About this Class

Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Troubleshooting Specialist (DCUCTS) v1.0 is a 4-day hands-on course which enables the UCS Partners to troubleshoot Level 2 UCS, N1k and C-series integration issues.

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.
• All PCs require Internet Explorer 7 or greater, Mozilla FireFox, or Google Chrome. Note: When testing connectivity, Mozilla & Chrome may not be able to fully complete the tests as intended.
• All students should have administrator rights to their PCs. If you do not have administrator rights to your PC, you at least need permissions to download, install, and run Active-X controls in Internet Explorer or Cisco Any Connect Client.
• If you are participating in a WebEx event, you should have internet access served by at least a 512K link, a full T1 Connection is recommended.
• All PCs require the latest Java Runtime Environment, which can be downloaded from www.java.com.

Audience Profile

The primary audience for this course is as follows:

• Cisco UCS Partner support-level engineers

The secondary audience for this course is as follows:

• Cisco customers responsible for advanced UCS troubleshooting

At Course Completion

Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to perform the following tasks:

• Recognize UCS system failures and resolve UCS system failures using the correct tools to identify the cause of a UCS system failure
• Identify tools and procedures used to isolate, identify, and resolve Nexus 1000V operational failures

Prerequisites

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

• Internetworking fundamentals
• Data Center Unified Computing Implementation (DCUCI)

Course Outline

Module 1: Troubleshooting Cisco UCS in the Data Center

• Lesson 1: Cisco UCS Configuration Confirmation

  • Cisco UCS Architectural Review
  • Using Management Interfaces to Identify Cisco UCS Configuration Parameters
  • Chassis and Blade Discovery

• Lesson 2: Cisco UCS Support Tools

  • Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)
  • Serial over LAN (SoL)
  • Data Gathering

• Lesson 3: Cisco UCS Advanced Operations

  • Ethernet Switching Mode: EHV Mode
  • Ethernet Switching Mode: Switch Mode
  • Fibre Channel Switching Mode: NPV Mode
  • Fibre Channel Switching Mode: Fibre Channel Switch Mode
  • Counters and Statistics

• Lesson 4: LAN and SAN Connectivity

  • LAN Connectivity
  • SAN Connectivity
  • SAN Boot

• Lesson 5: Cisco Unified Computing System Upgrades

  • Cisco UCS Upgrades
  • Bundles
  • Fabric Interconnect Recovery

• Lesson 6: Cisco Unified Computing System Memory

  • Memory Primer

• Lesson 7: Integrating C-Series and Cisco UCS Manager

Module 2: Troubleshooting Nexus 1000V Installation and Operations Problems on Cisco UCS

• Lesson 1: Troubleshooting Nexus 1000V Installations on Cisco UCS

  • Troubleshooting the Installation of Nexus 1000V on UCS B-Series Servers Running VMware
  • Troubleshooting VSM-VEM Connectivity Issues
  • Troubleshooting High-Availability Problems

• Lesson 2: Troubleshooting Nexus 1000V Data Plane Issues

  • Virtual and Physical Interfaces: VM Guest to External Network
  • Nexus 1000V Operations: Data Plane Packet Flow
  • Troubleshooting Approaches Based on TAC Cases

Lab Outline

• Lab 1-1A: Initial System Exploration
• Lab 1-1B: Troubleshooting Cisco UCS Service Profiles
• Lab 1-2A: Cisco UCS Support Tools
• Lab 1-2B: Troubleshooting IPMI
• Lab 1-3A: Cisco UCS Modes of Operation
• Lab 1-3B: Port Channel Troubleshooting
• Lab 1-4A: LAN and SAN Connectivity
• Lab 1-4B: IP Network Troubleshooting
• Lab 1-5: Cisco UCS Upgrades
• Lab 1-6A: Memory Data Collection
• Lab 1-6B: Memory Troubleshooting
• Lab 1-7: Troubleshooting and Verifying C-Series Integration with Cisco UCS Manager
• Lab 2-1: Tools and Techniques for Troubleshooting Nexus 1000V Installation Problems
• Lab 2-2: Commands and Procedures for Troubleshooting Nexus 1000V Data Plane Issues
• Lab 2-3: Troubleshooting Nexus 1000V Installation and Control and Data Plane Problems