the-ccie-journey

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Uploading CCIE lab configurations & using config replace to save time

Uploading CCIE lab configurations & using config replace to save time

This post will contain two major parts; Getting configurations onto Cisco IOS switches via TFTP, and utilizing config replace to replace configurations quickly for different labs. The first part, loading configuration files via TFTP, is really only needed on devices that don’t have USB ports such as the 3650 platform.

The first step is to archive all of your configuration files for each…

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EVE-NG Default IDLE PC

EVE-NG Default IDLE PC

As I continue on my quest for the perfect lab I have been messing around with EVE-NG (a competitor to GNS3 and VIRL). One thing I really like about EVE-NG is the ability to use a web client instead of needing a thick client like you do for GNS3 and VIRL. A draw back I’ve run into with EVE-NG is its lack of quick and easy customization. For example, configuring the default IDLE PC for a Cisco IOS…

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Using Raspberry Pi's for Network Monitoring and Health Status - Part 1 : Dual NIC Network Connectivity

Using Raspberry Pi’s for Network Monitoring and Health Status – Part 1 : Dual NIC Network Connectivity

I have recently been able to spend sometime working with Raspberry Pi’s both for personal projects as well as a few things for work. This seems like a great opportunity to do a series of posts on them! The first post will be around utilizing both NICs at the same time to allow for “Out Of Band” management of the Pi while using the other NIC for network testing.

This will be one of hopefully many…

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Recovering an ESXi host with the state archive....

Recovering an ESXi host with the state archive….

I had the joy of dealing with the USB drive which hosts my ESXi host’s OS and configuration go bad, and naturally without a backup of the configuration.

I did manage to recover enough of the drive to gain access to the “state” archive which contains the host configuration (this is stored as state.tgz).

The following steps will go over how to restore the files located in the state archive to be…

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802.1x VLAN User Distribution (VLAN Group)

I just published a quick read on VLAN User distribution with 802.1X and ISE. Go check it out!

In this blog post, I will be going over 802.1x VLAN User Distribution (sometimes referred to as “VLAN Groups”) in Cisco IOS and a use case scenario that involves Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine).

First, some background around VLAN Groups. Based on my research it seems there are two major types of VLAN Groups: The Firewall Service Module (FWSM) on the 6500 and on Cisco IOS & IOS XE Switches.…

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Remote Lab Access and Control

Remote Lab Access and Control

A requirement I’ve quickly come to realize with building my lab is remote access into lab my equipment. This requirement is two fold, I don’t feel like always sitting in my basement to build topologies and I’m not always home when I will be studying. This need naturally led me to acquiring a terminal server, which was very helpful in fulfilling my first need of not having to always hang out in…

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A short little time lapse I made...

A short little time lapse I made…

I decided that I wanted to almost double the time it took to re-cable my CCIE Lab so I made a time lapse video out of it. I think it turned out pretty well!

    The layout is pretty straight forward, I have a 2801 and 3560 as a “hub” which acts is a central place of connectivity for 5 other “pods” that consist of a 1841 and 3560. A…

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Cisco ISE REST API & Python

Cisco ISE REST API & Python

I’ve been faced with a fun little challenge on how to make sure our ISE deployment has every NAD (Network Access Device) configured appropriately to allow for successful EAP communications. Originally I was planning on utilizing a CSV and the bulk import tool to regularly import new devices into ISE as they were built. This allows for a number (small or large) of devices to be imported into ISE…

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In my previous post, I discussed the vulnerabilities introduced from using the defaults of DTP and VLAN1 along with ways to mitigate the vulnerabilities. In this post a basic example of attacking D...

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By default, DTP auto negation is enabled on Cisco switches on all layer 2 ports and they are placed in VLAN 1. These two defaults allow for an easy way to just deploy a switch, or attach another sw...

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Often times, a remote location requires high availability. This high availability will include two separate routers, each with their own WAN circuit connecting back to the Data center. In order for...

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After some searching myself I couldn't find anything really straight forward for how to tie IIS 7.0 into AD for user authentication. Luckily from the guides I found it was possible to figure out wh...

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Many people wonder if it is worth while to have a home-lab to study on and to use to learn new technologies; this post won't be to discuss the pros or cons on having a home-lab (maybe another time)...

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I sat for the CCNA Wireless exam (640-722) last week and passed! I utilized the Official Certification Guide, and CBR Nuggets. I had also purchased a 2504, prior to getting the OCG and finding out ...

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Upgrading Cisco LWAPP to Autonomous IOS (1140) This tutorial will walk through the process of converting a Cisco LAP (Lightweight Access Point) to run the full autonomous IOS. The full autonomous I...

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Times are changing.... (maybe?)

I've decided that I would like to start regularly posting again to hopefully get me back in the swing of things. This decision has brought something to me that I need to make another decision on....

Do I keep posting on tumblr or do I move to a different platform?

Right now I have built a secondary location for my thoughts and ramblings... They can be found over at thecciejourney.wordpress.com. For the time being, until I decide where I want to host this blog I will be actively updating both. As of right now, I am leaning towards wordpress as it gives me a lot more control which could allow for some pretty cool things. Any feedback on this would be appreciated, currently I have no interaction with the people who follow this (who knows how many of you are real or even actively read this) but I would like to start to have interaction with others who are possibly going down the same road as myself.

We shall see..