1. Planning Maintenance for Complex Networks
Applying Maintenance Methodologies
- Models and methodologies commonly used for network maintenance and the benefits that these models bring to and organization
- Select generalized maintenance models and planning tools that fit your organization
Common Maintenance Processes and Procedures
- Essential network maintenance tasks
- Advantages of scheduled maintenance
- Key decision factors that affect change control procedures in order to create procedures that fit the needs of your organization
- Essential elements of network documentation and their function
- Plan for efficient disaster recovery
- Importance of network monitoring and performance measurement as an integral element of a proactive network maintenance strategy
Network Maintenance Tools, Applications, and Resources
- Elements of a basic network maintenance toolkit
- Tools that support the documentation process and are appropriate to your organization
- How configuration, software, and hardware resource management software can improve disaster recovery procedures
- How network monitoring software benefits the maintenance process
- Metrics that could be used to measure network performance, the performance measurement process, and creating a performance measurement plan that is appropriate to your organization
2. Planning Troubleshooting Processes for Complex Enterprise Networks
Lab 2-1 Debrief
Applying Troubleshooting Methodologies
- Fundamental elements of a troubleshooting process
- Advantages of a structured network troubleshooting method
- Evaluate and assess common troubleshooting approaches
- Select a combination of troubleshooting methods that are appropriate to a specific troubleshooting scenario
Planning and Implementing Troubleshooting Procedures
- Fundamental subprocesses of the generic troubleshooting process
- Formulate correct problem definitions and assign responsibilities
- Gather information in a structured manner
- Interpret and analyze the gathered information
- Isolate a problem through a process of elimination
- Formulate a hypothesis and evaluate the necessary actions to take after you have formulated a hypothesis
- Test a hypothesis and roll back if a hypothesis is not confirmed
- Integrate a solution into the existing network
Integrating Troubleshooting into the Network Maintenance Process
- Evaluate the benefits gained by aligning troubleshooting procedures to network maintenance procedures
- Create and routinely update documentation as part of the troubleshooting process
- Identify abnormal network behavior by comparing actual behavior to a baseline created as part of the network
- maintenance process
- Implement communication processes that increase the effectiveness of the troubleshooting process
- Implement change procedures that are flexible enough to support the changes needed during troubleshooting and
- controlled enough to be integrated into the standard maintenance and documentation procedures
3. Maintenance and Troubleshooting Tools and Applications
Assembling a Basic Diagnostic Toolkit Using Cisco IOS Software
- Apply filtering to Cisco IOS commands to select relevant output
- Test network connectivity using Cisco IOS commands
- Diagnose basic hardware-related problems
Using Specialized Maintenance and Troubleshooting Tools
- Tools and their underlying technologies supporting the troubleshooting process
- Enable SPAN and RSPAN to facilitate the use of packet sniffers
- Configure routers and switches for communication with SNMP-based or NetFlow-based network management systems in order to facilitate the collection of device and traffic statistics that are part of a network baseline
- Configure routers and switches to send SNMP traps to provide fault notification to SNMP-based network
- management systems
Lab 3-1 Debrief
- Validate your understanding of the network and available tools and fill in any potential gaps in your documentation
Consolidate the lessons learned during the review discussions into a set of best-practice methods and commands to aid in future troubleshooting procedures
4. Maintaining and Troubleshooting Campus Switching-Based Solutions Troubleshooting VLANs
- Process involved in switching a frame from a host in a VLAN to another host in the same VLAN across multiple switched hops
- Analyze information gathered from switch data structures to verify proper operation of Layer 2 forwarding within a VLAN
Troubleshooting Spanning Tree
- Steps that spanning tree goes through to attain a loop-free topology
- Determine the spanning-tree topology using Cisco IOS commands
- Symptoms and remediation of spanning-tree failures
Lab 4-1 Debrief
- Compare your solution, findings, and action log against a set of checkpoints provided by the instructor and identify common and alternative solutions
- Consolidate the lessons learned during the review discussions into a set of best-practice methods and commands to aid you in future troubleshooting procedures
Troubleshooting Switched Virtual Interfaces and Inter VLAN Routing
- Use the information contained in the data structures used in the operation of multilayer switching to diagnose issues related to multilayer switching
- Diagnose problems related to SVI and routed ports based on an understanding of the essential differences between these two types of Layer 3 interfaces on a multilayer switch
Troubleshooting FHRPs
- The HSRP election process and packet forwarding via HSRP routers
- Verify the operation of HSRP using Cisco IOS commands
- Similarities and major differences between HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP
Lab 4-2 Debrief
Troubleshooting Performance Problems on SwitchesUse Cisco IOS commands to diagnose physical and data link layer problems on switch ports
- Use Cisco IOS commands to analyze TCAM utilization on switches to determine the root cause of TCAM allocation failures
- Use Cisco IOS commands to determine the root cause of high CPU usage on a switch
References to Additional Campus Switching Technologies in E-Learning
- Troubleshooting Performance Problems on Switches e-learning module
- Troubleshooting Wireless Integration e-learning module
- Troubleshooting Voice over IP Integration e-learning module
- Troubleshooting Video Integration e-learning module
- Process of accessing and using e-learning content
5. Maintaining and Troubleshooting Routing-Based Solutions
Troubleshooting Network Layer Connectivity
- Processes involved in routing packets across multiple router hops from one host to another host in a different subnet
Analyze information gathered from a router's routing table and FIB to verify the IP packet forwarding process
Verify the mapping of Layer 3 information to Layer 2 information to ensure that routed packets are correctly
- encapsulated and transmitted using the data link protocol of the egress interface
Troubleshooting EIGRP
- Apply your knowledge of EIGRP data structures to gather necessary information as part of a structured approach to troubleshooting EIGRP routing problems
- Apply your knowledge of the processes that EIGRP uses to exchange routing information to interpret and analyze the information that is gathered during an EIGRP troubleshooting process Use Cisco IOS commands to gather information from the EIGRP data structures and track the flow of EIGRP routing
- information to troubleshoot EIGRP operation
Lab 5-1 Debrief
Troubleshooting OSPF
- Apply your knowledge of OSPF data structures to gather necessary information as part of a structured approach to troubleshooting OSPF routing problems
- Apply your knowledge of the processes that OSPF uses to exchange network topology information within an area to interpret and analyze the information that is gathered during an OSPF troubleshooting process
- Apply your knowledge of the processes that OSPF uses to exchange network topology information between areas, to interpret and analyze the information that is gathered during an OSPF troubleshooting process
- Use Cisco IOS commands to gather information from the OSPF data structures and track the flow of OSPF routing information to troubleshoot OSPF operation
Troubleshooting Route Redistribution
- Data structures and processes involved in route redistribution
- Verify the correct operation of a route redistribution process
Lab 5-2 Debrief
Troubleshooting BGP
- Apply your knowledge of BGP data structures to gather necessary information as part of a structured approach to troubleshooting BGP routing problems
- Apply your knowledge of the processes that BGP uses to exchange routing information to interpret and analyze the information that is gathered during a BGP troubleshooting process
- Use Cisco IOS commands to gather information from the BGP data structures and track the flow of BGP routing information in order to troubleshoot BGP operation
Lab 5-3 Debrief
Troubleshooting Performance Problems on Routers
- Use the IOS tools to analyze CPU usage to determine the root cause of high CPU usage on a router
- Use the IOS tools to analyze packet forwarding through a router
- Use the IOS tools to analyze memory usage to troubleshoot router performance problems
Lab 5-4 Debrief
References to Additional Troubleshooting on NAT and DHCP in E-Learning
- Troubleshooting NAT and PAT e-learning module
- Troubleshooting DHCP e-learning module
- Troubleshooting IPv6, OSPFv3, and RIPng e-learning module
- Process of accessing and using e-learning content
6. Maintaining and Troubleshooting Network Security Solutions
- Troubleshooting Security Features
- Impact of security features on network troubleshooting
- Lab 6-1 Debrief
- Security Features Review
- Diagnose and resolve transport layer problems in a structured manner
- Verify the operation of Cisco IOS Firewall stateful packet inspection
- Diagnose and resolve problems related to using AAA on routers and switches
- Lab 6-2 Debrief
- References to Additional Security Troubleshooting in E-Learning
- Troubleshooting Network Applications Services e-learning module
- Troubleshooting Branch Office and Remote Worker Problems e-learning module
- Process of accessing and using e-learning content
7. Maintaining and Troubleshooting Integrated, Complex Enterprise Networks
- Troubleshooting Complex Environments
- Primary lessons learned about network maintenance and troubleshooting tasks during previous labs
- Lab 7-1 Debrief