Course Description
Description
The Designing Cisco Data Center Unified Computing (DCUCD) v5.0 course enables engineers to choose and design scalable, reliable, and intelligent data center unified computing and virtualization solutions, based on the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) product portfolio as a centerpiece, integrated with contemporary virtualization solutions (for example, VMware vSphere, VMware View, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, Citrix XenDesktop, Red Hat Kernel-Based Virtual Machine [KVM], and so on), operating systems (for example, Microsoft Windows and Linux), and applications (database, collaboration, and so on).
The course describes the data center unified computing and virtualization solutions based on the Cisco data center unified computing product portfolio, explains how to evaluate existing data center computing solutions and determine the requirements, and design Cisco data center unified computing solutions.
To participate in the hands-on labs in this class, you need to bring a laptop computer with the following:
- Windows 7 or 8.1 or 10 is recommended. Mac OSX 10.6 or greater is supported as well.
- Intel Celeron or better processors are preferred.
- 1 GB or more of RAM
- Browser Requirements: Internet Explorer 10 or greater or Mozilla Firefox. (Safari and Mozilla Firefox for Mac OSX)
Note: Our labs currently cannot run on Microsoft Edge (Windows 10) due to it not supporting Extensions/Add-ons or Google Chrome due to Java being removed from the platform itself. - 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 and Java. - 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.
- All PCs require the latest Java Runtime Environment, which can be downloaded from www.java.com.
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 rlt@skyline-ats.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:
- Evaluate the data center solution design and design process in regards to contemporary data center challenges, data center solution architecture, and components
- Assess the requirements and performance characteristics of the data center computing solutions
- Employ design steps to size the Cisco UCS solution for given data center requirements
- Evaluate and design Cisco UCS solution LAN, SAN, and virtual access layer connectivity
- Recognize and design Cisco UCS solution server deployment
- Identify the Cisco UCS solution for Unified Communications and Hadoop distributed computing applications with their specifics, and Cisco UCS options that fit the application needs
Prerequisites
The knowledge and skills that a learner must have before attending this course are as follows:
- CCNA Data Center certification
- Knowledge that is covered in the Cisco Nexus product family courses
- Knowledge that is covered in the Designing Cisco Data Center Unified Fabric (DCUFD) course
- Knowledge that is covered in the Cisco MDS product family courses
- Knowledge of server and desktop virtualization (for example, VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware View, Citrix XenDesktop, and so on)
- Operating system administration familiarity (for example, Linux and Windows)
Who Should Attend
The primary audience for this course is as follows:
- Data center designers, data center administrators, and system engineers.
The secondary audience for this course is as follows:
- Data center engineers and managers.
Outline
Course Introduction
- Overview
- Course Goal and Objectives
- Course Flow
- Additional References
- Your Training Curriculum
Module 1: Cisco Data Center Solution Architecture and ComponentsLesson 1: Identifying Data Center Solutions- Recognize the elements of data center computing solutions
- Identify consolidation as a relevant data center trend
- Identify virtualization as a relevant data center trend
- Evaluate the business challenges of the contemporary data center solutions
- Evaluate the environmental challenges of the contemporary data center solutions
- Describe the technical challenges of the contemporary data center solutions
Lesson 2: Identifying Data Center Applications- Describe common data center applications
- Describe server virtualization characteristics
- Describe desktop virtualization characteristics
Lesson 3: Identifying Cloud Computing- Evaluate the cloud computing solution, terms, and general characteristics
- Recognize cloud computing deployment models
- Compare cloud computing service delivery categories, the responsibilities demarcation, and their applicability
- Recognize the aspects of cloud computing services and solutions
Lesson 4: Identifying Cisco Data Center Architecture and Components- Describe the Cisco Data Center architectural framework
- Describe the Cisco Data Center architectural framework unified fabric component
- Describe the Cisco Data Center network equipment
- Describe the Cisco Data Center architectural framework compute component
- Describe Cisco Validated Designs
Module 2: Assess Data Center Computing RequirementsLesson 1: Defining a Cisco Unified Computing System Solution Design- Describe the design process for the Cisco UCS solution
- Evaluate the design process phases for the Cisco UCS solution
- Assess the deliverables of the Cisco UCS solution
Lesson 2: Analyzing Computing Solutions Characteristics- Identify performance characteristics
- Assess server virtualization performance characteristics
- Assess desktop virtualization performance characteristics
- Assess small VMware vSphere deployment requirements
- Assess small Hyper-V deployment requirements
- Assess VMware VDI deployment requirements
Lesson 3: Employing Data Center Analysis Tools- Evaluate reconnaissance and analysis tools
- Discuss general steps of running an analysis with the selected tool
- Perform existing computing solution analysis with VMware Capacity Planner
- Perform VMware vSphere analysis with VMware CapacityIQ
- Perform existing computing solution analysis with Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit
- Evaluate the Cisco UCS TCO/ROI Advisor tool
Module 3: Size Cisco Unified Computing SolutionsLesson 1: Sizing the Cisco UCS C-Series Server Solution- Recognize general steps for Cisco UCS C-Series server selection
- Identify the requirements of Cisco UCS C-Series integration with Cisco UCS Manager
- Select proper Cisco UCS C-Series server hardware based on the requirements for a given small VMware vSphere environment
- Select proper Cisco UCS C-Series server hardware based on the requirements for a given small Hyper-V vSphere environment
Lesson 2: Sizing the Cisco UCS B-Series Server Solution- Recognize the general Cisco UCS B-Series server hardware sizing aspects
- Describe an example of gathering requirements for a given VMware View desktop virtualization solution
Lesson 3: Planning Unified Computing Deployment- Recognize the Cisco Power Calculator tool
- Propose a physical deployment plan
Module 4: Design Cisco Unified Computing SolutionsLesson 1: Designing the Unified Computing Network- Recognize the network operational modes of the Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects
- Understand Cisco UCS network connectivity
- Recognize Layer 2 disjoint domain concepts and implications
- Define the network high-availability mechanisms for Cisco UCS network connectivity
- Define the VM-FEX requirements for the Cisco UCS B- and C-Series
Lesson 2: Designing Unified Computing Storage- Recognize SAN operational modes of Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects
- Understand SAN connectivity design aspects
- Define the SAN high-availability mechanisms for Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects
Lesson 3: Designing the Virtual Access Layer- Identify and describe the Cisco Nexus 1000V
- Identify and describe Cisco Nexus 1000V integration with VMware vCenter
Module 5: Design Cisco Unified Computing Solutions Server DeploymentLesson 1: Designing Cisco UCS Server Deployment- Identify the aspects of the server deployment
- Define the common naming convention for given solutions
- Define the UUID addressing for given solutions
- Define the MAC addressing for given solutions
- Define the WWN addressing for given solutions
- Define the common policies for hosts of a given solution
Lesson 2: Designing Unified Computing Management- Define the Cisco UCS management access
- Define the organizational hierarchy within Cisco UCS configuration
- Define the remote management connectivity characteristics
Module 6: Cisco Unified Computing Solution ApplicationsLesson 1: Designing Cisco Unified Communications on Cisco UCS- Recognize Cisco Unified Communications solutions
- Assess Cisco Unified Communications characteristics
- Describe the two options for deploying Cisco Unified Communications on Cisco UCS
Lesson 2: Designing Distributed Computing on Cisco UCS- Recognize distributed computing solutions and applications
- Understand general Hadoop architecture
- Assess general Hadoop performance characteristics
- Design Cisco UCS for the Greenplum MR Hadoop solution
Appendix A: Creating Cisco UCS Solution BOMLesson 1: Creating Cisco UCS Solution BOM- Create a Cisco UCS C-Series server solution BOM with Online Configurator
- Create a Cisco UCS C-Series server solution BOM with Netformx DesignXpert
- Create a Cisco UCS B-Series server solution BOM with Netformx DesignXpert
Lab Outline
Lab 2-1: Analyze the Existing Computing Solution
Lab 3-1: Size the Cisco UCS C-Series Solution
Lab 3-2: Size the Cisco UCS B-Series Solution
Lab 3-3: Plan the Physical Deployment
Lab 4-1: Design Microsoft Hyper-V R2 Deployment on Cisco UCS
Lab 4-2: Design VMware vSphere Deployment and Integration with Cisco UCS
Lab 5-1: Design VMware vSphere Deployment on Cisco UCS and Cisco Nexus 1000V