ArubaOS-CX Switching Fundamentals

Network Fundamentals

• What is a network?
• What is a Protocol?
• OSI Reference Model
• Encapsulation, frames, packets, segments
• Layer 2 to Layer 7 headers
• Media, cabling, Ethernet/wifi headers
• Binary/Hex/Decimal theory and conversion
• TCP/IP Stack (IP addressing & Transport Protocols TCP/UDP)
• Types of traffic: Unicast, Broadcast, Multicast

TCP/IP Stack

• Overview
• Ethernet frames
• IPv4 Header
• TCP Header – Three-way Handshake
• TCP Header – Sequence Numbers
• TCP Header – Port Numbers
• TCP Header
• UPD Header

Basic Networking with Aruba Solutions

• Networking devices: Switches, Routers, Multilayer Switches, APs, Mobility Controllers, Firewalls, Servers (HTTP, DHCP, DNS, Telnet, FTP)
• 2-Tier vs 3-Tier hierarchy
• Switching Portfolio (AOS switches & AOS-CX switches) is this introducing both portfolio on a couple of slide and few slides on AOS-CX hardware architecture, software architecture and intro to NAE high level.
• Introduction to AOS-CX and feature set
• Port numbering
• Accessing Aruba OS-CX CLI
• Prompt modes/levels and navigation
• Context sensitive help
• Show logs, configuration, interfaces, transceivers, flash, version
• Hostname/interface name, enabling interfaces
• Link Layer Discovery Protocol
• ICMP and reachability testing tools: Ping and Traceroute
• PoE (standards one slide and what we support and one or two slide on configuration and verifications.)

VLANs

• Broadcast/collision domains
• VLAN benefits
• VLAN creation
• DHCP server configuration in switches (optional)
• 802.1Q tagging
• Switchports vs. Routed ports
• MAC address table
• ARP table
• Packet Delivery part 1

Spanning Tree Protocol

• Redundant network
• L2 loops
• 802.1D
• Common Spanning Tree
• 802.1s
• 802.1w overview
• 802.1w load balancing
• 802.1w region configuration

Link Aggregation

• Static Aggregation
• LACP
• Load Balancing

IP Routing - Part 1

• Default Gateway
• DHCP IP Helper Address
• IP Routing Service
• Inter-VLAN routing
• Packet Delivery Part 2
• Need for layer 3 redundancy
• Introduction to VRF

VRRP

• VRRP overview
• VRRP basic operation
• VRRP failover and preempt
• VRRP and MSTP coordination

IP Routing - Part 2

• Subnetting
• CIDR
• Static routes
• Administrative Distance
• Floating routes
• Scalability issues

IP Routing - Part 3

• IGP vs EGP
• Distance Vector vs Link State
• OSPF Router-ID and Hello Messages
• Passive interfaces
• States
• DR and BDR
• LSDB: LSA 1 and 2
• Path selection and convergence
• Using cost to manipulate routes

Stacking

• Control Plane, Management Plane, and Data Plane
• Introduction to Stacking technologies
• Stacking Benefits
• Centralized control and management plane
• Distributed Data Plane and Distributed Link Aggregation
• VSF
• VSF requirements
• VSF Link and member roles
• VSF member IDs and port numbers
• VSF Configuration
• VSF Provisioning use cases
• Tracing Layer 2 traffic: Unicast
• Tracing Layer 2 traffic: Broadcast, Multicast, and Unknown Unicast
• VSF Failover and OSFP Graceful-Restart
• VSF Link failure without MAD
• MAD
• VSX Introduction

Secure Management and Maintenance

• OOBM port
• Management VRF
• Secure Management Protocols: AAA, SSH, HTTPS, RBAC
• Radius-based management auth (VSA)
• SNMP
• Web interface
• Configuration file management (Backup, restore, checkpoint and roll back)
• Operating System image management (backup and restore)
• Factory default/password recovery

AOS-CX Management tools

• Intro to NetEdit
• NetEdit installation
• Basic monitoring with NetEdit
• AOS-CX Mobile App

After you successfully complete this course, expect to be able to:

• Explain Networking Fundamentals
• Describe and review the Aruba Switching portfolio with customers
• Install and configure devices running the ArubaOS-CX Network Operating System
• Describe and configure VLANs
• Explain, describe and configure Spanning Tree Protocol
• Understand when to use VRRP and how to configure it
• Explain and configure Link Aggregation
• Understand and configure IP Routing
• Explain IP Subnetting
• Understand and configure OSPFv2 – Single Area
• Describe and configure Switch Stacking using VSF
• Configuration of Aruba solutions using Secure Management and Maintenance methodologies
• Manage, monitor, administer and operate Aruba solutions using Aruba's NetEdit tool

• Network Fundamentals
• TCP/IP Stack
• Basic Networking with Aruba Solutions
• VLANs
• Spanning Tree Protocol
• Link Aggregation
• IP Routing - Part 1
• VRRP
• IP Routing - Part 2
• IP Routing - Part 3
• Stacking
• Secure Management and Maintenance
• AOS-CX Management tools