Hiring a San Francisco Moving Company: What to Consider

Hiring a San Francisco Moving Company: What to Consider

Moving is becoming a fact of life. This is because a large number of individuals make the decision to move, each year. If you are planning on relocating now or in the near future, you may want to think about using a professional moving company. If you are planning on moving to or from the San Francisco area, you may want to hire the services of a San Francisco moving company.

When it comes to hiring the services of a San Francisco moving company, it is easier said than done. Unfortunately, there are too many individuals who feel that it is easy to hire a professional mover. While this may be true, you should not hire the first San Francisco moving company that you come across. Instead, you are advised to examine all of your available options. This includes researching and examining a number of different San Francisco moving companies. This research may take some time, but, in most cases, you will find that it pay offs in the end.

When it comes to researching and examining San Francisco moving companies, there are a number of different methods that you could use. One of those methods involves contacting the San Francisco moving company that you would like more information. This can easily be done by contacting the moving company directly. To do this, you will need to acquire the moving company's contact information. Once you have obtained that information, you are advised to place a phone call to their main office.

In addition to directly contacting the office of a San Francisco moving company, you should also be able to research and examine that company by visiting their online website, if they have one. To find the website of a professional moving company, you will want to perform a standard internet search. If that company has an online website, that website should appear in your search results. Once you are at the website of a San Francisco moving company, you should be able to find important information. If you have any additional questions, you should be able to email or call the moving company for answers.

When examining a San Francisco moving company, you will want to determine exactly how much their service will cost. To obtain the exact cost of service, you may need to offer a little bit of information. That information should include how much stuff you have to move and where you plan on moving to. If you do not know how much you are bringing with you or where you plan on moving to yet, you may want to wait until you have that information. Without this detailed information, you may only be provided with an inaccurate estimate.

It is also important to consider the services that are offered by the San Francisco moving company of your choice and the amount of time it will take them to move you. These factors are all important, especially when it comes to finding a reputable San Francisco moving company to do business with.

Ted Garvin is a writer for Froggy Moving.com where you can find the best San Francisco Moving Company around, and other related information

Cisco CCNP Certification Exam Tutorial: Making The Most Of Cisco's CCNP Program Changes

Cisco has announced major changes to the CCNP program.  Learn how to benefit from these changes and make a plan for exam success from Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933.

As you probably know by now, Cisco's making some sweeping changes in their Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) program.  Two longtime exams are being retired at the end of the year, two are being revised, and two new exams will be making their debut in late 2006.

If you're currently working on the CCNP or even thinking about it, the one thing you must NOT do is postpone your studies.  On occasion, some certification exam candidates postpone their studies when they hear of an exam change.  Cisco has announced these CCNP changes well ahead of time, and you've got plenty of time to pass some CCNP exams by the end of the year - and they still count toward the CCNP!

Let's take an exam-by-exam look at the current and future CCNP programs.

The BSCI exam is being updated, with the current exam being retired at the end of 2006.

The BCMSN exam is being updated, with the current exam being retired at the end of 2006.

The BCRAN exam is being retired at the end of 2006, and it will be replaced by the Implementing Secure Converged Wide Area Networks (642-825) exam.

The CIT exam is being retired at the end of 2006, and it will be replaced by the Optimizing Converged Cisco Networks (642-845) exam.

Any CCNP certification exam you take by the end of 2006 does count toward your CCNP, so there is no reason to postpone your studies.  You never get anywhere by waiting!

The one thing you can't do is take the current exam version and then take the new one and have both count toward the CCNP.  The CCNP has a three-exam path and a four-exam path, and here are the four exam qualifications you must fulfill to become a CCNP with the four-exam path:

Current BSCI (642-801) or Revised BSCI (642-901)

Current BCMSN (642-811) or Revised BCMSN (642-812)

Current BCRAN (642-821) or New ISCW (642-825)

Current CIT (642-831) or New ONT (642-845)

If your choose the three-exam path, just replace the first two exams shown above with the current Composite exam (642-891) or revised Composite exam (642-892).  Cisco expects to release the revised Composite exam in November 2006.

Whether you choose to finish your CCNP in 2006, or start now and finish in 2007, hit those books!  Never let exam version changes slow your studies - the only way to progress is to move forward!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com).

 

For a copy of his FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies!  Daily exam questions and tutorials now available through RSS feed!

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: The 2520 Router

Choosing where to begin with your Cisco CCNA / CCNP home lab is tough!  Learn all about the 2520 and its various uses in a Cisco lab from Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933.

I hear from CCNA and CCNP candidates every day, and the most common question is "What routers and switches should I buy for my home lab?"  There is no one right answer to this question, since every test candidate has a different budget.  There are also CCNA candidates who want to go on to the CCNP and want to know what routers and switches are best for future study.  Again, there's no one right answer, but there are routers that fit every budget and every study plan - and the Cisco 2520 router is the king of home study labs.

The 2520 has four serial ports, one ethernet port, and a BRI port.  You can use a 2520 as a frame relay switch, and still have ports to spare to practice routing protocols and directly connected serial interfaces.  I know ISDN home simulators are still expensive if bought new, but you can get a used one on eBay and go from there.  Even if you choose not to buy an ISDN simulator now, the 2520 gives you that opportunity for future home lab growth - and "planning for future growth" is important when it comes to your home lab as well as production networks!

2520s are also remarkably affordable.  Check your favorite online auction site for prices.  You may also want to search on the phrase ?frame relay switch?.

I know that getting started on your Cisco home lab can be a little scary, but it's a vital part of being totally prepared to pass the CCNA and CCNP exams.  Hands-on work is imperative in learning any skill - after all, great chefs don't learn to cook on kitchen simulators! Visit online auction sites and used Cisco equipment resellers and see what's out there - and if you're wondering where to start, the 2520 is a great way to start building your own Cisco home lab!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com).

For a copy of his FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies!  Daily exam questions and tutorials now available through RSS feed!

San Francisco Uses Weighed Student Formulas to Track School Needs

What Weighted Student Formulas Do

One of the primary features of the WSF is that it allows San Francisco Schools more flexibility than the previous system, called the "staffing ratios" model. Through staffing ratios, the central office basically directed school sites to spend the bulk of their resources in a particular way, through allocations of staff and a small supplies budget. This system gave schools little control over their financial resources. Under the WSF, each school site receives a budget denominated in dollars instead of positions and decides what staff and non-staff items to purchase with those dollars. Under this approach, each school has more room to design and use innovative instructional programs that match the specific characteristics and needs of its students, parents, and community. Central administration helps and monitors schools in a number of important ways, but it shares more decisions with principals and local school governance teams called School Site Councils--the people who are most familiar with what their schools need.

Resources are also distributed based on the specific needs of each SFUSD student. We all know that different students have different educational needs, which often mean educational services with different price tags. A student with special education needs or a student who does not speak English requires more than a native speaker of English with no special education needs. Some schools enroll students from family backgrounds with lower incomes who on average start school at a disadvantage compared to students from middle class or affluent families. The new formula reflects these needs by channeling funds to specific student characteristics such as grade level, special education needs, needs of English Language Learners (ELL's), and socioeconomic status.

Finally, the WSF distributes basic education resources more consistently on a per-pupil basis across schools, and all stakeholders are better able to see and understand how resources are allocated and spent in each school. Did you know how much each student at each school received under the old budget system? Did you know whether or not one school received a higher share of public resources than others? The WSF makes the largest part of the District's budget more transparent. The public can now see exactly why each school gets the resources it does and that the school is being treated like every other school in the District following a common set of principles.

What Do Schools Do

Schools' added responsibilities primarily involve developing their budgets and school academic plans. Each school's principal and School Site Council discuss their school's needs, challenges, and priorities and build its budget accordingly for the upcoming school year. They determine the number of each type of staff they need as well as their non-staff requirements. During the year, schools can revisit their original decisions by requesting budget transfers. This requires ongoing evaluation of how the original plan is working out. In short, giving schools more flexibility means more responsibility. But these are responsibilities that will build dialogue and awareness among more members of each school community - especially responsibilities to think creatively and in many cases to make different choices than the central administration may have made for them previously.

To make this initiative work, principals and site teams have needed training and technical assistance. School Site Council members have of course needed information on a number of questions -- about developing an academic achievement plan, financial management, how to include local teams in decision-making, or simply how to use the software to build their budgets. The District sees building the capacity of principals and School Site Councils as crucial to the successful implementation of a WSF and has offered training and vehicles for technical assistance through each step of the WSF process. Additional training and outreach to School Site Councils will continue to be provided and refined in the future.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on San Francisco schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/California/San-Francisco/index.html

San Francisco 49ers Preseason

In less than a couple weeks the San Francisco 49ers will be playing their first game of the season at Arizona but their defense is still unstable regarding aspects as scheme and personnel.

49ers coach Mike Nolan said during a conference call last Sunday that he is still distressed by the lack of a pass rush and shoddy tackling that have been palpable in consecutive exhibition losses. This includes the preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys were they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 17-7 at the Texas Stadium on Saturday night.

San Francisco's coach said that the tackling problems were especially evident in the linebacking corps and he would do whatever was necessary to solidify the unit.

The "Niners" opened with a 4-3 scheme against Dallas having football rookie Melvin Oliver lining up at defensive end replacing Brandon Moore the injured left outside linebacker, who missed the game because of a knee strain. However Moore will be moved back inside and resume competing for playing time with linebackers Jeff Ulbrich and Derek Smith.

According to Nolan, it isn't clear either if Tony Parrish will recover his starting job as strong safety after coming back from a leg fracture that left him out of the last seven games played in 2005.

Seven players were waived by the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday with the intention of trimming their roster to 75 players. This list includes: rookie tight end Onye Ibekwe, tackle Jerry DeLoach, linebacker Renauld Williams, cornerback Gabe Franklin, kickers Andrew Jacas and Luis Berlanga and wide receiver C.J. Brewer.

The 49ers must reduce the roster to the season-opening limit of 53 by Saturday.

Julie Smith is one of the most recognized copy writers on Sports Betting and currently writes for Instant Action Sports. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.

San Francisco And Romance

If you're looking for a romantic vacation or honeymoon, perhaps you should consider visiting San Francisco, California. This great city offers a little something for everyone in addition to some very romantic destinations. There have even been songs about how romantic San Francisco is. Tony Bennett left his heart there if memory serves and who could resist a view of the Golden Gate Bridge when there's a full moon?

San Francisco has been designated one of the most romantic cities in America don't you think it's time your found out why? It could have something to do with the climate, the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, the many beaches around that are great for talking long walks at sunset or the many parks in the area where romantic couples can walk together, hike, bike, and simply enjoy being together. In addition to activities such as this, there are other ways in which to enjoy the great outdoors of San Francisco as a couple. You could take a sunset cruise in the San Francisco bay is you want to make a very romantic night of it.

If you want to have a truly romantic experience you could schedule a couples massage at one of the many day spas in the area. This is an experience that neither of you would be likely to forget anytime soon. While there are spas across the country, there are quite possibly as many spas as there are Starbuck's in the city of San Francisco so you can be a lot more selective in the one you choose.

Another romantic thing to do while vacationing in San Francisco is to tour the various vineyards in the area. While San Francisco is not literally part of wine country, it is only a stone's throw away from some of the most famous vineyards in America. It would be a literal sin to come so close and not tour these American legacies. Check with the wineries you want to visit ahead of time, as some require appointments for tours. Rest assured that visiting the beautiful countryside and enjoying the tasting of various wines will make for quite the romantic outing. Be sure to taste responsibly.

Still need some romantic activities? Try a picnic in Golden Gate Park. After your picnic, perhaps you can rent a rowboat and take a trip around the lake or bicycles. Use your imagination and let your sense of romance rule the day. Walk into a flower shop and buy every daisy in the store (that may be a little dramatic, but you get the picture). The most romantic things that have ever happened in my life, were not planned, they were spur of the moment gestures that touched me far more than any contrived venture ever could.

Take your loved one to the Equinox, which is a revolving restaurant and bar at the top of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. While the dining experience can be pricey, the spectacular view will take some of the sting out of the meal. Besides is there really a price that is too high to pay for romance?

If either of you have the slightest interest in art, San Francisco is full of museums and galleries that should appeal to your artistic nature and provide plenty of topics for discussion. Even if you aren't a fan of traditional art, you may actually surprise yourself by liking the art you find in this diverse city.

Any trip to San Francisco would have to be determined to be a romantic dud if it didn't include a trip to either Fisherman's Wharf, China Town, or Little Italy. These areas provide great food, beautiful and interesting sites, as well as a taste of cultural diversity that is hard to find in this day and age. It would be like traveling to New Orleans and not visiting the French Quarter. I whole-heartedly recommend devoting one entire day of your trip to one of these places if not each of them. Fisherman's Wharf is by far my favorite to visit for the sights and sounds, but both China Town and Little Italy have great things to offer as well. Plus, the food is too good to pass on without at least giving it serious thought.

Romance is a state of mind; it's just much easier to get to that mental place in a city like San Francisco. Take a trip with your beloved and see what all the talk is about.

123 San Francisco Central has been providing information and resourses for people online who are looking for more information on San Francisco.... For more information on San Francisco visit: http://www.123sanfranciscocentral.com/san-francisco

Cisco / Microsoft Computer Certification: Be Ready For Your Opportunity

If you're in Information Technology or want to break in, you've got to be ready when opportunity comes along - and you do that by planning ahead and working today. Learn how from Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933.

I was reading The Big Moo: Stop Trying To Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable this morning, and I?d recommend a copy of this to anyone who wants to improve their career and their future. And that?s all of us, right?

There was one particular line that really stood out to me: Betting on change is always the safest bet available. That describes life perfectly, but it also describes a career in Information Technology perfectly as well. There is no field in the world that has the constant and never-ending changes that IT does. And every single one of us can look at this as a massive opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Is that how you?re looking at it? I remember when I passed my first certification exam back in 1997. Man, I thought I knew it all then!   But I quickly learned that you?ve got to keep learning in IT. I also learned that if you?re willing to put in the work and make the sacrifices, there?s no other field with the limitless potential for growth and excellence.

Like everyone else, my career has had its ups and downs, but I always kept learning and growing. Today, I?ve got my dream job, working with students and customers just like you ? to help you create your own future.

The next 18 months are filled with endless possibilities, particularly with the rapid growth of VoIP and Microsoft Vista on the horizon. There will be those who rationalize their inertia, saying ?I?ll never have to support those, so I don?t need to learn them."

There will also be those who see VoIP and Vista as enormous opportunities to learn and advance in their careers and their lives. These people will get started today, learning the fundamentals of Cisco and advancing their networking knowledge in order to be ready for opportunities as they come along.

You can?t start studying and learning when the opportunity arrives ? you?ve got to be ready when opportunity knocks. If you?ve been putting off studying for a Cisco or other computer certification ? and I know the summer is a really good time for putting off studying ? get back on track today.

Because you never know what opportunities are going to come along ? but you do know that when they do, you?ve got to be ready to take advantage. After all, opportunity really does knock only once!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification Exam Tutorial: Troubleshooting EIGRP

Part of becoming a CCNA and CCNP is learning what to look for when you're troubleshooting.  Learn how to debug and troubleshoot EIGRP with Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933.

Part of earning your CCNA and CCNP - especially passing the difficult CIT exam - is becoming a master network troubleshooter.  Today, we'll take a look at troubleshooting EIGRP and spotting common errors.

Most adjacency issues are easily resolved - mistyped IP address, bad wildcard mask in the neighbor statement, mistyped EIGRP AS number, and so forth. You know the AS number has to match, but always double-check that. Next, check the wildcard mask to make sure the correct interfaces are EIGRP-enabled. In the following example, we've configured three loopbacks on R2 and want to advertise all three loopbacks via EIGRP, but R4 only sees one.

R2(config)#int loopback1

R2(config-if)#ip address 10.1.1.1 255.255.255.0

R2(config-if)#int loopback2

R2(config-if)#ip address 10.1.2.1 255.255.255.0

R2(config-if)#int loopback3

R2(config-if)#ip address 10.1.3.1 255.255.255.0

R2(config-if)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#no auto

R2(config-router)#network 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.255

R2(config-router)#network 172.12.23.0 0.0.0.255

R4#show ip route eigrp

10.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 1 subnets

D 10.1.1.0 [90/409600] via 172.12.23.2, 00:00:25, Ethernet0

We know it's not an adjacency issue, because R4 has to have an adjacency to get the route. Perhaps the config on R2 is the problem.

R2(config-if)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#no auto

R2(config-router)#network 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.255

R2(config-router)#network 172.12.23.0 0.0.0.255

The only one of the three networks that matches that network statement is 10.1.1.0 /24.  As a result, the networks 10.1.2.0 /24 and 10.1.3.0 /24 will not be advertised.

We could use a network statement with 10.1.0.0 0.0.255.255 to successfully advertise the loopbacks, but by breaking the three networks down into binary, we can see that the three networks have the first 22 bits in common. Therefore, a better wildcard mask to use is 0.0.3.255.

R2(config-router)#no network 10.1.1.0 0.0.0.255

R2(config-router)#network 10.1.0.0 0.0.3.255

R4#show ip route eigrp

10.0.0.0/24 is subnetted, 3 subnets

D 10.1.3.0 [90/409600] via 172.12.23.2, 00:00:36, Ethernet0

D 10.1.2.0 [90/409600] via 172.12.23.2, 00:00:36, Ethernet0

D 10.1.1.0 [90/409600] via 172.12.23.2, 00:00:36, Ethernet0

Another factor that must match between potential EIGRP neighbors is the K-metrics, or metric weights. Let's change the EIGRP metric weights on R2 and watch the effect on its adjacency with R4.

R2(config)#router eigrp 100

R2(config-router)#metric weights 0 1 2 3 4 5 ?

03:33:18: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.4 (Ethernet0) is down: metric changed

03:33:20: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.4 (Ethernet0) is down: K-value mismatch

The adjacency goes down, and the router's kind enough to tell you that it's the result of the metrics changing. We'll also see that message on  R4, but just in case you don't see it, debug eigrp packet will indicate the K-value mismatch as well.

R4#debug eigrp packet

EIGRP Packets debugging is on

(UPDATE, REQUEST, QUERY, REPLY, HELLO, IPXSAP, PROBE, ACK)

3w2d: EIGRP: Received HELLO on Ethernet0 nbr 172.12.23.2

3w2d: AS 100, Flags 0x0, Seq 0/0 idbQ 0/0

3w2d: K-value mismatch

3w2d: %DUAL-5-NBRCHANGE: IP-EIGRP 100: Neighbor 172.12.23.2 (Ethernet0) is down:K-value mismatch

The changed K-values will also appear in the running configuration.  This is one time when you don't have to depend on debugs to know what the problem is - the router's going to scream at you until you fix it!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Inexpensive Salsa Dance Classes in San Francisco

Dance SF is the top salsa dance school that caters to the needs of aspiring salsa dancers.

Our classes are only $50 for a 4-week dance program taught by experienced salsa dance instructors. IF you are looking for a location near you in the San Francisco Bay Area, check out http://www.dancesf.com/home.htm.

Whether you are young or old we have salsa dance classes for everyone! But you shouldn't only use those moves in the dance studio. Why not go out to a local salsa dance club and show off those new moves! It's a great way to improve upon your newly acquired skill but it's also a great way to mingle and meet new people.

While you're at the club, party it up! The best way to improve is to dance with everybody, everywhere, anytime. You're just starting out? You're not expected to be Fred Astaire! Dance with as many people as you possibly can, and don't be afraid to ask that great dancer that you see in the club for a dance, or for some pointers. When asking people more advanced than yourself, be mindful of Salsa Etiquette for Beginners (which you'll learn in your Dance Class at www.dancesf.com). Even if you have a partner, don't only dance with them! It pays to learn to lead and follow from a variety of people, spread yourself around. You will learn FASTER!

While taking dance classes make sure you at least get out to a salsa dance club at least once a week (preferably more). Not only is it a blast to go out dancing, but in the beginning it can help reinforce those things you learn in class. Nothing is like some real world practice. It also helps you get used to the music which is played in the clubs, which by and large, is faster than what you will find in your typical salsa class! Check out Beginner Friendly Clubs listed on www.dancesf.com to find places to go out that are better bets for beginner dancers in the San Francisco Bay Area!

Evan Margolin is the president of DanceSF, the premiere salsa dancing academy in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn to dance at the studio or in your own home with his Learn to Salsa DVDs. Find out more by visiting http://www.DanceSF.com

Learn to Salsa Dance San Francisco Style!

Learn to salsa dance in the most beautiful part of San Francisco!

Learn how to salsa dance with experienced instructors and be able to enjoy the cities hottest nightlife. The salsa dance circuit has taken San Francisco by storm. Now you can be a part of it by taking the Dance SF salsa dance classes! Find out more by visiting www.dancesf.com!

These classes are suitable for absolute beginners but there are also intermediate classes available for students that already have experience in salsa dance and know the basics taught in the beginner's class.

Group classes at the beginner and intermediate levels of salsa start on a monthly basis. But the best part of these classes is that they are held at locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, which makes accessibility easy for everyone!

Each salsa dance class session is four weeks long, and they are progressive classes that meet once a week - usually on Wednesdays. These classes are for everyone. No partner and no experience are necessary! Drop-ins are accepted ($15 drop-in fee). Register On-line, and save money! Go to www.DanceSF.com

The salsa dance class is taught by Tianne Frias who danced for nine years with the acclaimed Robert Moses' KIN. In her earlier dance careers she started with Argentine Tango. Later, her interest spread to all the ballroom dances... now with an emphasis on Club-Style Salsa.

Tianne is trained in modern dance, ballroom, ballet and yoga, which have given her the natural flare for salsa dance. Having taught and performed internationally she has many years of experience. At the European Round Dance Festival, her students had commented, "Tianne's enthusiasm and love of dance took hold of the group and was reflected in three intense and enjoyable training sessions." Tianne has a natural love for dance and it shows in her classes.

To join these highly acclaimed classes, sign up by visiting the website at http://www.DanceSF.com

Or you can call or email for more information at: info@dancesf.com or 415-668-9936

Sign up and get dancing!

Evan Margolin is the president of DanceSF, the premiere salsa dancing academy in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn to dance at the studio or in your own home with his Learn to Salsa DVDs. Find out more by visiting http://www.DanceSF.com

Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Port-Based Authentication

To pass your CCNA exam and earn this coveted certification, you must understand the details of port-based authentication. This knowledge has a great deal of value in production networks as well, since this authentication scheme is regularly implemented. Let's take a look at this particular CCNA skill.

Consider a situation where you have a server that will be connected to your switch, and you want the port to shut down if a device with a different MAC address that that of the switch attempts to connect to that port. You could also have a situation where you have someone who has a connection to a switch port in his office, and he wants to make sure that only his laptop can use that port.

Both of these examples are real-world situations, and there are two solutions for each. First, we could create a static MAC entry for that particular switch port. I don't recommend this, mainly because both you and I have better things to do than manage static MAC entries. The better solution is to configure port-based authentication on the switch.

The Cisco switch uses MAC addresses to enforce port security. With port security, only devices with certain MAC addresses can connect to the port successfully. This is another reason source MACs are looked at before the destination MAC is examined. If the source MAC is non-secure and port-based authentication is in effect, the destination does not matter, as the frame will not be forwarded. In essence, the source MAC address serves as the password.

MAC addresses that are allowed to successfully communicate with the switch port are secure MAC addresses. The default number of secure MAC addresses is 1, but a maximum of 132 secure MACs can be configured.

When a non-secure MAC address attempts to communicate with the switch port, one of three actions will occur, depending on the port security mode. In Protect mode, frames with non-secure MAC addresses are dropped. There is no notification that a violation has occurred. The port will continue to switch frames for the secure MAC address.

In Restrict mode, the same action is taken, but a syslog message is logged via SNMP, which is a messaging protocol used by Cisco routers.

In Shutdown mode, the interface goes into error-disabled state, the port LED will go out, and a syslog message is logged. The port has to be manually reopened. Shutdown mode is the default port-security mode.

Port-based authentication is just one of the many switching skills you'll have to demonstrate to earn your CCNA certification. Make sure you know the basics shown here, including the action of each particular mode, and you're on your way to CCNA exam success!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

You can also join his RSS feed and visit his blog, which is updated several times daily with new Cisco certification articles, free tutorials, and daily CCN

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Exam Tutorial: EIGRP Dual Queries, SIA, And Stub Routers

EIGRP is a major subject of the CCNA exam, and Cisco goes into even more detail with EIGRP on your CCNP exams. Part of that detail is the purpose and configuration of EIGRP stub routers.

A problem with EIGRP comes in when a successor is lost and there is no feasible successor. DUAL doesn't give up that easily, though. DUAL will mark the route as Active, indicating that the route is being calculated and cannot be used to route data, and will send out a Query message.

A DUAL Query is basically one neighbor asking another, "Hey, do you know how to get to this network I just lost my route to?" If that neighbor has a route, the query will be answered with that route; if the neighbor doesn't have such a route, that neighbor will ask its neighbors. The process continues until a downstream router replies with the desired route, or the EIGRP downstream routers run out of neighbors to ask.

It's a good idea to limit the scope of your DUAL queries, otherwise routes may go into Stuck In Active state during this reconfiguration. Route summarization helps to limit queries, as does configuration of EIGRP stub routers.

While EIGRP does not have the stub area options that OSPF does, EIGRP does allow a router to be configured as stub. This is commonly done with a hub-and-spoke configuration where the spoke routers do not have the resources to keep a full routing table. Since the spoke's next hop will always be the hub, all the spoke really needs is a default route. For this reason, the only neighbor an EIGRP stub router can have is the hub router. (Obviously, the hub would never be configured as stub.)

Configuring EIGRP stub routers also combats the SIA problem. EIGRP stub routers are not queried for routes when the hub does not have a feasible successor for a successor route that has gone down.

By default, EIGRP stub routers advertise information about two types of routes back to the hub - directly connected networks and summary routes. To change this default, use the eigrp stub command followed by the types of routes you want the stub to advertise back to the hub. (The eigrp stub command run by itself configures the router as stub.)

R1(config)#router eigrp 100

R1(config-router)#eigrp stub ?

connected Do advertise connected routes

receive-only Set IP-EIGRP as receive only neighbor

static Do advertise static routes

summary Do advertise summary routes

Assume a network where R5 is the hub and R4, R6, and R7 are spokes. As long as the spokes have a neighbor relationship only with the hub, they can be configured as stub routers. They will then advertise their directly connected networks and summary routes back to the hub and will receive only a default route back from the hub. If R5 loses a successor and has no feasible successor, it will not send a query packet to any of the stub routers.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification Exam Tutorial: ISDN And Multilink PPP

ISDN is a huge topic on both your Cisco CCNA and BCRAN CCNP exams. While many ISDN topics seem straightforward, it's the details that make the difference in the exam room and working with ISDN in production networks. Configuring and troubleshooting multilink PPP is just one of the skills you'll need to pass both of these demanding exams.

With BRI, we've got two B-channels to carry data, and both of them have a 64-kbps capacity. You might think it would be a good idea to have both channels in operation before one reaches capacity, and it is a great idea Problem is, it's not a default behavior of ISDN. The second b-channel will not begin to carry traffic until the first one reaches capacity.

With Multilink PPP (MLP), a bandwidth capacity can be set that will allow the second b-channel to bear data before the first channel reaches capacity. The configuration for MLP is simple, but often misconfigured. We'll use our good friend IOS Help to verify the measurement this command uses.

Enabling MLP is a three-step process:

Enable PPP on the link

Enable MLP with the command ppp multilink

Define the threshold at which the second b-channel should start carrying data with the dialer load-threshold command.

Let's say you wanted the second b-channel to start carrying data when the first channel reaches 75% of capacity. It would make sense that the command to do so would be dialer load-threshold 75... but it's not.

R1(config)#int bri0

R1(config-if)#ppp multilink

R1(config-if)#dialer load-threshold ?

<1-255> Load threshold to place another call

The dialer load-threshold value is based on 255, not 100. To have this command bring the line up at a certain percentage, multiply that percentage in decimal format by 255. Below, I multiplied 255 by .75 (75%) to arrive at 191.

R1(config-if)#dialer load-threshold 191 ?

either Threshold decision based on max of inbound and outbound traffic

inbound Threshold decision based on inbound traffic only

outbound Threshold decision based on outbound traffic only

 

R1(config-if)#dialer load-threshold 191 either

As illustrated by IOS Help in the above configuration, dialer load-threshold has additional options as well. You can configure the interface to consider only incoming, outgoing, or all traffic when calculating when to bring the next channel up.

Configuring Multilink PPP is just one of the skills you'll need to earn your CCNA and pass the CCNP BCRAN exam. Don't underestimate ISDN on Cisco's certification exams!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification Exam Review: Protocol Basics

To earn your Cisco CCNA certification and pass the BSCI CCNP exam, you have to know your protocol basics like the back of your hand! To help you review these important concepts, here's a quick look at the basics of RIPv1, RIPv2, IGRP, and EIGRP.

RIPv1: Broadcasts updates every 30 seconds to the address 255.255.255.255. RIPv1 is a classful protocol, and it does not recognize VLSM, nor does it carry subnet masking information in its routing updates. Update contains entire RIP routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Allows equal-cost load-balancing by default. Max hop count is 15. Does not support clear-text or MD5 authentication of routing updates. Updates carry 25 routes maximum.

RIPv2: Multicasts updates every 30 seconds to the address 224.0.0.9. RIPv2 is a classless protocol, allowing the use of subnet masks. Update contains entire RIP routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Allows equal-cost load-balancing by default. Max hop count is 15. Supports clear-text and MD5 authentication of routing updates. Updates carry 25 routes maximum.

IGRP: Broadcasts updates every 90 seconds to the address 255.255.255.255. IGRP is a Cisco-proprietary protocol, and is also a classful protocol and does not recognize subnet masking. Update contains entire routing table. Uses Bellman-Ford algorithm. Equal-cost load-balancing on by default; unequal-cost load-sharing can be used with the variance command. Max hop count is 100.

EIGRP: Multicasts full routing table only when an adjacency is first formed. Multicasts updates only when there is a change in the network topology, and then only advertises the change. Multicasts to 224.0.0.10 and allows the use of subnet masks. Uses DUAL routing algorithm. Unequal-cost load-sharing available with the variance command.

By mastering the basics of these protocols, you're laying the foundation for success in the exam room and when working on production networks. Pay attention to the details and the payoff is "CCNA" and "CCNP" behind your name!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNA / CCNP / BCMSN Exam Review: Trunking And Trunking Protocols

To earn your CCNA or CCNP certification, you've got to understand the basics of trunking. This isn't just a CCNA topic - you must have an advanced understanding of trunking and etherchannels to pass the BCMSN exam and earn your CCNP as well. Before we address those advanced topics, though, you need to master the fundamentals!

A trunk allows inter-VLAN traffic to flow between directly connected switches. By default, a trunk port is a member of all VLANs, so traffic for any and all VLANs can travel across this trunk. That includes broadcast traffic!

The default mode of a switch port does differ between models, so always check your documentation. On Cisco 2950 switches, every single port is in dynamic desirable mode by default, meaning that every port is actively attempting to trunk. On these switches, the only action needed from us is to physically connect them with a crossover cable. In just a few seconds, the port light turns green and the trunk is up and running. The command show interface trunk will verify trunking.

How does the receiving switch know what VLAN the frame belongs to? The frames are tagged by the transmitting switch with a VLAN ID, reflecting the number of the VLAN whose member ports should receive this frame. When the frame arrives at the remote switch, that switch will examine this ID and then forward the frame appropriately.

There are two major trunking protocols you must understand and compare successfully, those being ISL and IEEE 802.1Q. Let's take a look at the details of ISL first.

ISL is a Cisco-proprietary trunking protocol, making it unsuitable for a multivendor environment. That's one drawback, but there are others. ISL will place both a header and trailer onto the frame, encapsulating it. This increases the overhead on the trunk line.

You know that the default VLAN is also known as the "native VLAN", and another drawback to ISL is that ISL does not use the concept of the native VLAN. This means that every single frame transmitted across the trunk will be encapsulated.

The 26-byte header that is added to the frame by ISL contains the VLAN ID; the 4-byte trailer contains a Cyclical Redundancy Check (CRC) value. The CRC is a frame validity scheme that checks the frame's integrity.

In turn, this encapsulation leads to another potential issue. ISL encapsulation adds 30 bytes total to the size of the frame, potentially making them too large for the switch to handle. (The maximum size for an Ethernet frame is 1518 bytes.)

IEEE 802.1q differs substantially from ISL. In contrast to ISL, dot1q does not encapsulate frames. A 4-byte header is added to the frame, resulting in less overhead than ISL. If the frame is destined for hosts residing in the native VLAN, that header isn't added. Since the header is only 4 bytes in size, and isn't even placed on every frame, using dot1q lessens the chance of oversized frames. When the remote port receives an untagged frame, the switch knows that these untagged frames are destined for the native VLAN.

Knowing the details is the difference between passing and failing your CCNA and CCNP exams. Keep studying, get some hands-on practice, and you're on your way to Cisco certification success!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: 10 ISIS Details You Must Know!

Earning your CCNP certification and passing the BSCI exam depends on knowing the details of many Cisco technologies, ISIS chief among them. To help you prepare for exam success, here's a list of ISIS terminology and basic concepts that will help you pass this tough exam. Enjoy!

ISIS Terms:

Domain: section of the network under common administrative control

Area: logical segment of the network composed of contiguous routers and their data links

Intermediate System: A router.

End System: A host device.

The four levels of ISIS routing:

Level 0: ES-IS routing in the same subnet.

Level 1: IS-IS routing in the same area.

Level 2: IS-IS routing in the same domain.

Level 3: Inter-domain routing performed by InterDomain Routing Protocol (IDRP).

ISIS Adjacency Possibilities:

L1: Can form adjacency with any L1 in the same area and any L1/L2 in the same area.

L2: Can form adjacency with any L2 in any area, and with an L1/L2 in any area.

L1/L2: Can form adjacency with any L1 in the same area, L1/L2 in any area, and L2 in any area.

A router interface's SNPA (Subnetwork Point Of Attachment) is its highest DLCI number if it's on a Frame network, and its MAC address if the interface is on an Ethernet segment.

ISIS Hello Types:

ESH: ES Hello - Sent by End Systems to discover a router.

ISH: IS Hello - Send by Intermediate Systems to announce their presence. End Systems listen for these.

IIH: IS-to-IS Hello - Send by one IS to be heard by another IS. These hellos makes IS-IS adjacencies possible.

Best of luck on your CCNP exams!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNP exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Keep Your Most Important Appointment

Imagine this. You have an appointment with a client to work on a server or router install. A few minutes before you're scheduled to be there, you decide there's something really good on TV you'd like to watch. Or you decide to go to the gym, or play a game, or do anything else except go see the client. Even if you weren't going to get fired for not showing up, it's certainly unfair to the client. You've got a professional obligation, and you should be there on time.

Now, what's this got to do with you becoming a CCNA or CCNP? Plenty. Because when it comes to your study time, you're the client. You owe it to yourself to show up. You would never blow off an appointment to meet a client to get some important work done.

First, though, you have to make that appointment with yourself! Schedule your CCNA / CCNP study time, and keep that appointment as you would with a client. Turn off the TV, your cell, your iPod, and everything else electronic that you carry around. Believe it or not, the world can survive with being in contact with you for an hour or so! You might even like it!

Getting certified isn't about how many hours, days, or weeks you spend studying. It's about how much quality time you put in. Be honest with yourself and realize that you're better off with 45 minutes of uninterrupted study as you would be with three hours of constantly interrupted study.

Don't blow off an appointment to yourself, either. Schedule the time, be there on time, get your study done, and you're one step closer to your CCNA and CCNP!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Get your CCNA study guide from The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNP Certification / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: The HSRP MAC Address

To pass the BCMSN exam and earn your CCNP, you've got to know HSRP inside and out! Part of that is knowing how the MAC address of the virtual router is derived, and another part is knowing how to change this address. We'll look at both features in this tutorial.

We've got two routers on a segment running HSRP, so first we need to find out what the MAC address of the HSRP virtual router is. The show command for HSRP is show standby, and it's the first command you should run while configuring and troubleshooting HSRP. Let's run it on both routers and compare results.

R2#show standby

Ethernet0 - Group 5

Local state is Standby, priority 100

Hellotime 3 sec, holdtime 10 sec

Next hello sent in 0.776

Virtual IP address is 172.12.23.10 configured

Active router is 172.12.23.3, priority 100 expires in 9.568

Standby router is local

1 state changes, last state change 00:00:22

R3#show standby

Ethernet0 - Group 5

Local state is Active, priority 100

Hellotime 3 sec, holdtime 10 sec

Next hello sent in 2.592

Virtual IP address is 172.12.23.10 configured

Active router is local

Standby router is 172.12.23.2 expires in 8.020

Virtual mac address is 0000.0c07.ac05

2 state changes, last state change 00:02:08

R3 is in Active state, while R2 is in Standby. The hosts are using the 172.12.123.10 address as their gateway, but R3 is actually handling the workload. R2 will take over if R3 becomes unavailable.

An IP address was statically assigned to the virtual router, but not a MAC address. However, there is a MAC address under the show standby output on R3, the active router. How did the HSRP process arrive at a MAC of 00-00-0c-07-ac-05?

Well, most of the work is already done before the configuration is even begun. The MAC address 00-00-0c-07-ac-xx is reserved for HSRP, and xx is the group number in hexadecimal. That's a good skill to have for the exam, so make sure you're comfortable with hex conversions. The group number is 5, which is expressed as 05 with a two-bit hex character. If the group number had been 17, we'd see 11 at the end of the MAC address - one unit of 16, one unit of 1.

On rare occasions, you may have to change the MAC address assigned to the virtual router. This is done with the standby mac-address command. Just make sure you're not duplicating a MAC address that's already on your network!

R2(config-if)#standby 5 mac-address 0000.1111.2222

1d12h: %STANDBY-6-STATECHANGE: Ethernet0 Group 5 state Active -> Learn

R2#show standby

Ethernet0 - Group 5

Local state is Active, priority 150, may preempt

Hellotime 4 sec, holdtime 12 sec

Next hello sent in 3.476

Virtual IP address is 172.12.23.10 configured

Active router is local

Standby router is 172.12.23.3 expires in 10.204

Virtual mac address is 0000.1111.2222 configured

4 state changes, last state change 00:00:00

1d12h: %STANDBY-6-STATECHANGE: Ethernet0 Group 5 state Listen -> Active

The MAC address will take a few seconds to change, and the HSRP routers will go into Learn state for that time period.

A real-world HSRP troubleshooting note: If you see constant state changes with your HSRP configuration, do what you should always do when troubleshooting - check the physical layer first. Best of luck on your BCMSN exam!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant

Cisco CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam Tutorial: An Introduction To BGP

When you're studying for the BSCI exam on the way to earning your CCNP certification, it's safe to say that BGP is like nothing you've studied to this point. BGP is an external routing protocol used primarily by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Unless you work for an ISP today or in the future, you may have little or no prior exposure to BGP. Understanding BGP is a great addition to your skill set - and you have to know the basics well to pass the BSCI exam.

Note that I said "the basics". BGP is a very complex protocol, and when you pursue your CCIE, you'll see what I'm talking about. As with all things Cisco, though, when broken down into smaller pieces, BGP becomes quite understandable. You will need to know the basics of BGP as presented in this chapter to pass your BSCI exam - so let's get started.

BGP Defined:

"An Internet protocol that enables groups of routers (called autonomous systems) to share routing information so that efficient, loop-free routes can be established. BGP is commonly used within and between Internet Service Providers (ISPs)."

There are a couple of terms in there that apply to the protocols you've mastered so far in your studies. The term "autonomous system" applies to IGRP and EIGRP as well as BGP; you'll be indicating a BGP AS in your configurations just as you did with IGRP and EIGRP. And we're always looking for efficient, loop-free routes, right? As it did with IGRP and EIGRP, "autonomous system" simply refers to a group of routers that is managed by a single administrative body. An autonomous system will use an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) such as OSPF or EIGRP to route packets inside the AS; outside the AS, an Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP) such as BGP will be used.

BGP shares some characteristics with some routing protocols you've already studied. BGP supports VLSM, summarization, and CIDR. Like EIGRP, BGP will send full updates when two routers initially become neighbors and will send only partial updates after that. BGP does create and maintain neighbor relationships before exchanging routes, and keepalives are sent to keep this relationship alive.

BGP has some major differences from the IGPs we've studied to this point. You'll hear BGP referred to as a path-vector protocol. As opposed to distance-vector protocols that exchange relatively simple information about available routes, BGP routers will exchange extensive information about networks to allow the routers to make more intelligent routing decisions. This additional BGP path information comes in the form of attributes, and these path attributes are contained in the updates sent by BGP routers. Attributes themselves are broken up into two classes, well-known and optional.

BGP also keeps a routing table separate from the IP routing table.

We'll take a look at BGP attributes in future BSCI tutorials. In the meantime, keep studying!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNP exam with Chris Bryant!

Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Distance Vector Command Review

Part of studying for CCNA exam success is keeping all these new commands straight in your head! And let's face it, there are a lot of commands you need to know in order to pass the CCNA exam and earn that certification. Here's a review of some very important distance vector and static routing commands you need to know, along with their proper usage and console output.

Bandwidth IGRP makes a default assumption that any Serial interface running IGRP is connected to a T1 line, which runs at 1544 KBPS. With equal-cost load-balancing enabled by default, this may be an undesirable assumption.

To alter IGRP's assumption, use the bandwidth command on the serial interface in question. Note that this command does NOT actually affect the bandwidth available to the interface; it merely changes IGRP's assumption of the bandwidth. R2#conf t

R2(config)#int s0

R2(config-if)#bandwidth 512

Clear ip route *

This command clears your routing table of all non-static and non-connected routes. In a lab environment, it's very handy because it forces your routers running routing protocols to send and request updates, rather than waiting for the regularly scheduled updates. R2#clear ip route *

Debug ip igrp events

Debug ip igrp events allows you to see IGRP updates being sent and requested. Here, the debug is run and then the routing table is cleared. The router immediately broadcasts update requests via the IGRP-enabled interfaces.

R2#debug ip igrp event

IGRP event debugging is on

R2#clear ip route *

06:02:51: IGRP: broadcasting request on BRI0

06:02:51: IGRP: broadcasting request on Serial0.123

Debug ip igrp transactions

To configure IGRP unequal-cost load-sharing with the variance command, you've got to know the metric of the less-desirable routes. EIGRP keeps these in its topology table; IGRP has no such table.

To get the metrics of routes not in the routing table, run debug ip igrp transactions. To force IGRP updates, the routing table below was cleared with clear ip route *.

R2#debug ip igrp transactions

IGRP protocol debugging is on

R2#clear ip route *

06:05:33: IGRP: received update from 172.12.123.1 on Serial0.123

06:05:33: subnet 172.12.123.0, metric 10476 (neighbor 8476)

06:05:33: network 1.0.0.0, metric 8976 (neighbor 501)

06:05:33: IGRP: edition is now 3

06:05:33: IGRP: sending update to 255.255.255.255 via BRI0 (172.12.12.2)

06:05:33: network 1.0.0.0, metric=8976

06:05:33: IGRP: sending update to 255.255.255.255 via Serial0.123 (172.12.123.2) - suppressing null update

06:05:34: IGRP: received update from 172.12.12.1 on BRI0

06:05:34: subnet 172.12.13.0, metric 160250 (neighbor 8476)

06:05:34: network 1.0.0.0, metric 158750 (neighbor 501)

Debug ip rip

R2#debug ip rip

IP protocol debugging is on

R2#clear ip route *

6:14:53: RIP: received v2 update from 172.23.23.3 on Ethernet0

6:14:53: 1.0.0.0/8 via 0.0.0.0 in 16 hops (inaccessible)

6:14:53: 1.1.1.1/32 via 0.0.0.0 in 2 hops

6:14:53: 172.12.0.0/16 via 0.0.0.0 in 16 hops (inaccessible)

6:14:53: 172.12.12.2/32 via 0.0.0.0 in 2 hops

6:14:53: 172.12.13.0/30 via 0.0.0.0 in 1 hops

6:14:53: 172.12.123.0/24 via 0.0.0.0 in 1 hops

6:14:53: 172.23.0.0/16 via 0.0.0.0 in 16 hops (inaccessible)

Run debug ip rip to troubleshoot routing update problems, RIP authentication problems, and to view the routing update contents. Clear ip route * was run to clear the routing table and to force a RIP update.

Ip route R2#conf t

R2(config)#ip route 1.1.1.1 255.255.255.255 172.12.123.1

OR

R2(config)#ip route 1.1.1.1 255.255.255.255 serial0

To configure a static route to a given destination IP address, use the ip route command. The destination is followed by a subnet mask, and that can be followed by either the next-hop IP address or the exit interface on the local router.

Ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0

R2#conf t

R2(config)#ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 172.12.123.1

OR

R2(config)#ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 ethernet0

To configure a default static route, use either of these two commands.

You could have any number for the first "0.0.0.0", since the second set of zeroes is the subnet mask. This means that any destination will match this route statement.

That's a good review to get started with! I'll be back tomorrow with Part II of this CCNA exam command review!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Get your CCNA study guide from The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Configuring And Troubleshooting VTP

Not only is your CCNA exam going to have questions on VLAN trunking protocol, almost any network that has more than one VLAN is going to have VTP running. Whether you're planning on passing the CCNA exam or just brushing up on your networking skills, this VTP tutorial will help you learn the basics of this important protocol.

VTP allows switches to advertise VLAN information between other members of the same VTP domain. VTP allows a consistent view of the switched network across all switches. When a VLAN is created on one switch in a VTP server, all other VTP devices in the domain are notified of that VLAN's existence. VTP servers will know about every VLAN, even VLANs that have no members on that switch.

Switches run VTP in one of three modes. In server mode, VLANs can be created, modified, and deleted on a VTP server. When these actions are taken, the changes are advertised to all switches in the VTP domain. VTP Servers keep VLAN configuration information upon reboot.

In client mode, the switch cannot modify, create, or delete VLANs. VTP clients cannot retain VLAN configuration information upon reboot; they have to obtain this information from a VTP server.

In real-world networks, this is generally done to centralize the creation and deletion of VLANs. An interesting side effect of the server/client methodology is that if a VLAN is only to have ports on the VTP client switch, the VLAN must still first be created on the VTP server. The VTP client will learn about the VLAN from the VTP server, and ports can then be placed into that VLAN.

The third VTP mode is transparent mode. VTP switches in this mode ignore VTP messages. They do forward the VTP advertisements received from other switches. VLANs can be created, deleted, and modified on a transparent server, but those changes are not advertised to the other switches in the VTP domain.

For switches running VTP to successfully exchange VLAN information, three things have to happen. I've listed them for you in the order that you'll see them in the real world.

The VTP domain name must match. This is case-sensitive. "CISCO" and "cisco" are two different domains.

To distribute information about a newly-created VLAN, the switch upon which that VLAN is created must be in Server mode.

Learning VTP isn't just a good idea for passing your CCNA exams, it's a skill you must have to be effective in configuring and troubleshooting VLANs. I wish you the best in both of these pursuits!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.

You can also join his RSS feed and visit his blog, which is updated several times daily with new Cisco certification articles, free tutorials, and daily CCN

Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: Ten IP Routing Details You Must Know!

To pass the BSCI exam and earn your CCNP, you've got to keep a lot of details in mind. It's easy to overlook the "simpler" protocols and services such as static routing and distance vector protocols. With this in mind, here's a quick review of some details you should know for success in the exam room and real-world networks!

When packets need to be routed, the routing table is parsed for the longest prefix match if multiple paths exist with the same prefix length, the route with the lowest AD is preferred. If there are still multiple valid paths, equal-cost load-sharing goes into effect.

The ip route command is used to create static routes the command ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 < next-hop-IP or local exit interface> creates a default static route.

A static route with a next-hop IP address has an AD of one, while a static route with a local exit interface has an AD of zero.

A floating static route is a static route with an AD higher than that of the dynamic routing protocols running on the router, ensuring that the static route can only be used if the routing protocol goes down.

On-Demand Routing (ODR) is only appropriate in a hub-and-spoke network. The spokes effectively become stub routers. ODR uses Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) to send route information.

To propagate a default route with IP routing, use the ip default-network command. To do so with IP routing disabled, use ip default-gateway. You can also redistribute a static route into most protocols, but not IGRP. IGRP does not understand a static route to 0.0.0.0.

The ip helper-address command takes certain broadcasts and translates then into unicasts in order to allow the router to forward them. These default ports are:

TIME, port 37

TACACS, port 49

DNS, port 53

BOOTP/DHCP Server, port 67

BOOTP/DHCP Client, port 68

TFTP, port 69

NetBIOS name service, port 137

NetBIOS datagram services, port 138

To name other ports, use the ip forward-protocol command. To remove any of these ports from the default list, use the no ip forward-protocol command.

ICMP Router Discovery Protocol (IRDP) hosts hear multicast Hellos from routers, allowing host-router discovery. HSRP routers create a virtual router that hosts think is a real router. Both protocols help networks cut over to a functional router quickly when their primary router goes down.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Get your CCNA study guide from The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: Changing The Active Router In HSRP

To pass the BCMSN exam and earn your CCNP certification, you've got to know HSRP inside and out. While the operation and basic commands of HSRP are pretty simple, there are some important details that are easily overlooked but are vital in getting HSRP to work the way you want it to. Let's take a look at using the priority command correctly on both the exam and in production networks.

A key value in the show standby command is the priority. The default is 100, and the router with the highest priority will be the primary HSRP router. We'll raise the default priority on R2 and see the results. R3 is currently the Active router and R2 the standby, so let's raise the priority on R2 and see what happens.

R2(config)#interface ethernet0

R2(config-if)#standby 5 priority 150

R2#show standby

Ethernet0 - Group 5

Local state is Standby, priority 150

Hellotime 4 sec, holdtime 12 sec

Next hello sent in 0.896

Virtual IP address is 172.12.23.10 configured

Active router is 172.12.23.3, priority 100 expires in 8.072

Standby router is local

1 state changes, last state change 00:14:24

R2 now has a higher priority, but R3 is still the active router. R2 will not take over as the HSRP primary until R3 goes down - OR the preempt option is configured on R2.

R2(config-if)#standby 5 priority 150 preempt

1d11h: %STANDBY-6-STATECHANGE: Ethernet0 Group 5 state Standby -> Active

R2#show standby

Ethernet0 - Group 5

Local state is Active, priority 150, may preempt

Hellotime 4 sec, holdtime 12 sec

Next hello sent in 1.844

Virtual IP address is 172.12.23.10 configured

Active router is local

Standby router is 172.12.23.3 expires in 10.204

Virtual mac address is 0000.0c07.ac05

2 state changes, last state change 00:00:13

In just a few seconds, a message appears that the local state has changed from standby to active. Show standby confirms that R2, the local router, is now the active router - the primary. R3 is now the standby. So if anyone tells you that you have to take a router down to change the Active router, they're wrong - you just have to use the preempt option on the standby priority command.

Another vital part of HSRP configurations is knowing how to change the MAC address of the virtual router, as well as interface tracking. We'll look at those features in the next part of my HSRP tutorial!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Pass your CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage

CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Cisco Switching Modes

To pass the CCNA exam and earn this important certification, you've got to know switching inside and out. While you're learning all the basic switching theory, make sure to spend some time with the one of three switching modes Cisco routers can use.

Store-and-Forward is exactly what it sounds like. The entire frame will be stored before it is forwarded. This mode allows for the greatest amount of error checking, since a CRC (Cyclical Redundancy Check) is run against the frame before it is forwarded. If the frame contains an error, it is discarded. If there's no problem with the frame, the frame is then forwarded to its proper destination.

While store-and-forward does perform error checking, the delay in processing the frame while this error check is run results in higher latency than the other modes you're about to read about. The latency time can also vary, since not all frames are the same size.

Cut-through switching copies only the destination MAC address into its memory before beginning to forward the frame. Since the frame is being forwarded as soon as the destination MAC is read, there is less latency than store-and-forward. The drawback is that there is no error checking.

There is a middle ground, fragment-free switching. Only part of the frame is copied to memory before it is forwarded, but it's the first 64 bytes of the frame, not just the destination MAC. (Why? Because if there is a problem with the frame, it's most likely in the first 64 bytes.) There is a little more error checking than cut-through, but not as much latency as with store-and-forward.

Note that the latency of both cut-through and fragment-free is fixed; these modes always look at the first six or 64 bytes, respectively. Store-and-forward's latency depends on the size of the frame. Learning the similarities and differences between these modes is an often-overlooked part of CCNA studies. Spend some time studying this important CCNA topic - you'll be glad you did!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Get your CCNA study guide from The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Access List Details You Must Know!

To pass the CCNA exam, you have to be able to write and troubleshoot access lists. As you climb the ladder toward the CCNP and CCIE, you'll see more and more uses for ACLs. Therefore, you had better know the basics!

The use of "host" and "any" confuses some newcomers to ACLs, so let's take a look at that first.

It is acceptable to configure a wildcard mask of all ones or all zeroes. A wildcard mask of 0.0.0.0 means the address specified in the ACL line must be matched exactly a wildcard mask of 255.255.255.255 means that all addresses will match the line.

Wildcard masks have the option of using the word host to represent a wildcard mask of 0.0.0.0. Consider a configuration where only packets from IP source 10.1.1.1 should be allowed and all other packets denied. The following ACLs both do that.

R3#conf t

R3(config)#access-list 6 permit 10.1.1.1 0.0.0.0

R3(config)#conf t

R3(config)#access-list 7 permit host 10.1.1.1

The keyword any can be used to represent a wildcard mask of 255.255.255.255.

R3(config)#access-list 15 permit any

Another often overlooked detail is the order of the lines in an ACL. Even in a two- or three-line ACL, the order of the lines in an ACL is vital.

Consider a situation where packets sourced from 172.18.18.0 /24 will be denied, but all others will be permitted. The following ACL would do that.

R3#conf t

R3(config)#access-list 15 deny 172.18.18.0 0.0.0.255

R3(config)#access-list 15 permit any

The previous example also illustrates the importance of configuring the ACL with the lines in the correct order to get the desired results. What would be the result if the lines were reversed?

R3#conf t

R3(config)#access-list 15 permit any

R3(config)#access-list 15 deny 172.18.18.0 0.0.0.255

If the lines were reversed, traffic from 172.18.18.0 /24 would be matched against the first line of the ACL. The first line is "permit any", meaning all traffic is permitted. The traffic from 172.18.18.0/24 matches that line, the traffic is permitted, and the ACL stops running. The statement denying the traffic from 172.18.18.0 is never run.

The key to writing and troubleshoot access lists is to take just an extra moment to read it over and make sure it's going to do what you intend it to do. It's better to realize your mistake on paper instead of once the ACL's been applied to an interface!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Pass your CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!

San Francisco Dog Friendly Landlords May Get The Cookie

A new tax break may aid in the battle to reduce the number of unwanted dogs in San Francisco if it becomes law. The idea, currently in the hands of the city animal welfare commission, would offer a reduction in tax of either 5 percent of the monthly rent or $200 per month, whichever is less, according to local television station KGO-TV.

The article claims that the number one reason cats and dogs end up in the city's shelters is landlord rejection. With San Francisco home to many pet lovers who are also largely renters, the problem is huge.

There is even a little optimism from the landlord community. Janan New, SF Apartment Association, is quoted in the KGO-TV piece as saying, "It seems like something positive, a breath of fresh air, compared to the usual antagonism we suffer at the Board of Supervisors."

Dog Pictures, dog training tips, travel, dog podcasts, pet health help and more - everything but the dog breath!

See for yourself at www.DogExplorer.com

Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Configuring Dialer Profiles

The most common method of configuring ISDN is with dialer maps, but dial information can also be configured on a logical interface. To pass the CCNA exam, you must know how to configure and troubleshoot both dialer maps and dialer profiles.

Dialer Profiles allow different dialing information to be configured onto logical interfaces. The logical interfaces may have different dialing destinations, different remote router names, etc., but they'll be using the same physical interface.

Dialer strings are used on dialer profiles. Note that each logical interface has a different IP address, a different remote router to dial, and a different dialer string, but they will be using the same physical interface to dial out. The commands dialer pool and dialer pool-member are used to link the logical and physical interfaces. The number following each command must match for the logical interface to correctly bind to the physical interface.

R1(config)#interface dialer0

R1(config-if)#ip address 172.16.1.1 255.255.255.0

R1(config-if)#encapsulation ppp

<. The encapsulation type is placed on both the logical and physical interfaces. >

R1(config-if)#dialer remote-name Remote0

R1(config-if)#dialer pool 1

< places logical interface into dialer pool >

R1(config-if)#dialer string 5551212

< number dialed to contact router Remote0 >

R1(config-if)#dialer-group 1

< links logical interface to dialer-list 1 >

R1(config)#interface dialer1

R1(config-if)#ip address 172.16.1.2 255.255.255.0

R1(config-if)#encapsulation ppp

R1(config-if)#dialer remote-name Remote1

R1(config-if)#dialer pool 1

R1(config-if)#dialer string 5551234

R1(config-if)#dialer-group 1

R1(config)#interface bri0

R1(config-if)#no ip address

< With dialer profiles, IP addresses are assigned to logical interfaces. >

R1(config-if)#encapsulation ppp

< The encapsulation type is place on both the logical and physical interfaces.>

R1(config-if)#dialer pool-member 1

< The number associated with this command should match the number configured with the dialer pool number on the logical dialer interfaces. >

R1(config-if)#isdn spid1 0835866101

R1(config-if)#isdn spid2 0835866301

When configuring dialer profiles, the encapsulation type should be placed on both the physical BRI interface and the logical dialer interfaces. The SPIDs are configured on the physical interface as well.

Configuring dialer profiles can be a little tricky at first, and the best way to master this skill is to get real hands-on practice in your own CCNA / CCNP home lab or a rack rental service. Either way, hands-on is the best practice. Best of luck in your CCNA studies!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Get your CCNA study guide from The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNP Certification / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: Writing QoS Policy

QoS - Quality of Service - is a huge topic on both the BCMSN exam and real-world networks. QoS is so big today that Cisco's created separate specialist certifications that cover nothing but QoS! It can be an overwhelming topic at first, but master the fundamentals and you're on your way to exam and job success.

If you work with QoS at any level - and sooner or later, you will - you've got to know how to write and apply QoS policies.

Creating and applying such a policy is a three-step process.

1. Create a QoS class to identify the traffic that will be affected by the policy.

2. Create a QoS policy containing the actions to be taken by traffic identified by the class.

3. Apply the policy to the appropriate interfaces.

If the phrase "identify the traffic" sounds like it's time to write an access-list, you're right! Writing an ACL is one of two ways to classify traffic, and is the more common of the two. Before we get to the less-common method, let's take a look at how to use an ACL to classify traffic.

You can use either a standard or extended ACL with QoS policies. The ACL will be written separately, and then called from the class map.

SW1(config)#access-list 105 permit tcp any any eq 80

SW1(config)#class-map WEBTRAFFIC

SW1(config-cmap)#match access-group 105

Now that we've identified the traffic to be affected by the policy, we better get around to writing the policy! QoS policies are configured with the policy-map command, and each clause of the policy will contain an action to be taken to traffic matching that clause.

SW1(config)#policy-map LIMIT_WEBTRAFFIC_BANDWIDTH

SW1(config-pmap)#class WEBTRAFFIC

SW1(config-pmap-c)#police 5000000 exceed-action drop

SW1(config-pmap-c)#exit

This is a simple policy, but it illustrates the logic of QoS policies. The policy map LIMIT_WEBTRAFFIC_BANDWIDTH calls the map-class WEBTRAFFIC. We already know that all WWW traffic will match that map class, so any WWW traffic that exceeds the stated bandwidth limitation will be dropped.

Finally, apply the policy to the appropriate interface.

SW1(config-if)#service-policy LIMIT_WEBTRAFFIC_BANDWIDTH in

Getting your CCNP is a great way to boost your career, and learning QoS is a tremendous addition to your skill set. Like I said, learn the fundamentals, don't get overwhelmed by looking at QoS as a whole, and you're on your way to success!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Pass your CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam Tutorial: Comparing IRDP And HSRP

To pass the BSCI exam, you need to know the difference between IRDP and HSRP. While they have the same basic function, the operation and configuration of each are totally different.

The aim of both is to allow hosts to quickly discover a standby router when the primary router fails. IRDP is commonly used by Windows DHCP clients and several Unix variations, but you do see it in Cisco routers as well. IRDP is defined in RFC 1256.

IRDP routers will multicast Hello messages that host devices hear. If a host hears from more than one IRDP router, it will choose one as its primary and will start using the other router if the primary it's chosen goes down.

HSRP is a Cisco-proprietary protocol that is designed for quick cutover to a secondary router if the primary fails, but the host devices don't "see" either the primary or secondary router. The hosts use a virtual router as their default gateway. This virtual router has its own IP and MAC address! All the while, the router chosen as the primary is actually the one doing the routing. If the primary router goes down, the secondary router quickly takes over with no major interruption to network services.

The HSRP routers communicate by multicasting updates to 224.0.0.2, and its through these hellos that the HSRP routers decide which router is primary and which is secondary. HSRP is defined in RFC 2281.

The configuration of each of these will be covered in a future tutorial. In the meantime, I urge you to read the RFCs mentioned in this article, and visit www.cisco.com/univercd to read about the configurations and options available for both of these vital protocols.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials! For my FREE "How To Pass The CCNA" or "CCNP" ebook, visit the website and download your copies. Pass your CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!

Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Frame Relay DLCIs And Mappings

Passing the CCNA is tough, and one of the toughest parts is keeping all the acronyms straight! Frame Relay has plenty of those, and today we're going to examine what DLCIs do and how they're mapped on a Cisco router.

Frame Relay VCs use Data-Link Connection Identifiers (DLCI - pronounced "del-see") as their addresses. Unlike other Cisco technologies, VCs have only a single DLCI in their header. They do not have a source and destination. DLCIs have local significance only. DLCI numbers are not advertised to other routers, and other routers can use the same DLCI numbers without causing connectivity issues.

Cisco uses the term global addressing to describe a technique by which a router in a frame relay network is reached via the same DLCI number from each router in the network. For example, in a 25-router network, the same DLCI number would be used to reach "Router A" by each router.

Global Addressing is an organizational tool that does not affect the fact that DLCIs have local significance only.

The locally significant DLCI must be mapped to the destination router's IP address. There are two options for this, Inverse ARP and static mapping.

In both of the following examples, the single physical Serial interface on Router 1 is configured with two logical connections through the frame relay cloud, one to Router 2 and one to Router 3.

Inverse ARP runs by default once Frame Relay is enabled, and starts working as soon as you open the interface. By running show frame-relay map after enabling Frame Relay, two dynamic mappings are shown on this router. If a dynamic mapping is shown, Inverse ARP performed it.

R1#show frame map

Serial0 (up): ip 200.1.1.2 dlci 122(0x7A,0x1CA0), dynamic,

broadcast,, status defined, active

Serial0 (up): ip 200.1.1.3 dlci 123(0x7B,0x1CB0), dynamic,

broadcast,, status defined, active

Static mappings require the use of a frame map statement. To use static mappings, turn Inverse ARP off with the no frame-relay inverse-arp statement, and configure a frame map statement for each remote destination that maps the local DLCI to the remote IP address. Frame Relay requires the broadcast keyword to send broadcasts to the remote device.

R1#conf t

R1(config)#interface serial0

R1(config-if)#no frame-relay inverse-arp

R1(config-if)#frame map ip 200.1.1.2 122 broadcast

R1(config-if)#frame map ip 200.1.1.3 123 broadcast

The syntax of the frame map statement maps the remote IP address to the local DLCI. Broadcasts will not be transmitted by default; the broadcast option must be configured.

R1#show frame map

Serial0 (up): ip 200.1.1.2 dlci 122(0x7A,0x1CA0), static,

broadcast,

CISCO, status defined, active

Serial0 (up): ip 200.1.1.3 dlci 123(0x7B,0x1CB0), static,

broadcast,

CISCO, status defined, active

Hands-on practice is the best way to prepare for CCNA exam success. Working with Frame Relay in a lab environment practically guarantees that you'll truly master the concepts shown here - and then you're on your way to the CCNA and becoming a master network engineer.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage , home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials! Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!