DCUCI v5.0 - Implementing Cisco Data Center Unified Computing

Description

Implementing Cisco Data Center Unified Computing (DCUCI) is designed to serve the needs of engineers and technicians who implement Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) B-Series Blade Servers and Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers.

DCUCI v5.0 guides learners through rack installation and provisioning of server hardware, operating systems, hypervisors, and applications. Much of the content is devoted to management and maintenance. DCUCI v5.0 covers the implementation and operation of Cisco UCS in the data center.

To participate in the hands-on labs in this class, you need to bring a laptop computer with the following:

• We recommend using at least a Pentium 4 or better and 1 GB of RAM or more.
• We recommend running Windows XP Professional SP3 or greater (Vista & Windows 7/8).
  Mac & Linux machines are also supported.
• Browser Requirements: Internet Explorer 10 or greater or Mozilla Firefox. (Safari and Mozilla Firefox for Mac OSX)
• All students are required to have administrator rights to their PCs and cannot be logged in to a domain using any Group Policies that will limit their machine's capabilities.
• If you do not have administrator rights to your PC, you at least need permissions to download, install, and run Cisco Any Connect Client.
• If you are participating in a WebEx event, it is highly recommended to take this class at a location that has bandwidth speeds at a minimum of 1 Mbps bandwidth speeds.

Note:Students registering for this course will be receiving their course kit in a digital format. To be able to view your digital kit you will need to bring a laptop PC and/or a compatible iPad or Android tablet. The recommended system requirements and instructions to access the course kit content can be found at the following link:Digital Course Kit Requirements and Instructions

Please be aware that this digital version is designed for online use, not for printing. You can print up to 10 pages only in each guide within a course. Please note that every time you click the Print button in the book, this counts as one page printed, whether or not you click OK in the Print dialog.

If you have any questions or issues with meeting the requirements listed above, please contact us at info@idtlearning.com and provide the class name to which you are attending and we will be more than happy to help.

Objectives

Upon completing this course, the learner will be able to meet these overall objectives:

• Implement Cisco UCS C-Series rack servers in standalone mode. Boot from the local hard drive and mount the Fibre Channel SAN LUN for shared storage
• Install Cisco R-Series rack enclosures in the data center
• Install components in the Cisco UCS C-Series rack server prior to rack mounting
• Install Cisco UCS C-Series rack servers in a Cisco R-Series rack
• Use the Cisco UCS Host Upgrade Utility to upgrade or downgrade C-Series firmware to the correct version
• Provision SNMP and syslog, and use C-Series monitoring tools
• Use the Cisco Integrated Management Controller to provision LAN and SAN connectivity for the C-Series server
• Use the LSI MegaRAID web user interface to provision local hard drives into a RAID 5 array
• Install VMware ESXi in the C-Series server local hard drives
• Implement system management, maintenance, and high-availability services for Cisco UCS B-Series
• Implement local and remote authentication services to restrict privileges and delegate management authority in Cisco UCS Manager
• List the processes for managing the firmware repository and upgrade or downgrade Cisco UCS firmware components using Cisco UCS Manager
• Implement backup and restore capabilities in Cisco UCS Manager
• Implement syslog, Smart Call Home, and SPAN
• Maintain Cisco UCS in a high-availability configuration
• Implement generation 1 and generation 2 connectivity
• Differentiate between physical connections on the IOM and the redundant connections for management and data plane over the I/O MUX and midplane
• Install and power up Cisco UCS B-Series hardware
• Implement LAN connectivity for Cisco UCS B-Series hardware
• Implement SAN connectivity for Cisco UCS B-Series hardware
• Provision servers by leveraging reusable pools, policies, and templates that allow for rapid provisioning and consistency of policy
• Perform initial Cisco UCS cluster setup and provide management IP addresses for blade servers
• Provision VLANs and fabric interconnect uplinks for server connectivity to the Layer 3 data center cloud
• Provision VSANs and fabric interconnect Fibre Channel uplinks for server connectivity to the data center storage cloud
• Provision resource pools for servers, UUIDs, MAC addresses, WWNN, WWPN, and iSCSI
• Configure reusable server policies in Cisco UCS Manager
• Provision service profiles with initial and updating templates
• Implement virtualization features unique to Cisco UCS that improve performance and manageability
• Describe Cisco VM-FEX and Cisco VM-FEX universal passthrough technologies
• Provision Cisco VM-FEX in Cisco UCS Manager and the VMware vCenter Server
• Provision Cisco VM-FEX universal passthrough in Cisco UCS Manager and the VMware vCenter Server

Prerequisites

The knowledge and skills that a learner must have before attending this course are as follows:

• CCNA and DCUFI knowledge and experience until cutover to CCNA DC
• CCNA DC equivalent knowledge and experience
• Server operating systems, hypervisor and virtualization familiarity
• Implementing Cisco Storage Networking Solutions (ICSNS)

Attendance of the following Cisco learning offerings is recommended to fully benefit from this course:

• Implementing Cisco Data Center Unified Fabric (DCUFI)
• Implementing Cisco Storage Networking Solutions (ICSNS)

Who Should Attend

The primary audience for this course is as follows:

• Cisco Integrators and Partners
• Consulting Systems Engineer
• Network Designer
• Network Engineer
• Server Administrator
• Systems Engineer
• Technical Solutions Architect

The secondary audience for this course is as follows:

• Network Administrator
• Network Manager
• Storage Administrator

The tertiary audience for this course is as follows:

• Program Manager
• Project Manager

Outline

Course Introduction

• Overview
• Course Goal and Objectives
• Course Flow
• Additional References
• Your Training Curriculum

Module 1: Implement Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Lesson 1: Implementing Cisco R-Series Rack Enclosures

Lesson Objectives:

• Unpack the Cisco R42610 rack enclosure
• Remove the Cisco R-Series rack from the pallet
• Secure the Cisco R-Series rack to the floor
• Join Cisco R42610 racks into a suite
• Install a Cisco RP208-30-U-1 PDU
• Remove and install side panels
• Remove and install Cisco R-Series rack doors
• Use cabling portholes

Lesson 2: Installing Cisco UCS C-Series Server Hardware

Lesson Objectives:

• Review ESD precautions
• Review how to open Cisco UCS C-Series cases
• Compare PCIe riser cards across Cisco UCS C-Series models
• Describe CPU population rules for dual- and quad-socket servers
• Describe the importance of color coding internal Cisco UCS C-Series components
• Describe DRAM installation and population rules
• Describe fan replacement
• Describe power supply replacement

Lesson 3: Installing Cisco UCS C-Series Servers in a Cisco R-Series Rack Enclosure

Lesson Objectives:

• Install the slide-rail assembly into the Cisco R42610 rack enclosure
• Attach the mounting brackets to the server
• Insert the server into the slide rail
• Attach the cable management arm
• Connect the Cisco UCS C-Series server to the PDU
• Connect management and data cables

Lesson 4: Updating Cisco UCS C-Series Firmware with the Host Upgrade Utility

Lesson Objectives:

• Download the Cisco UCS Host Upgrade Utility from Cisco.com
• Enable KVM and virtual media in Cisco Integrated Management Controller
• Describe the session options that are available in the KVM
• Launch virtual media and map the Cisco UCS Host Upgrade Utility ISO image
• Perform an upgrade of all components

Lesson 5: Provisioning Monitoring and Logging on the Cisco UCS C-Series Server

Lesson Objectives:

• Provision SNMP
• Provision syslog destinations for server logging data
• Access data from the system event log
• Export technical support information

Lesson 6: Provisioning LAN and SAN Connectivity in the Cisco Integrated Management Controller

Lesson Objectives:

• Provision the Cisco UCS P81E VIC to allow FCoE
• Provision a locally administered MAC address for the A- and B-side 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
• Enable RSS on Ethernet adapters
• Provision locally administered addresses for the Fibre Channel interface WWPN and WWNN
• Provision the Fibre Channel boot target for the A- and B-side Fibre Channel interfaces

Lesson 7: Provisioning RAID on the Cisco UCS C-Series Server

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe the characteristics of RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10
• Boot the server in the KVM and access the LSI MegaRAID web user interface
• Add all local hard drives to a RAID 5 array and save the configuration

Lesson 8: Installing VMware ESXi on the Cisco UCS C-Series Server Local RAID Array

Lesson Objectives:

• Open a KVM session to the Cisco UCS C-Series server
• Map virtual media to the ESXi installer ISO image
• Install ESXi on the local RAID array
• Boot ESXi from the local RAID array
• Configure a management IP address for the ESXi server
• Connect to the ESXi server with the VMware vSphere Client utility and connect to the VMware File System shared storage LUN on the Fibre Channel storage system

Module 2: Manage the Cisco UCS B-Series

Lesson 1: Implementing RBAC

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe the overall framework of RBAC in the Cisco UCS B-Series
• Implement local users, roles, and privileges
• Implement organizations and locales
• Describe the effective rights of a user as an intersection of roles and locales mapped to a user
• Implement LDAP providers and provider groups
• Implement LDAP (Microsoft Active Directory) as an external authentication and authorization service
• Implement Cisco UCS roles mapping to LDAP (Active Directory) attributes with LDAP provider maps

Lesson 2: Managing and Upgrading Cisco UCS B-Series Firmware
Lesson Objectives:

• Describe where to find Cisco UCS firmware packages on Cisco.com
• Update Cisco UCS firmware
• Direct upgrade of mezzanine adapter, Cisco Integrated Management Controller, and IOM firmware
• Describe software updates on the fabric interconnect
• Describe the requirement for firmware updates via host firmware packages in the service profile
• Describe the differences between the firmware processes of Cisco UCS fabric interconnect and IOM, Cisco Integrated Management Controller, and adapter
• Describe how to update and activate the hardware capability catalog

Lesson 3: Implementing Backup, Import, and Restore of the Cisco UCS Manager Database

Lesson Objectives:

• Differentiate between the supported backup types and the database objects to which they map in the Cisco UCS Manager database
• Differentiate between an import operation and a disaster recovery restore operation
• Implement a backup job
• Implement backup jobs to preserve abstracted identities
• Verify that the backup is created and executed
• Implement an import job to restore the AAA user database
• Verify that the AAA user database is restored
• Configure the Cisco UCS 6100/6200 Series Fabric Interconnect for disaster recovery restore

Lesson 4: Implementing Logging and Monitoring

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe Cisco UCS Manager management interfaces
• Describe the fault management system and evaluate fault severity levels
• Use the audit log to track administrative changes to the Cisco UCS Manager database
• Describe Cisco UCS Manager operations subject to FSM validation and how to interpret FSM output
• Implement logging options including local buffer, console, and external syslog servers
• Use system event log and system event log policies
• Implement the Smart Call Home feature
• Validate the Smart Call Home feature
• Configure settings for logs, events, and faults
• Configure SPAN to allow protocol analysis

Lesson 5: Implementing High Availability

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe high-availability cluster connection requirements for Cisco UCS B-Series
• Describe intercluster communications and Cisco UCS Manager database synchronization
• Differentiate between cluster partition-in-time and partition-in-space split-brain conditions
• Describe how the Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis SEEPROM resolves a split-brain issue in the high-availability cluster
• Modify cluster IP addressing from the Cisco UCS Manager GUI and CLI

Module 3: Implement Cisco UCS B-Series Connectivity

Lesson 1: Implementing Cisco UCS B-Series Physical Connectivity

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe the relationship between I/O uplinks and bandwidth oversubscription with generation 2 hardware
• Describe the Cisco UCS 2204/2208XP IOM architecture including CMC, I/O MUX, and chassis management switch
• Describe the relationship between I/O uplinks and bandwidth oversubscription with generation 1 hardware
• Describe the Cisco UCS 2104XP IO module architecture including CMC, I/O MUX, and chassis management switch
• Describe the features of the Cisco UCS VIC 1280 and VIC 1240
• Compare the number of virtual interfaces available on the Cisco UCS M81KR VIC and the VIC 1280
• Describe new mezzanine cards including M51, M61, and M72
• Describe the Cisco Integrated Management Controller management component of the BSeries blades
• Describe the creation of port channels from the Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnect to the 2204/2208XP IOM
• Describe the difference between server and uplink port personalities in the fabric interconnect
• Describe the chassis discovery process and monitor using the FSM
• Configure the chassis discovery policy

Lesson 2: Installing Cisco UCS B-Series Hardware

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe the ESD precautions that are necessary when installing Cisco UCS B-Series components
• List the steps for opening the case of half- and full-slot blade servers
• List the steps for physical installation of rack-mount slides in the enclosure and on the Cisco UCS 5108 chassis
• List the steps for installation and removal of CPU, RAM, and mezzanine cards in Cisco UCS B-Series blade servers
• List the steps for physical installation and removal of local hard drives
• List the steps for physical installation of half- and full-slot blade servers
• List the steps for physical installation of IOMs and power supplies in the Cisco UCS 5108 chassis
• List the steps for physical installation and removal of fan units
• List the steps for physical installation and removal of SFP+ copper twinax and optical modules

Lesson 3: Implementing Cisco UCS B-Series LAN Connectivity

Lesson Objectives:

• Differentiate between uplink, server, appliance, FCoE storage, and monitoring Ethernet port personalities of 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces on the Cisco UCS fabric interconnect
• Describe the requirements and configuration of port channels from the Cisco UCS fabric interconnect to a northbound switch
• Describe end-host mode and its importance in forwarding over multiple Layer 2 links and maintaining a loop-free topology
• Differentiate end-host mode with switched mode
• Describe the requirements to configure VLANs in Cisco UCS Manager
• Describe the role of vNICs to abstract MAC addresses into a service profile
• Describe the automatic pinning process and recovery from failure
• Describe the configuration of manual pinning and recovery from failure
• Describe the configuration of disjoint Layer 2 domains

Lesson 4: Implementing Cisco UCS B-Series SAN Connectivity

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe Fibre Channel switching
• Describe NPV
• Differentiate between Fibre Channel uplink, Fibre Channel storage, and Fibre Channel monitoring port personalities of 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces on the Cisco UCS fabric interconnect
• Differentiate between benefits and drawbacks of Fibre Channel switching and NPV
• Describe how NPIV allows a single N Port to be associated with multiple FCIDs
• Describe the requirements and configuration of VSANs in Cisco UCS Manager
• Describe the role of the vHBA to abstract WWNNs and WWPNs into a service profile
• Describe the automatic pinning process and recovery from failure
• Describe the configuration of manual pinning and recovery from failure
• Differentiate Ethernet failover from Fibre Channel multipath I/O recovery

Module 4: Provision Cisco UCS Compute Resources

Lesson 1: Provisioning the Cisco UCS Cluster

Lesson Objectives:

• Configure the primary cluster peer from the fabric interconnect console
• Configure the secondary cluster peer from the fabric interconnect console and join to the cluster
• Log into the Cisco UCS Manager GUI and assign a pool of management IP addresses for server management

Lesson 2: Provisioning LAN Networking

Lesson Objectives:

• Provision VLANs for single fabric, both fabrics, and both fabrics configured differently
• Provision VLAN ranges
• Provision private VLANs
• Provision Ethernet uplinks
• Provision Ethernet uplink port channels
• Provision fabric port channels from the Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnect to a Cisco 2204/2208 IOM
• Provision FCoE storage ports
• Provision appliance ports and prune VLANs

Lesson 3: Provisioning SAN Networking

Lesson Objectives:

• Provision VSANs for single fabric, both fabrics, and both fabrics configured differently
• Provision Fibre Channel uplinks and VSAN trunking
• Provision Fibre Channel port channels
• Provision direct-attach Fibre Channel storage ports and default zoning

Lesson 4: Provisioning Resource Pools in Cisco UCS Manager

Lesson Objectives:

• Provision server pools
• Provision server pool autoplacement
• Provision UUID pools
• Provision MAC pools
• Provision WWNN pools
• Provision WWPN pools
• Provision iSCSI initiator pools

Lesson 5: Provisioning Server Policies in Cisco UCS Manager

Lesson Objectives:

• Provision a service profile using the expert service profile wizard
• Implement pools and policies in the service profile
• Associate a service profile to a server
• Describe the Cisco UCS Utility Operating System
• Observe the association process using the FSM

Lesson 6: Provisioning Service Profiles from Templates in Cisco UCS Manager

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe the requirements of service profile templates
• Describe the difference between initial templates and updating templates, including operational caveats
• Provision a vNIC template using the template wizard
• Provision a vHBA template using the template wizard
• Provision a service profile template using the template wizard
• Provision multiple servers from a service profile template
• Clone a service profile

Lesson 7: Provisioning Cisco UCS C-Series Server Integration in Cisco UCS Manager

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe the benefits of C-Series integration
• Describe the physical connectivity requirements for C-Series integration
• Install version 1.2 C-Series server firmware to allow integration with Cisco UCS prior to version 2.0(2xx)
• Describe the C-Series discovery process

Module 5: Implement Cisco UCS Server Virtualization Features

Lesson 1: Provisioning

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe VMware vSwitch and vDS
• Describe Cisco Nexus 1000V switching
• Describe Cisco VM-FEX
• Describe Cisco VM-FEX universal pass-through

Lesson 2: Provisioning Cisco VM-FEX

Lesson Objectives:

• Provision VMware ESXi servers with a Cisco VEM
• Provision the secure connection from Cisco UCS Manager to VMware vCenter Server
• Provision port profiles and push to vCenter as port groups
• Provision a dynamic vNIC connection policy and BIOS policy for Cisco VM-FEX
• Join ESXi hosts to the DVS
• Provision VMs to consume port groups on the DVS

Lesson 3: Provisioning Cisco VM-FEX Universal Pass-Through

Lesson Objectives:

• Describe VMware requirements for universal pass-through mode
• Provision a dynamic vNIC connection policy for Cisco VM-FEX universal pass-through
• Provision a BIOS policy for Cisco VM-FEX universal pass-through
• Associate universal pass-through policies to a service profile
• Provision a port profile for universal pass-through mode
• Provision VMs to connect to DirectPath I/O interfaces
• Verify universal pass-through mode

Lab Outline

Lab 1-1: Perform Initial C-Series Implementation

Task 1: Log into the Cisco Integrated Management Controller
Task 2: Enable Virtual Media
Task 3: Configure the Syslog Host and Test Logging
Task 4: Access the System Event Log
Task 5: Create and Export a Tech Support Report to a TFTP ServerLab 1-2: Procedure to Update Cisco UCS C-Series Firmware from the Cisco UCS Host Upgrade Utility
Task 1: Browse to Cisco.com and Locate the ISO File for the Cisco UCS Host Upgrade Utility
Task 2: Map Virtual Media to the Host Upgrade Utility ISO Image on the External PC
Task 3: Boot the Cisco C200 M2 Server and Run the Host Upgrade Utility to Update the Server FirmwareLab 1-3: Prepare the Server for the OS Installation
Task 1: Explore the Hardware Settings and Configure P81E for LAN ConnectivityLab 2-1: Initial Configuration Instructor Demo
Task 1: Cisco UCS 6200 Initial Configuration Instructor Demo
Task 2: Configure Server Ports Instructor Demo
Task 3: Chassis Discovery Policy Instructor Demo
Task 4: Configure LAN Connectivity Instructor Demo
Task 5: Configure Port Channels Instructor Demo
Task 6: Configure SAN Connectivity Instructor Demo
Task 7: Configure Mgmt IP Addresses Instructor DemoLab 2-2: Configure RBAC
Task 1: Implement Organizations Based on a Detailed Specification for a Large Data Center
Task 2: Implement User Roles to Segregate Server, LAN, and SAN, Based on Job Role
Task 3: Implement Local User Accounts
Task 4: Test Locale Restrictions
Task 5: Implement LDAP Providers, LDAP Provider Groups, LDAP Group Maps, and Authentication DomainsLab 2-3: Back Up and Restore Cisco UCS Manager Database Objects
Task 1: Create Pod-Specific Firmware Packages
Task 2: Create and Execute an All-Configuration Backup
Task 3: Delete a Firmware Policy and Restore with an Import Job Merge ActionLab 2-4: Configure Logging in Cisco UCS
Task 1: Generate and Observe a Major Alarm by Disabling and Enabling a Server Link to the IOMs
Task 2: Disable Console and Local Logging
Task 3: Decommission and Re-commission a Cisco B200 Blade Server and Observe the FSM
Task 4: Implement Smart Call Home and Generate an Email with Device InventoryLab 4-1: Provision Identity and Resource Pools
Task 1: Configure Group-Specific VLANs and VSANs
Task 2: Exploring VLAN Groups
Task 3: Configure UUID Prefix and Suffix Pools
Task 4: Configure MAC Pools
Task 5: Configure WWNN Pools
Task 6: Configure WWPN Pools
Task 7: Configure a Server Pool Qualification Policy
Task 8: Validate QoS, and Configure Adapter, Scrub, and QoS PoliciesLab 4-2: Provision Mobile Service Profiles from Updating Templates
Task 1: Create vNIC and vHBA Templates for Your Organization
Task 2: Create a Service Profile Template for Your Organization
Task 3: Create a Service Profile from the Updating Template and Associate with Server
Task 4: Add a SP Specific IP Address to your Profile
Task 5: Install ESXiLab 4-3: Test High Availability
Task 1: Verify Automatic Repinning of Server vNIC Interfaces by Shutting Down Uplink Connections
Task 2: Verify Recovery to Original Fabric Interfaces After Connectivity Is RestoredLab 5-1: Configure vMotion
Task 1: Create a BIOS Policy and Associate it with the Service Profile
Task 2: Create Dynamic vNIC Connection Policy
Task 3: Verify ESXi Connectivity
Task 4: Add your ESXi host to vCenter
Task 5: Add a VM to ESXi
Task 6: Edit your VM settings
Task 7: Prepare ESXi to Support VMotion
Task 8: Test VMotionLab 5-2: Integrating UCSM and VMware VM-FEX (Pass-Through Switching (PTS)
Task 1: Integrate VMware into UCS Manager: Odd Numbered Pods Only
Task 2: Install the VEM
Task 3: Add a Host to the UCS DVS and use PTS
Task 4: Demonstrate VMotion of Hosts with Cisco VM-FEX in Standard Mode
Task 5: Change the Port Profile to Support DirectPath I/O