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Cisco Virtual DataCenter Build Out Guide (Taking The First Step)

By: Jon K. Johnson (jay.johnson1)

For anyone wanting to begin working on the new Cisco DataCenter Certification track, heres a little
information openly shared by members of the Cisco Learning Network along with a few tidbits Ive
submitted as well.
Its recognized theres an expense that comes with getting yourself well-rounded in the Cisco networking
culture should you really decide to ascend our recognized world renown hierarchy (i.e., CCNA/CCDA,
CCNP/CCDP, CCIE/CCDE, CCA). This document is a culmination of bits and pieces straddled together
by the community at large to hopefully provide you a definitive starting point towards maximizing your
understanding of datacenter operations. Whereas this is not a complete end-to-end guide of absolute
datacenter blueprints and implementation plans, its intended use is to help standardize basic entry level
practices to enhance your day-to-day working knowledge.
As Ive mentioned before, it does no one any good to head down the path of all things datacenter and
not know anything about virtualization. Therefore, its only right that the first thing mentioned is
developing your baseline virtual architectural knowledge (via Vmware in the below instance) which will
then lead into the remaining aspects of this document. The remaining portion of this document will focus
on virtual implementation of the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) emulator tool, to include
elements of the NX-OS line as well (Nexus 1000v/7010 virtual emulators). Just to reiterate, NO ONE
OWNS ANYTHING HERE BEING MENTIONED; ALL IS PUBLIC INFORMATON BEING PROVIDED
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES
Please make sure to speak to one another if you find something that would be considered a gotcha so
as to avoid any disruption in training Theres nothing worse than undocumented happenings to slow
progress down (Im sure we all know what Im talking about). *smile*
And on that note, always remember, Each one, Teach one!
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*Make sure you have a VMware account before attempting downloads from VMWare*
1) Download VMware ESXi 5.1 60-Day Trial: (http://www.vmware.com/products/datacentervirtualization/vsphere/overview.html)
2) Download VMWare VCenter Server 60-Day Trial:
(https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/info/slug/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsphere_with_op
erations_management/5_1 - I chose the Enterprise
3) Watch the Build Your Own VSphere ESXi Datacenter video:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPtStneewys) The video is about 1hr, 40 mins, but the key thing to
remember is he is showing you how to set up a bare metal ESXi host from scratch. Additionally, the
presenter has issues with DNS resolution around the 36:00 mark; this is because the ESXi box hadnt
been added to a domain at that juncture (dont sweat it).
4) Download Cisco UCS Emulator:
(http://developer.cisco.com/web/unifiedcomputing/ucsemulatordownload)
5) Familiarize yourself with UCS by viewing the following UCS videos:
a) Cisco UCS Platform Emulator Install Part 1: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCdPWocaonM)
b) Cisco UCS Platform Emulator Install Part 2: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OosHimZK5-s)
c) Alternate Cisco UCS Platform Emulator Install: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L8--UBKRdo)

d) Cisco UCS Initial Setup: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXDJYmbR6WI)


e) Cisco UCS Whiteboard Part 1: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIhr5XFqrSA) Awesome info!!
f) Cisco UCS Whiteboard Part 2: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5dTcnC0GEI) Part 3 TBD
6) Install UCS Platform Emulator (Should I get the time, Ill try and do a quick video showing this)
Now is where a decision needs to be made by anyone following this guidance If you are interested in
focusing on Implementing Cisco UCS, steps 1 6 should satisfy your requirements. However, should
you want to focus on Cisco Nexus 1000v Implementation, go to step #7.
7) Read CCIE #37856 Robert Burns document on Deploying Nexus 1000v on Single ESXi Host:
(https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-17233)

Please see the following videos to describe how to configure the Nexus 1000v:
g) Cisco Nexus 1000v Install/Configure in VCenter 5.1 Part1:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxehUtgxdLM)
h) Cisco Nexus 1000v Install/Configure in VCenter 5.1 Part 2:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HapRqTdfPhs)
i) Cisco Nexus 1000v Install/Configure in VCenter 5.1 Part 3:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXC2u7NZZC4)
j) Cisco Nexus 1000v Install/Configure in VCenter 5.1 Part 4:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXshQr7S6OQ)
k) Download Cisco Nexus 1000v Simulator:
(http://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=282646785&flowid=42790&softwareid=2820881
29&release=4.2(1)SV2(2.1)&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest)
"You must have a CCO account to download this"
Additionally, as previously stated in forums, there is excellent information provided by Ray Heffer
(Recognized as multiple-times over VExpert) on the intricacies of installing the Nexus 1000v in a
virtualized environment:
(http://www.rayheffer.com/2044/how-to-install-the-cisco-nexus-1000v-distributed-virtual-switch/)

Additional Videos/Information
l) Introduction to Nexus 1000v: (https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/videos/1473)
m) UCS Switching on UCS Part 1: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSmb2kdPKso)
n) UCS Switching on UCS Part 2: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69JUR6adoEk)
o) Setting Up Virtual Nexus Switch On Your Laptop (by John Schwartz, CCIE #4426):
http://ucsdatacenter.com/index.php/download_file/view/8/76/ <-- Copy/paste this link into a browser to
download the document (Added on 18 Aug 13)
p) Todd Lammle (CCNP) "UCS Datacenter" Site: (http://ucsdatacenter.com) (Added on 18 Aug 13)
q) Download Nexus 7010K Simulator: (http://www.lammlesim.com/simulators/cisco-nxos-7010simulator-now-on-mac/) (Added on 18 Aug 13)
r) Cisco Virtual UCS PE User Guide:
(http://developer.cisco.com/documents/2048839/2482256/Cisco_UCS_Platform_Emulator_User_Guide_
Release_2_1.pdf/083148d9-daa5-4921-8452-a1321ca834d7) (Added 18 Aug 13)
s) CCIE #5530, Brad Hedlund, UCS Architecture Series (17 Videos):
(http://www.youtube.com/user/bradhedlund/videos) (Added on 19 Aug 13)
t) Nexus 1000v Configuration: (http://virtuallyhyper.com/2012/08/quick-step-by-step-guide-on-how-tosetup-the-nexus1000v-distributed-switch/) (Added on 20 Aug 13)

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