Greg Mahlknecht has drawn a map of the undersea communications infrastructure around the world using Microsoft Bing. I’d say it is pretty good. It gives you a good visual idea how the continents are interconnected.
Head over to his site to browse around, zoom in and out etc… http://www.cablemap.info/
I have not had much time lately for blogging between a new job, a new baby, an updated version to R&S Short-Notes and the new SP Short-Notes which is coming soon. Besides all that, I have the all important ‘free’ lunch for $1400 which will be served in few weeks time in RTP. So my sincere apologies. But I have noted some very good technical articles that will be posted sooooon…
But in the midst of my current time challenge, I would like to congratulate the newest R&S CCIE on the block.
Matthew Smith, who from now on, will be known as Matthew Smith CCIE 26439, successfully passed his R&S two days ago. Huge congratulations in conquering the hardest CCIE currently out there !!!! As always it is a great feeling to know I helped a little 
This was his feedback.
“Hey – just wanted to say thanks for your awesome short notes. They certainly helped to get me over the hump and is perfect material for the day before the exam. This book will remain on my desk for years to come. Best of luck and thanks again!
Matt
CCIE#26439″
Please feel to visit Matt’s blog and congratulate him : http://ccieforme.blogspot.com
The world is full of amazing people.
There is a new quintuple CCIE, Mr Charles(Chang-Min) Kim from Cisco TAC Korea.
He passed his Storage 2 two weeks back, and already have his eyes on the wireless CCIE. Remarkable.
I have updated the TOP CCIEs post.
…So next is to equate the common boxing exercises with the footwork needed to reach the CCIE and beyond.
The Punching Bag
Is the equivalent of studying theory. Yip it is forcing those countless pages of theory to fit in that preciously small head of yours. Studying theory, as boring as it could be, will become the base and foundation of everything else. I know it sucks studying theory, I also know it gets boring, but take short-cuts here and you will fall short later on.
The best motivation for this? Watch the movie The Karate Kid(1984). I am specifically referring to Mr Miyagi’s “wax on”, “wax off” method of teaching mundane techniques.
The time spent on the punching bag will be a lot. After all you cannot expect yourself to successfully deliver a Jab or a Hook if you do not even know what they are?
The Floor to Ceiling Ball
Is the equivalent of Practice/Technology labs. This is where the techniques learned on the punching bag are tried, tested and improved. It is important to ensure a good and solid understanding of the individual topics while they are isolated. Teach yourself what features can be used to accomplish what and be sure you know how to configure every bit.
Huge congrats to Antonie Henning (CCIE #21500) for passing his CCIE SP last week in Bangalore.
To my knowledge that makes him one of two in South-Africa with a dual CCIE being R&S and SP.
That is truly well-done buddy:)
Antonie promised to post his experience on his blog…soon.
From a question on groupstudy; the following output was posted of a Cisco 2600 that did not boot up even after the Flash was upgraded to 32MB??????
System Bootstrap, Version 12.1(3r)T2, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1) Copyright (c) 2000 by cisco Systems, Inc. C2600 platform with 65536 Kbytes of main memory program load complete, entry point: 0x80008000, size: 0x1c8a8e4 Error : memory requirements exceed available memory Memory required : 0x04746F90 *** System received a Software forced crash *** signal= 0x17, code= 0x4, context= 0x80080630 PC = 0x0, Vector = 0x0, SP = 0x0 System Bootstrap, Version 12.1(3r)T2, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1) Copyright (c) 2000 by cisco Systems, Inc. C2600 platform with 65536 Kbytes of main memory program load complete, entry point: 0x80008000, size: 0x1c8a8e4 Error : memory requirements exceed available memory Memory required : 0x04746F90 rommon 1 > dir flash: File size Checksum File name 29928068 bytes (0x1c8aa84) 0x6ee9 c2600-adventerprisek9-mz.124-23.bin rommon 2 >
What could the problem be?
What is the formula to successfully passing a CCIE lab exam and is there such a thing?
I personally think almost everything, if done meticulously, could be calculated. I would like to illustrate how easy the formula to pass the CCIE could be and at the same time how much work is involved to get there.
Let me explain using a boxing analogy.
Being a working CCIE in the networking world may be viewed in the same light. Strangely there are some remarkable similarities between the road to networking and being a professional boxer.
To become a professional boxer, these are some of the fundamental elements that must be mastered:
Each of these are trained using various exercises. To list a few:
(This article assumes some understanding of MPLS VPNs)
The different methods to attach MPLS VPN RTs when routes are exported from a VRF table can be confusing.
This could be done in two ways with additional options.
The first method is the most common and the easiest to understand. The command below will attach the configured RT to any routes exported from the router’s VRF RIB table into the MPBGP table for advertising.
route-target export {asn:xx}
But what if another RT should be attached in place of, or additionally but for only one prefix?
This is where the second method becomes necessary. By using an export-map one can selectively attach RTs to individual prefixes, separate or in conjunction with the default export if it is configured. This usually raises the question of when the ‘additive’ keyword is needed.
Allow me to explain by using the following diagram :
How does one localise the errors on the ATM trunk to a specific VC?
Assume for a second that the following interface ATM1/0 is terminating multiple VCs (Virtual Circuits), and when you issue the following command you see CRC errors. How would you know which one of VCs are the problem child?
#show interfaces atm 1/0
ATM1/0 is up, line protocol is up
Hardware is ENHANCED ATM PA Plus
Description: bob's ATM
MTU 4470 bytes, sub MTU 4470, BW 149760 Kbit, DLY 80 usec,
reliability 255/255, txload 7/255, rxload 5/255
Encapsulation ATM, loopback not set
Encapsulation(s): AAL5
8191 maximum active VCs, 16 current VCCs
VC Auto Creation Disabled.
VC idle disconnect time: 300 seconds
Signalling vc = 1, vpi = 0, vci = 5
UNI Version = 4.0, Link Side = user
0 carrier transitions
Last input 00:00:01, output 00:00:00, output hang never
Last clearing of "show interface" counters 00:23:50
Input queue: 0/75/0/0 (size/max/drops/flushes); Total output drops: 1115
Queueing strategy: Per VC Queueing
30 second input rate 1966000 bits/sec, 1032 packets/sec
30 second output rate 3226000 bits/sec, 1025 packets/sec
885563 packets input, 129820445 bytes, 0 no buffer
Received 0 broadcasts, 0 runts, 0 giants, 0 throttles
350 input errors, 350 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored, 0 abort '<----Not cool'
1373823 packets output, 456299872 bytes, 0 underruns
0 output errors, 0 collisions, 0 interface resets
0 output buffer failures, 0 output buffers swapped out
Apologies for the long absence from posting. I find myself without any hours left in a day before I got to everything I wanted to do. And before you know it, more than a month has gone past.
In my previous post I presented a quick solution to an Out-of-Band network and I talked about some options. I’ve had mails asking how to show some of the configurations. I’ll cover those and do other posts I have been promising in the next couple days.
This post will focus on the current Cisco 3G WAN card, the HWIC-3G-GSM. This card is supported by Cisco’s 1841, 1861, 2800-series and 3800-series ISR routers. This card only supports High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) “up to” 3.6 Mb/s downlink, 384 kb/s uplink (presumably HSDPA Category 5/6, but not sure)
“3G” is a broad category of standards and services around “broadband” mobile wireless voice and data. Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is part of this family. High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) is a collection of mobile telephony protocols that extend and improve the performance of existing UMTS protocols. Two standards, HSDPA and HSUPA have been established and is fairly well known.
An Out-of-Band management network plays an integral part in supporting any network. Without it when core devices go down, unnecessary time is spend driving to the downed site to fix and correct the problem if remote connectivity in unavailable.
For those that don’t know, an Out-of-Band (OOB) management network is a small support network that usually runs alongside the production network at key locations, with the sole purpose to provide console level access to core devices remotely. This access can be vital to assure downtime is minimized.
The usual OOB requirements are:
ISDN and dialup technologies are most commonly used, due to the low monthly line costs. But ISDN and Dialup has the inherit cost problem if the line is connected for extended periods (days), either due engineer negligence or configuration troubles. I have also seen 64k Diginet links used, which is really not the best option cost wise, when the OOB network spans different geographical regions.
I was recently task to fix a OOB design that were using Diginet links. I looked at the design, and I cancelled all the serial links days later due to insanely high monthly costs.
Instead, to address all the required points above, I proposed a new design similar to the diagram below. (This diagram only depicts one site though)
Upgrading a 6500 is pretty straight forward, provided the necessary is done in the right order. I’ve listed the steps I would typically take to fully upgrade a single Cisco-6509-E (single Route-Processor) with a IPSEC VPN SPA blade.
Please lab this if possible BEFORE trying it in a production network. I have illustrated the steps to be taken if some of the known funnies occur during an upgrade. Feel free to use this as a guideline.
Firstly download the IOS and image versions, you need. Obviously do a little homework and check the specific IOS for known bugs using the Bug Toolkit. Don’t just pick any IOS. Make sure all the required features are relatively bug free.
Copy the downloaded files to the following locations:
I always use FTP if possible, due to the higher transfer rates. 10.3.29.239 is connected to the switch and is running a FTP server, expecting a username:password of cisco:pass.
copy ftp://cisco:pass@10.3.29.239/c6msfc3-rm2.srec.122-17r.SX5 sup-bootflash: copy ftp://cisco:pass@10.3.29.239/s72033-boot-mz.122-33.SXI2.bin bootflash: copy ftp://cisco:pass@10.3.29.239/s72033-adventerprisek9_wan-mz.122-33.SXI2.bin disk0: dir sup-bootflash: dir bootflash: dir disk0:
It is a real privilege for Routing-Bits to be featured in the world-famous March edition of CCIE Flyer.
The first time I became aware of CCIE Flyer, Eman Conde and the good work he is doing in the CCIE Industry was last year November. (I know, I am slow)
See me previous post.
CCIE Flyer features articles from some of the biggest names in the network world, from Scott Morris, Terry Slatery, Darby Weaver to Narbik Kocharins. CCIE Flyer I believe reaches more 16000 subscribers a month.
So the week before last I get an email from Eman, saying its time for me to put my thinking cap on, because he wants a article. Hmmm, I am a techy by heart. What could I possibly submit that would be light but easy reading, while still of good use. After much thought I submitted what I do best. Showing guys how to do things easier. And with the R&S v4 troubleshooting addition that scared off so many candidates, I thought I’ll share some of my troubleshooting experience. Simply by showing how easy it is to draft a personal troubleshooting methodology, if a technology is well understood.
Head over there and read the article.
Also see what other articles are featured, and if you not already subscribed to CCIE Flyer now is the best time.
It turned out to be a good week afterall.
Jeff passed his CCIE R&S lab on thursday too, earning himself the number # 25966.
This is super as the second pass for the week
Here is the feedback I received yesterday afternoon:
“Ruhann,
I passed yesterday! Your product was a great overall review for me. I read it on the plane ride to San Jose and it helped keep everything fresh. I can tell you put a great deal of effort into it. Thanks again,”
It is a great feeling knowing I contributed a very small portion of Jeff’s success.
Well-done Jeff!!
Please extend a big congratulation to Daniel Loughlin who passed the CCIE R&S v4 yesterday in San Jose.
I just received this mail :
“Thanks Ruhann. I passed the v4 test today in San Jose. I’m CCIE#25965
Thanks so much for your wonderful product.”
Daniel was one of the first candidates to buy Short-Notes. Daniel earned his number after months of hard work.
With so few guys that are passing version4, this is a remarkable achievement.
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