRP failover and preempt
  • VRRP and MSTP coordination
IP Routing - Part 2
  • Subnetting
  • CIDR
  • Static routes
  • Administrative Distance
  • Floating routes
  • Scalability issues
IP Routing - Part 3
  • IGP vs EGP
  • Distance Vector vs Link State
  • OSPF Router-ID and Hello Messages
  • Passive interfaces
  • States
  • DR and BDR
  • LSDB: LSA 1 and 2
  • Path selection and convergence
  • Using cost to manipulate routes
Stacking
  • Control Plane, Management Plane, and Data Plane
  • Introduction to Stacking technologies
  • Stacking Benefits
  • Centralized control and management plane
  • Distributed Data Plane and Distributed Link Aggregation
  • VSF
  • VSF requirements
  • VSF Link and member roles
  • VSF member IDs and port numbers
  • VSF Configuration
  • VSF Provisioning use cases
  • Tracing Layer 2 traffic: Unicast
  • Tracing Layer 2 traffic: Broadcast, Multicast, and Unknown Unicast
  • VSF Failover and OSFP Graceful-Restart
  • VSF Link failure without MAD
  • MAD
  • VSX Introduction
Secure Management and Maintenance
  • OOBM port
  • Management VRF
  • Secure Management Protocols: AAA, SSH, HTTPS, RBAC
  • Radius-based management auth (VSA)
  • SNMP
  • Web interface
  • Configuration file management (Backup, restore, checkpoint and roll back)
  • Operating System image management (backup and restore)
  • Factory default/password recovery
AOS-CX Management tools
  • Intro to NetEdit
  • NetEdit installation
  • Basic monitoring with NetEdit
  • AOS-CX Mobile App