TR Forums

Not sure if this belongs in Networking, or the Software forums, so feel free to move it Mods, if need be.

I've got a few questions regarding simulating NX-OS to prep for the CCNA-Data Center exams. I have no access to Nexus hardware, but I have managed to download a NX-OS simulator from Wiley, and Freemium copies of Cisco's Nexus 1000V virtual switch for vSphere and Hyper-V straight from the company. Has anybody used these before? The first DC exam (640-911) is mostly a rehash of CCNA R&S, but there are going to be NX-OS specific question on the exam. I've got the CBT Nuggets and the Sybex book for that first exam, but the courseware for the second exam won't even ship until Feb 10th, so I have no way of knowing what it will be like, but it promises to be more indepth regarding the differences between IOS and NX-OS.

Secondly, I've got a trainsignal course for the new CCNA Wireless exam, but the only book available is the older rev. The new one doesn't ship until march. I've used plenty of 802.11 gear in the past (Cisco 350 AP/BR, Vivato, SmartBridges, Trango, Motorola Canopy, Areas WavLink DS3 radios, Tsunami, Hautespot, and Colubris and Bluesocket Gateway/WLAN controllers). I haven't used any of the newer Cisco APs (except the one day I worked with the 1100 models). If anybody has taken the exam, how much Cisco specific info is on the test? Would it be 60% general wireless information, 40% Cisco specific? Is there any kinda of simulator out there that would let me practice with the newer APs and their respective controllers (for Lightweight APs)? Or should I hit up ebay, Triton Datacom, or the like to try and find cheap APs and a controller or two?

Next, for anybody that's used GNS3, is it possible to integrate NX-OS simulated VMs into it? If so, would I need an image of NX-OS? I'd also like to integrate some of the available Hosts (virtualbox, QEMM) into a simulation as traffic generators. Is there a lightweight image file I could use to add to the simulation for those hosts? I don't need anything fancy, beyond being able to ping, tracert, and generate traffic. I would also like to know if anyone has managed to get GNS3 to support the 1 port T1 CSU/DSU WIC? I've got two 2610XM routers, each with 1 T1 WIC, but I would like to practice T1 bonding (haven't done it in about two years and I'm a little rusty).

Fourthly, has anybody else here used MikroTIK products? In the past, I've used their Hautespot AP/BRs (which also handled routing functions and VLANs) and used Ubiquiti radios cards, and I was given an evaluation bare RouterBOARD to try and turn it into a packet shaper several years ago. Has the RouterOS and hardware matured much in the last few years? Also, this Multilayer switch of theirs looks really interesting to me, as a toy to practice with. Cheap Multilayer switch, with 24 GigE ports, and 802.11n looks like it could be a fun little addition to my lab.

Lastly, does anyone know of good vendors to with for used Cisco or Adtran equipment? So far, I've been using ebay, Triton Datacom, and one other vendor, whose name eludes me at the moment.

Thanks in advance!

For lab/study materials, you're probably better off asking the Cisco forums.

There's a few people in the SomethingAwful IT cert thread that have taken the CCNA:Wireless exam, and the last two failed the first attempt. If you don't have recent WLC experience or a solid grasp of RF fundamentals, you're better off waiting for the new book to be released. Some of the questions are...unfair to people who could otherwise deploy a network (topics like CCX, Apple device wireless capabilities, regulatory domains, etc). I plan to knock out as many CCNP Security exams as possible before they retire in April, but after that I'll be doing the Wireless exam.

Contingency wrote:

For lab/study materials, you're probably better off asking the Cisco forums.

There's a few people in the SomethingAwful IT cert thread that have taken the CCNA:Wireless exam, and the last two failed the first attempt. If you don't have recent WLC experience or a solid grasp of RF fundamentals, you're better off waiting for the new book to be released. Some of the questions are...unfair to people who could otherwise deploy a network (topics like CCX, Apple device wireless capabilities, regulatory domains, etc). I plan to knock out as many CCNP Security exams as possible before they retire in April, but after that I'll be doing the Wireless exam.

So in short, It's a good thing I've got both the CBTNuggets and Trainsignal courses for the 640-722 exam? I'll check out the SA forum soon. Do you still have to pay to access it?

Yup. I had to pay for it. Hopefully it'll be worth the $20 I plonked down.

Another thread to add to the watchlist I guess.

Autonomous AP's pretty much run a specialized version of IOS, IMO, it's much more IOS-like then say an ASA or PIX with a bit of radio management on top. The WLC on the other hand, is a bit finicky to deal with if you are coming from pure IOS land. So beyond the RF specific knowledge, I expect you to need to know abit about the WLC especially since that is still basically Airespace and not IOS-ified that much. Still, all in all, it's pretty simple and at least the first course in barely touched the CLI at all. And if you worked with any form of LWAPP before, it should be decently easy.

Looking in on the IUWNE it seems it might be around 50%-ish cisco-specific knowledge, give or take a few perscent, mostly attributed to setting up and operating WLC/WCS based solutions.
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/exams ... ml#~Topics
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/exams ... _iuwne.pdf

Personally, what I've seen trip up most of the networking people are actually the RF-specific parts. I have a friend that works on radio side of things, that is, large radio installations that have nothing to do with network and uses tons if different antennas, filters, channel and frequency, mixing equipment, analogue transmission over fiber for backhaul, etc. The thing is it seems that the underlying fundamentals of radio are quite different from what most networking people are used to think about. And it seems that earlier standards was more networking people trying to do radio, while latter is a more mature standard. But the RF part is what is hard about wireless, and what seems to trip up most people that I've worked with when it comes to wireless.

On a side-note, what might complicate things further on is that they have started integrating WLC functionality in their higher end Layer2/3-access switches like the 3650. And personally, I think this is where we might be headed. Whether this is enabled by the fact that newer hardware run IOS as a process on top of a linux-based on IOS XE based hardware i leave unsaid, but I expect it have some bearing on it. Dont expect it to have any bearing on the current crop of CCNA wireless though, but might be good to know, nontheless.

Aphasia wrote:

Another thread to add to the watchlist I guess.

Autonomous AP's pretty much run a specialized version of IOS, IMO, it's much more IOS-like then say an ASA or PIX with a bit of radio management on top. The WLC on the other hand, is a bit finicky to deal with if you are coming from pure IOS land. So beyond the RF specific knowledge, I expect you to need to know abit about the WLC especially since that is still basically Airespace and not IOS-ified that much. Still, all in all, it's pretty simple and at least the first course in barely touched the CLI at all. And if you worked with any form of LWAPP before, it should be decently easy.

Looking in on the IUWNE it seems it might be around 50%-ish cisco-specific knowledge, give or take a few perscent, mostly attributed to setting up and operating WLC/WCS based solutions.
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/exams ... ml#~Topics
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/exams ... _iuwne.pdf

Personally, what I've seen trip up most of the networking people are actually the RF-specific parts. I have a friend that works on radio side of things, that is, large radio installations that have nothing to do with network and uses tons if different antennas, filters, channel and frequency, mixing equipment, analogue transmission over fiber for backhaul, etc. The thing is it seems that the underlying fundamentals of radio are quite different from what most networking people are used to think about. And it seems that earlier standards was more networking people trying to do radio, while latter is a more mature standard. But the RF part is what is hard about wireless, and what seems to trip up most people that I've worked with when it comes to wireless.

On a side-note, what might complicate things further on is that they have started integrating WLC functionality in their higher end Layer2/3-access switches like the 3650. And personally, I think this is where we might be headed. Whether this is enabled by the fact that newer hardware run IOS as a process on top of a linux-based on IOS XE based hardware i leave unsaid, but I expect it have some bearing on it. Dont expect it to have any bearing on the current crop of CCNA wireless though, but might be good to know, nontheless.

Guess I'll wait for the courseware to come out before tackling the IUWNE exam then. On a side note, I got sponsored for the Cisco Cloud Lab, and it's actually quite a nice little lab. Definitely more in depth than the first book/CBTNugget would have you believe! I imagine this will definitely come in handy on the second exam (the book is still on pre-order until Feb 10th). There's no CBTNugget of Trainsignal for it that I'm aware of, but I did get lucky and snag the INE.com CCIE course for it, so that should help me knock both those exams out. Cisco is charging an arm and a leg to take the tests, though. $250 each is almost outrageous! I can see $150, but $250?! Sheesh!