Another Chapter in the Book

Hit a threshold

2011-12-29T23:48:00.002+02:00

Often times I feel like I want to quit PUA and get back to my previous Wass 1.0 version. But, when I see other folks in the community struggling like me, I get motivated once again.
Today, I found the following website

Inner game articles

2011-12-20T14:22:00.001+02:00

http://puaintraining.com/2010/05/06/abundance-mentality-theres-more-where-that-came-from/

http://puacenter.com/main/inner-game/

field report #6

2011-12-13T14:15:00.003+02:00

Went to Sidibou. Warmed up with a mixed set in the restaurant. I was not expecting much. Just getting in talkative state and forcing smiles. Warmed up with a couple of male students with a situational opener. Although they looked fashionable, I was far cooler than them, in my formal suit:) Got one rejection. I think it's because I didn't smile while opening. It felt strong inside but it adds to my confidence level. Opened a 1 set. Not interested, ejected. I forgot FTC in one set and got the "it depends" answer.
4 sets in 40mn, during lunch time. I still have to work on slowing the pace of my voice (hint: Mystery). If I do it consciously often times, it'll sink in and become unconscious. Need to work eye contact too.

Progress Checkpoint

2011-12-08T11:42:00.002+02:00

- did the Pickup101 30-day challenge to embrace approach anxiety
- reached level 8 of BradP Social Freedom program
- learned basic structure and techniques of PU
- improved my lifestyle by going out more often with or without company
- read Brad's fashion Bible, The Game, Xuma's Inner Game, Love Systems' body language, Sinn's Day Game, Roger Love Vocal Power
- joined a fitness program, 3 times a week
- dated a couple of girls

I still haven't reached my goals.

Goals of the month:
- get out every day in the field: get more rejections and feedback
- start printing and reading ICOMM study book + mental rehearsal
- improve breathing pattern consciously
- be conscious about my voice and my focus
- sleep less

Auto QoS configuration

2011-08-08T16:39:00.007+03:00

First, let's see if QoS is enabled on the switch:

QoS is disabled. We should enable it on global configuration level:

if we want to display QoS settings for an interface, we do a show mls qos interface command:

At this stage we still did not define trust boundaries. That's why Trust State and Trust Mode say "not trusted". And we did not specify whether we'll trust a device or not.
To define trust boundary with auto-qos, we either trust all CoS values coming on the switch interface or we trust CoS values only if an ip phone is connected to the switch port.
With auto qos voip trust, we tell the switch to trust CoS on each packet coming on the switch interface:

If we want to further limit trust boundary, we can tell the switch to trust CoS values only if a Cisco ip phone is detected on the port:

Finally, on a 3550 switch, show auto qos and show auto qos interface give the same output:

Raise Your Standards

2011-08-03T11:00:00.006+03:00

Let me say it again. Raise your standards, in every area in your life:
- find another job, if you aren't satistfied with your actual one, or be active searching,
- if you exercise regularly, then great. Otherwise, alpha man takes care of his body as well as his mind
- if you're in an average to low value relationship then change it. If you're single, then aim at high quality women. Don't involve yourself into quick relationships just to feel some intimacy. You're the prize. Women should win you, not the other way around.
It's going to be tough, whether you do meditation, incantations, Morty Lefkoe Method, or any other tool. There will be times where you'll have feelings of anxiety and memory flashbacks. You'll even say "I messed it up. I should have done this and that". But, go ahead, because life is full of unexpected wonderful events and situations.
Raise your standards, and it all begins in your mind

Finding Energy II

2011-08-01T14:29:00.005+03:00

In a previous post, I talked about how I could increase my energy with little effort. In this topic, I'm going to deal with emotional energy.
Carlos Xuma, in his Secrets of the Alpha Man product (which I recommend), said that success in life in mostly determined by our EQ, not by our IQ. EQ stands for Emotional intelligence. What he meant is, no matter how intelligent you may seem, if you don't run the adequate thought processes, you're going to sabotize your efforts later.
It sounds true, at least for me. For example, I used to have plenty of free time. I used to plan for study. But when I sit down in front on my computer, negative talk ran in my head. So I find myself at the end of the day surfing the net or chatting.
Maybe it's due to what Tony Robbins calls "pain and pleasure". There's some truth in it.

It's all in your mind

2011-07-27T20:10:00.008+03:00

Energy, discipline, hope, expectancy, motivation, hard work. It's all in your mind. It's about changing the way you think about everything and cutting with your past performance and beliefs. If you repeat the same thinking patterns in your head, you still get the same negative feelings over and over again. I countless times heard this, but now it sounds so damn true.
I don't know a single way to do it. I'm not an expert. I only know each person has its own way, and he will find it if he digs deep enough, for it's a personal enlightement journey, and life is a game.

I was blind but now I see, Eddie Morra

History of Computer Networking

2011-07-24T12:08:00.001+03:00

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4989933629762859961

Days until I get There

2011-07-23T20:49:00.003+03:00

Each time I look down at my counter, I see a different meaning of There. I guess it's because every once and a while my goals and ambitions change. I guess it's a change for the better, since I'm a thinker type of person. There must be a reason every time my There changes.

Movies that will change your Thinking

2011-07-23T20:44:00.006+03:00

- Into the Wild
- 127 Hours
- Pursuit of Happiness
- Memento

The first two ones are the most touching. Happiness is not by owning a lot of things; it occurs when we share those things. Sharing is the key. Share a smile, share a kiss, share a piece of sandwich, ... We neglect a lot of moments with our parents, our siblings, our family.. But we sit down and look back at them, we see that we did not give enough importance to those moments. We just let them slip. We only have a copy of them in our memories, then.
Why regret when we could have lived them better? I made a lot of mistakes because I tend to improve my thinking every day. I am sure I am a lot different from me of last year. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to live frustration, because frustration is what led me to think about changing and improving myself.
I'm in a constant search for effective tools and strategies for that matter.
Each time I feel frustrated that's a signal of either impatience or misconceived belief. Either way, I have to sit back and think.

Value of Cisco certs vs Experience

2011-07-17T16:22:00.001+03:00

I needed an opinion from an expert. I found the answer on EtherealMind. Great article, in 4 parts.

New Cisco Study track: CCDA 640-864

2011-07-17T15:26:00.004+03:00

I knew years ago that I lack network design skills. I talked to my boss about design training. I got no favourable answer. I may interpret it as that design skills are in demand and I may find another job after being trained:) No problemo. I always studied by myself and I'll do it again.
Now I'm gathering the old version of CCDA material. I also got a digital copy of the Official Cert Guide for the new syllabus.
List of material I am going to read, with focus on the new exam blueprint:
- CCDA Authorized Self Study Guide, 2nd Ed
- CCDA Quick Reference Sheets
- CCDA Official Cert Guide <-- new syllabus :)
- CCDA CBT Nuggets (861, 863)

Me and I

2011-07-17T15:17:00.002+03:00

I may not be a genius, but I am stubborn enough to get what I want. I am not patient, but I know that when I'm on the verge of breaking down good things appear, like cool water out of hot sand. I may not be very handsome and sexy, but I have my character that I design every day? I may not be born in a wealthy family, but I have my beliefs to tweak. I may not have had the career I dreamt of in my childhood, but I can see all the beauty in my actual career. I may not follow the path of my classmates, but I hear a sweet different beat. I may ask myself questions forever, but my Self is already creating my answers.

CCNP Certificate is here!

2011-07-06T16:36:00.003+03:00

I simply love the feeling. All those hours and days of studying. And above that, I discovered that it is valid through May 26, 2014! That leaves enough time to study for more exams :-)
Now, I'd better use my new status in better situations..

It takes 21 days

2011-06-29T15:20:00.003+03:00

It takes 21 days to make a chick. It takes 21 days to form a habit.
According to Carlos Xuma, if I concentrate only on one habit or belief, for 21 days, I can have 15 new beliefs in one year! That's change. He said that, what's important in affirmations is tracking progress, not the affirmations themselves.
What if you take 21 days to improve your voice? 21 days to improve your body language and presence? 21 days to work on your discipline? 21 days to review your beliefs? How would that do to you as whole person?

TSHOOT exam feedback

2011-05-26T22:58:00.006+03:00

Finally, I passed. I feel so happy that two years of discontinuous study and a lot of frustration paid off. I deserve this nice recognition :)

Now, I can tell that it takes a LOT of patience, focus and self confident to pass not only this exam, but the whole track. Why? because many guys fall in the trap of cramming questions in order to become CCNP fast.
I began the CCNP journey in 2009. You see, I only became CCNP in 2011! Some guys may tell me that I was not serious about my studies. But here are my arguments:
- I only have access to L2/L3 switches in production network,
- I did not cut off my leisure activites because I still did not have enough discipline. So I lost considerable amount of time during weekends.
- I had to print study material by myself, since Cisco books are not available in my country, and I had to pay 10% of my salary for each book!
- I used to love to sleep :-) ,
- I don't deal/haven't dealt with most of the technologies I learned,
- I feared failure, since the exam costs 35% of my salary. So I mentally delayed studies and exam schedule. By the way, from now on, I'll schedule my exam date while I'm half in my studies.
- I used to go out with my girlfriend a lot. Then I broke up with her and suffered emotionally,
- Limiting beliefs: I can't stress that enough. Along the studies, I often wondered "what will I use CCNP for? How am I going to keep it active? what type of jobs could it land me to?"... you ought to work on eliminating them. Trust me, they made me feel depressed and frustrated often times.
- GNS3 crashes a lot :-)

I hope every CCNP wannabe would benefit from the experience.

Ip helper-address

2011-05-25T18:16:00.003+03:00

in TSHOOT topology, we have a DHCP client (client1) on vlan 10. Broadcast traffic from the client to the DHCP server should be allowed to pass through DSW1 and DSW2. So where to put "ip helper-address"? it depends on which switch will take the HSRP Active state.
First, check the spanning-tree instance on vlan 10. Then, see which is the HSRP Active gateway. If for example DSW1 is the Active HSRP, then "ip helper-address AddrA" should be put under "interface vlan 10" of DSW1.
Beware that AddrA is the ip address of R4 interface. And this value is:
- 10.1.4.6, if DSW1 is HSRP Active gateway,
- 10.1.4.9, if DSW2 is HSRP Active gateway.
This took me an hour or so to figure out, maybe because I'm a little tired :-)

Exam day is near

2011-05-24T19:19:00.002+03:00

Two days are left before my TSHOOT exam. I feel confident about it since I have a first taste of it. I read feedback given by test takers that it is a a nice experience.
I ought to be ready for both scenarios. If I succeed, then I know that all my limiting beliefs about CCNP were false. Then, I'll know that I was prisoner of my false beliefs. And if I fail, then I should remind myself about all the courageous people in the IT world who spent a lot of money and time in the pursuit of their certs.
Either way, I'll learn something, and that's my own choice. I made my choice to enhance my career, no matter what the sacrifices are.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear” - Mark Twain

The importance of deep breathing

2011-05-22T18:32:00.004+03:00

All day I practiced deep breathing. I mean, inhale slowly with my nose until my lungs are full and exhale totally through my mouth until my lungs are "empty" and my stomach is stressed.
Does it have benefits? I totally agree:
- I am more focused on what is most important to me at one time,
- I can work steadily without feeling tired,
- I did not feel depressed or anxious,
- I had bright ideas popping out of my head :-)
- I feel more confident about my abilities and my future
- I feel I can enjoy my life more

It may take some effort to monitor oneself breathing pattern. But it will definitely pay off in terms of increased energy, calmness and focus.

Update on August 1st: I got a copy of Breathing, The Masterkey to Self Healing, by Andrew Weil. I did two "breathworks" and I felt very drousy and thoughtless. I was a little sweating and felt some kind of white noise in my ears, like coming from a hard rock concert. This confirms the power of deep breathing. So Since I'm coming from an emotional breakdown, I'm going to incorporate at least 10mn of meditation/focused breathing before sleep each day.

TSHOOT Strategie notes

2011-05-22T13:42:00.006+03:00

Troubleshooting methodologies:
- Follow the path
- divide and conquer
- Move the problem
- Bottom up
- Top down
After watching Kevin Wallace Bull's Eye videos and INE Tshoot Exam Demo video, the best method is to use a combination of Divide and Conquer-Bottom up/Top Down-Follow the path. There's not really one single method that will lead to finding where the problem lies.

This is a collection of possible troubleshooting tips I collected over my studies. They are organized by OSI layer:

Layer 1
- interface is down? admin down?
- interfaces along layer2 path: down?
- cable is in place? (not for Tshoot exam)
- Portchannel is up?down? admin down?
- Etherchannel member ports are all up? is one member port down?

Layer 2
- Spanning-tree running on the vlan/the interface?
- Spanning-tree is blocking the interface/the vlan?
- vlan exists on switch?
- port in correct mode (trunk/access)?
- trunk interface exists?
- vlan is allowed on trunk?
- Etherchannel member ports have same config?
- Etherchannel vlan mask is the same as member ports?
- Etherchannel, on both ends, has same vlan mask? is trunking on both sides?
- Frame-relay mapping exists?
- for IPv6: frame-relay is done with link-local addresses?

Layer 3
- client has correct ip address? correct subnet mask and gateway?
- Duplicate IP address? duplicate IPv6 address?
- Static routes misconfigured?
- IPv6 enabled globally?
- routing enabled on router/L3switch?
- ip address on interface exists? wrong subnet?
- OSPF/EIGRP neighborship up? is there passive-interface?
- OSPF network type on interfaces match? beware of default OSPF network interface types
- Frame-relay mapping contain broadcast keyword?
- OSPF Hello&Dead timers match?
- OSPF authentication implemented?
- OSPF authentication type match?
- OSPF authentication keys/key-strings match?
- OSPF/EIGRP advertises default route?
- OSPF network statement correct?
- OSPF area numbers match?
- OSPF area types match?
- OSPF into EIGRP: metric defined?
- Route redistribution: distribute-list prevents correct route injection? misconfigred route-map?
- Vlan access-map blocks traffic?
- Router ACL blocks traffic? misconfigred? placed under wrong interface?
- HSRP group has correct vIP? has correct priority? has preemption?
- HSRP object tracking (and interface tracking): decrement value is correct?
- DHCP service exists?
- DHCP pool correct?
- DHCP excluded-addresses correct?
- DHCP ip helper-address exists? on the right vlan?
- NAT access-list matches correct traffic to be translated?
- NAT inside/outside interface placement?
- NAT pool of global inside addresses correct?
- Old NAT translation entries still exist?
- GRE tunnel up on both sides?
- GRE tunnel mode matches on both sides?
- GRE tunnel interfaces reach each other? --> IPv4 network (GRE transport protocol) is correct?

Layer 3/4
- BGP neighbor statement correct?
- BGP source IP of update packets reachable?
- BGP network statement: matches ip route in RIB?
- BGP authentication: same type? same digest?

IP SLA object tracking

2011-05-20T08:54:00.000+03:00

A nice example could be found here

Mystery explains approach anxiety

2011-05-14T13:08:00.002+03:00

I loved the word "desensitize yourself"
Watch here

How to overcome the fear of rejection

2011-05-14T09:51:00.001+03:00

Sosuave.com

IPSEC VPN notes

2011-05-06T11:48:00.018+03:00

Steps to create IPSEC VPN:
- define ISAKMP Policies
- define ISAKMP preshared key (if authentication method is Pre-share)
- define IPSEC Transform Sets
- define IPSEC security associations
- define interesting traffic through Proxy Identity (or crypto ACL)
- link crypto ACL and IPSEC TS with a Crypto Map
- put the crypto map under the Internet-facing interface

configuring IPSEC VPN between R2 and R3
There was a problem at first. Debug command helped see the error:

We look back at the configuration on both R2 and R3 and discover that "set transform-set" is missing on R3:

We corrected the problem and did a ping from R2 to R3.

IPSEC VPN in area 34
I created an IPv4 IPSEC VPN between R3 and R4. This is IPv4.

show crypto map

Show crypto map interface ...
show crypto session

show crypto session detail

Show crypto ipsec sa interface ...

- non-interesting traffic does not bring the VPN up. To prove that, we did a debug of ipsec on R3, and we issued a ping from a non interesting interface on R4:

Dot1x, AAA notes

2011-05-06T09:45:00.004+03:00

dot1x
- dot1x can work with DHCP address assignment
- only EAPOL is allowed before a port is authorized
- Vlan Assignment (by a RADIUS server) depends on the result of dot1x authentication
- RADIUS server- the dot1x authentication server- is the one which verifies the identity of the client connected to a dot1x port

AAA
- there are named method lists (simply method lists)
- once AAA is enabled, the default method list is applied to console, VTY access, enable mode...

Simplifying designs

2011-04-27T10:24:00.002+03:00

I come across a simple technique to understand relatively complex network diagrams: always simplify L1/L2. For instance, if you have a bunch of L2 switches that separate routers, then see routers as connected with a cable. Simple.
I struggled to understand the diagram of our redundant network. But since I applied this technique, things got clearer :-)

Troubleshooting router/switch performance

2011-04-25T22:52:00.007+03:00

- By default, CEF and Fast Switching are enabled.
(config-if)#no ip route-cache
This command disables both Fast Switching and CEF.

(config-if)#ip route-cache
This command enables Fast Switching only. CEF is still disabled if we don't activate it:

To activate CEF under the interface:
show controllers cpu-interface
- see ASICs usage,
- see for each protocol the amount of packets received/dropped/invalid

show controllers utilization
- display bandwidth utilization percentage of each interface of the device

show controllers {int} utilization
- display bandwidth utilization percentage of the mentioned interface

show platform tcam utilization
- display TCAM limits and actual utilization

IP SLA

2011-04-24T22:46:00.003+03:00

steps:
- create the IP SLA monitor
- configure it
- schedule it
Cisco IOS did not show me help when I type interrogation mark. Yet, commands are accepted.

Going Loud II

2011-04-14T15:44:00.003+03:00

I came across my old post "Going Loud" and felt cold in my knees. I used to enjoy my time and now I'm all job-oriented. One girl told me she grew old with me. I was old.
Now I put hard rock and heavy metal in my car during daily commute. Hobbies are inevitable to maintain a healthy soul, just as food is necessary for the body. I was comtaminating people around me with my bad mood these days because I could not get the job I wanted.
Between being an all-rounded geek and having a balanced life, I choose the second.

Using Maintenance and Troubleshooting tools and Apps

2011-04-13T00:21:00.006+03:00

show | redirect

to display cisco.txt file on console:

show | tee
The output is displayed then redirected to file cisco.int.txt:

show cpu processes cpu history : the following 3 screenshots.

show processes

config replace
- I changed the hostname on ASW1. The change is seen on the running-conf and not on the startup-conf.
- we want to rollback changes, i.e. restore the original hostname by restoring the startup-config. The latter resides on the NVRAM:

we perform the rollback with "list" option, to see the changes. We see that hostname is back to ASW1:

Careful choosing your friends

2011-04-11T09:54:00.003+03:00

Friends matter. Don't tell me that you can face the problems of life without them. They are the ones that you can lean on whenever it becomes tough. Whenever you fell suffocated, mistreated, heart-broken, sad, depressed, they are here to help you with a word, a thought, an advice or even a smile.
Yesterday I met an old friend. I hesitated at first, then I said let's give it a try. But my intuition was right. I didn't enjoy it at all. Worse, I was watching the clock :-) Some people are just like that. They bother you and annoy you unconsciously.

Some people are like parasites on your book pages. Don't get angry. They didn't mean to harm you. But, they're called parasites after all. They landed here to teach you something. There are people who will make you cry, and there are people who have kind personality and still are friendly even a year since the last time you met them.

The point is, you must avoid parasites -if you have the choice-, or at least just greet them and go on, for your time is precious and deserves to be spent with easy-going and cheerful friends.

Keep the Faith

2011-04-08T00:23:00.006+03:00

Tonight my girlfriend broke up with me. She said she feels bad when she's with me. She says that I'm sweet. I fell into the Nice Guy syndrom.
I felt very sad, like when the last girl left me. tears fell down like a shocked baby. I'm a sensitive man.
But I'll keep the faith in Allah, for He is the Creator of circumstances. This incident should make me stronger and more focused on what is true and what is not. It'll make me believe more that I deserve a person who is willing to give back, to love and to share.

But how did I end up here? Months ago, I was confident with women around me. I was enjoying being me, since I was following great PUAs. And the results were positive.
Today, I realize that I turned into a Wussy. I often buy gifts, I always take her back home, I sound nice on the phone, I anticipate thoughts and avoid hurting her, I gave her power to choose and to decide sometimes. I also noticed that I got distracted by other girls when I was with my girlfriend. That meant that I was not confident. The biggest mistake I made was to tell her that I fear being seduced by some other beautiful girl. Terrible mistake! All of that is accumulation of mistakes. All of that lead to where I am now and what I feel. Even if you're the most honest and kind guy, that does not make her more attracted to you, I can tell.
Now I'm paying the price of being too nice, too weak and too future-oriented.

Action to take? I am going to rediscover the dormant man in me and awake him. I'm going to revisit my old DD programs..

What are you worth?

2011-04-07T15:54:00.003+03:00

A collegue of mine is thinking about leaving the company. He has already 4 years experience in Unix/database. He's been offered almost 2000DT/month to work in another big company.
When I think about it, and observe my situation, doubts rush through my mind. Have I made the right move by coming here? When should I stop underestimating my professional skills?
So, what are you worth?

Finding Energy

2011-04-04T15:59:00.003+03:00

It's monday morning. I'm feeling tired. My eyes are burning. I didn't study enough yesterday. It's April 4th, and I have many topics to practice yet for the exam. I've been thinking about my emotional life and where it was heading. But with that, I lost precious time: half a sunday.
Ok, nobody is perfect, and I have some flaws in my discipline. And I need more energy. I need more focus. I'll concentrate on my studies and work and leave emotional stuff for a later time.
Some of the tips I read are:
- eat vegetables and fruits. Diversify colors,
- drink a lot of water,
- be an early achiever. I took this from Brian Tracy. It's been two days that I get up early-around 4am. Of course, I sleep early too. I may miss night activities, but there are more important things to do in life than idling on Facebook or watching a movie.
- incantations. I still do them every morning. I can't stress them enough.
- Stay correct with Allah, and He may send you His blessings.

RIPng

2011-04-03T08:51:00.012+03:00

A good command reference for RIPng is found here. I didn't know Cisco incorporated IPv6 into its CCNA courses! that demonstrates that Cisco is keeping the value of its certs high in the market. I'm proud to be studying networking in general, and Cisco in particular :-)

Showing RIPng configuration information

show ipv6 protocols
We can see which interfaces are participating in RIPng

show ipv6 rip RIP_ZONE
displays various information about the RIP_ZONE process:

debug ipv6 rip

- see that link local addresses are used in multicasting
- destination address is multicast FF02::9
-----------
In TSHOOT lab, R4 has only fa0/0 in RIPng.
- The split horizon rule is a loop avoidance technique that prevents a route from being advertised out the interface through which it was learned.
A good summary about Route Poisoning and Poison Reverse is given by John on CLN:

Route poisoning
This is a method to prevent routing loops within computer networks. Distance-vector routing protocols in computer
networks use route poisoning to indicate to other routers that a route is no longer reachable and should be removed
from their routing tables. A variation of route poisoning is split horizon with poison reverse whereby a router sends
updates with unreachable hop counts back to the sender for every route received to help prevent routing loops.

When the protocol detects an invalid route, all of the routers in the network are informed that the bad route has a hop
count of 16, which stands for infinity). This makes all nodes on the invalid route seem infinitely distant, resulting
in preventing any of the routers from sending packets over the invalid route.

Some Distance-vector routing protocols such as RIP use a maximum hop count to determine how many routers traffic must go
through to reach the destination. Each route has a hop count number assigned to it which is incremented as the routing
information is passed from router to router. A route is considered unreachable if the hop count exceeds the maximum
allowed.

Route poisoning is a method of quickly removing outdated routing information from other router's routing tables by changing
its hop count to be unreachable (higher than the maximum number of hops allowed) and sending a routing update.
In the case of the Routing Information Protocol (RIP), the maximum hop count is 15 so to perform route poisoning on a
route its hop count is changed to 16, deeming it unreachable (sometimes referred to as an Infinite metric) and a routing update is sent.

Poison Reverse
When a router receives a route poisoning, it sends an update back to the router from which it received the route poisoning,
this is called poison reverse.

This is to ensure that all routers on a segment have received the poisoned route information.

Route redistribution into RIPng
We'll configure it on router R4, because here it is the ASBR between OSPFv3 and RIPng.
We chose metric 10 because Seed metrics should be greater than any internal route metric.
let's see RIB on our distribution switch DSW2:

Metric 12 = seed metric + hop count
= 10 + routerR4 + switch DSW2
= 12

Redistributing OSPFv3 internal routes into RIPng
As configured in my OSPFv3 post, loopback interfaces on R1 are not advertized as internal routes. Rather, they are redistributed into OSPF.
If we configure "redistribute ospf match internal", a downstream device will see internal OSPF routes being redistributed, and not OSPF-distributed routes.

Sending a default route into RIPng
-(config)# ipv6 route ::/0 Serial0/0
- redistribute it into RIP

the distribution switches get the default route.
Redistributing routes was not enough to successfully ping from DSW2 to DSW1. On point-to-multipoint links and on physical interfaces, check frame-relay mappings. It's not enough to do static mapping with ipv6 interface addresses; you need to add mappings with link local addresses.
Since GNS3 does cope well with link local addresses, I fixed them on R1, R2, R3 and R4. For example, on R1

(config-if)#interface... (config-if)#frame-relay map ipv6 fe80::2 102
Now DSW2 can ping 2026::12:1

OSPFv3

2011-04-02T12:38:00.018+03:00

This post builds on the previous one, talking about IPv6.

Router-id
If we don't configure one, OSPFv3 will choose a Router ID in the same fashion as OSPFv2.

After configuring basic OSPFv3, I see the following:

If we remember with OSPFv2 over NBMA networks, we must ensure that broadcasts are forwarded properly on interfaces. We generally use the "broadcast" keyword in "frame-relay map ip.." command.
Here, I added the static mapping command, with the "broadcast" keyword:

But it was not enough. I still do not see neighborship established. Something was missing:

What if it was a mismatched OSPF network type on both ends of the link?
Bingo.
Now neighbors stand up!

What if we delete the "frame-relay map ipv6.." command? Neighbor state goes "init":

OSPF Database
Intra area Prefix Link State is LSA9.
Inter area Prefix Link State is LSA3
R3 OSPF database:
On R1 and R4 e.g., we see OSPF routes:
R4 sees all routes (not a default route only).

OSPF neighborship does not form
Let's "debug ipv6 ospf hello". From the following, we know that OSPFv3 uses link local addresses in its conversations, and that we have here mismatched Hello parameters. We know that, in order for OSPF neighborship to establish, these parameters must match (in the Hello packet):
- area ID
- authentication
- Hello timer, Dead timer
- stub area flag.
So if for example routers have different OSPF network types, that mean they have different values in one of the aforementioned parameters.

to solve it:

Sometimes, commands such as "debug ipv6 ospf hello" and "debug ipv6 ospf event" are not enough. Try "debug ipv6 packet" because the problem may be due to packet processing itself:
The "encapsulation failed" message on NBMA network can be solved with "frame-relay map ipv6..broadcast" command, like this:
"frame-relay map ipv6 {remoteLinkLocal here} {DLCI here} broadcast"

OSPFv3 configuration for TSHOOT lab, on R1

OSPF configuration for TSHOOT lab, on R2:

Route summarization
Beware not to do the conversion from decimal to binary! ipv6 addresses are in hex! so we should convert from hex to binary.

- if you configure OSPFv3 and there's no IP address on router, then IOS will ask you to set Router-ID manually:

Redistributing connected routes into OSPFv3
we delete loopbacks from being advertized as OSPF internal routes (on R1) and we'll redistribute their addresses into OSPF:

We chose 300 because it is greater than any internal route metric.
Let's see R2 routing table:

Routes are learned as O E2, just like OSPFv2 :)

Redistributing RIPng into OSPFv3
Quite simple, if we already know redistribution in IPv4. By the way, knowledge is always useful. We either use it exactly as it is, or we do analogies between what we know and what we're about to learn.

Let's see what R3 has learned:

Where is the 2026::2:/122 network? it is supposed to be a RIPng route, so it should be redistributed.
I found the answer to it with "include-connected" keyword:

The redistributed RIP routes appear now on R3 routing table:

IPv6

2011-04-02T08:57:00.009+03:00

- Remember to activate IPv6 routing and IPv6 CEF

show ipv6 interface brief ... prefix

first ping in IPv6:

Link local, link global:

debug ipv6 packet:
show ipv6 route
Connected subnets are displayed as "Connected". In our case, 2026::1/122 and 2026::34/122. The ip addresses of R3 interfaces are displayed as Local routes.

Problem pinging from R4 to R3: debug ipv6 icmp and debug ipv6 packet
after checking IPv6 unicast routing and IPv6 CEF, R4 still can not ping R3. "Debug ipv6 packet" and "debug ipv6 icmp" give something interesting:

The ping between R2 and R3 did not show any problems, although there's frame relay between them. There's frame relay between R4 and R3 too, but it showed a problem. Maybe it's due to the face that, between R2 and R3 there are point-to-point subinterfaces, whereas R4 connects with its physical serial interface to a subinterface of R3.
To solve the problem, I did the following:

I was having trouble to ping between R1 and R2.

It happened to be a frame-relay mapping issue too:

At this point, all ipv6 subnets are configured. Each router can ping his directly connected neighbor. But there's no routing. We'll configure OSPFv3 later.

Let's configure IPv6 on switch interfaces.
An interesting note to mention with GNS3 is that it does not handle link local addresses and EUI-64 well. Here's the proof:
- configure ipv6 on DSW1

- configure ipv6 on DSW2

We have a duplicate address message. Checked link local addresses on both switches and found why:
Forget about EUI-64 in GNS3.
We can configure many IPv6 addresses under one interface. So remember to delete any previous address.

OSPF troubleshooting case#1

2011-04-02T08:32:00.008+03:00

Symptoms:R3 can not get routes that are redistributed into OSPF, from R2.
Gathering information: with debug, show.

R3 is not receiving Hellos from R2.
We check OSPF neighborship

We check ip OSPF interface network type on both routers:

Bingo!

Now we see our routes:

Job offer

2011-04-01T17:17:00.005+03:00

I've been interviewed yesterday by a project manager of a medium IT company.
On my way to the company, I was doing incantations. Are there intense incantations and light incantations? I don't think so, since incantations must inevitably be done with the whole mind being involved in the belief. So talking about incantations or intense incantations is the same thing.
I arrived in time. I was feeling confident and energetic. I sat for the interview. The manager seemed uninterested at first. He thought that maybe I would not qualify for the Networking Technical Manager.
"I was not applying for it", I said. "I'm applying for a Network Consultant position".
He was relieved because, given my young experience and my modest CV, it seemed to be quite difficult to suit the position.
He bombarded me with very easy technical questions. I was wondering if he was serious :-) Then we spoke in French, and in English, to see my linguistic skills.
At the end of the interview, I was sure I was going to take the job. It was obvious, from the eyes of my interviewer, that I was the best shot he could get :-)
On my way home, I was very satisfied with my performance.
At home I was thinking about quitting the job and preparing for the new one. I asked an old co-worker about the situation. Long story short, he advised me to wait until July, date of Tunisia presidential elections. After that, it's very likely that many prestigious companies will open offices in my country.
So I'll wait. And meanwhile, I'll read, I'll learn, I'll practice and be ready for opportunities when they come..

"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity", Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)

Passive-interface

2011-04-01T07:18:00.005+03:00

passive-interface in EIGRP
if we set this command on an interface connected to an EIGRP neighbor, the neighborship will be down:
We used to see two equal-cost routes to subnet 10.2.4.12/30 (remember that EIGRP, like OSPF, support equal-cost load balancing): one through DSW1 and one through DSW2. After "passive-interface", we only see the route through DSW1:

passive-interface in OSPF
Before the command, here's R2 RIB:

After the command, R3 is no longer a neighbor -> no more routes from R3:

Declining a job offer

2011-03-30T20:11:00.003+03:00

This afternoon, a HR company called to offer a job to me. They said that Fidelity is seeking a Senior Data Analyst for its office here in Tunisia.
I declined it.
The HR clerk was surprised with my response. I felt that in her voice. There was a little bit of anger. I explained to her that I'd rather work with a networking company, not in a financial institution. My next career move will be with a company that has partnership with major network equipment manufacturers like Cisco or Juniper. I want to play with routing and switching equipement, and voip too.
I'll stick to my position for now and work on my TSHOOT skills.

OSPF notes

2011-03-30T07:28:00.005+03:00

Always check your OSPF neighbors. I had a problem injecting a default route into NSSA totally stub area, and I figured out it was a problem of OSPF network types.

R3 and R4 were not already OSPF Neighbors. They are connected through Frame relay. R3 interface is "point-to-point" OSPF network type. R4 however, has interface ser0/0 in "NBMA" OSPF Network type.I corrected the network type under ser0/0 of R4 and it works
- Redistributed routes that are coming from area 0 are not injected into NSSA (neither into stub areas).

This is a nice post by Peter Paluch about interpreting OSPF database.

NSSA and default route

Default behaviour in NSSA: no default route is injected by the NSSA ABR:

Routes are inserted normally.

Use of "default-information-originate" on an NSSA ABR to inject a default route into NSSA:

We know that, an NSSA ASBR injects LSA7 into NSSA. Why is R3 an ASBR?

RIB on R4:

Use of "no-summary" on NSSA ABR to inject a default route into NSSA:
No-summary is set on R3. OSPF database on R4 has shrinked:

RIB on R4:

Learning time and NTP on IOS

2011-03-29T19:04:00.004+03:00

- There are two types of clocks: hardware clock and software clock.
- The hardware clock has its own battery. When router shuts down, hardware calendar still works.
- When we reboot router, the software clock synchronizes with hardware clock, even if we already set the software clock.
- Once the software clock is user-defined, we can synchronize the hardware clock with it, with "clock update-calendar".
- with "show clock" and "show clock detail", if an asterisk is displayed then the time server is not authoritative which means that it is not reliable.

NTP
- notion of stata. Each time server has a stratum. Server with stratum 0 has more precise time than server with stratum 1, etc.
- Server with stratum 1 feeds server with stratum2, which feeds server with stratum3, etc.
- NTP synchronises software clock only, by default. We can instruct NTP to synchronize hardware clock too with "ntp update-calendar".

Route Redistribution

2011-03-28T20:41:00.014+03:00

OSPF into EIGRP
- On the ASBR, and after redistribution, there's a change in EIGRP topology table. But no changes happen in the routing table:

before redistribution:

after redistribution:

The change happens on the other routers, i.e. DSW1 and DSW2.

Redistribute ospf match internal

Before this command, here's DSW1 RIB:

then:

the 10.1.1.8 prefix is a subnet that's internal to OSPF, i.e. it was not redistributed into OSPF before arriving to R4. The 0.0.0.0/0 is also an OSPF Internal route (the default route that's injected by R3 into the totally stub NSSA) . So it is redistributed into EIGRP too.

"redistribute ospf ..", without specifying which route type we want, is equivalent to "redistribute ospf match internal".

What if we redistribute a connected interface on R2 into OSPF?

R4 is not aware of it, since it is a totally stub NSSA router.

If we add the commands "redistribute ospf match external 1" and "redistribute ospf match external2", IOS displays them in a single line in the config:

Let's say we only want to see the default route on DSW1 (and DSW2) that has been redistributed into EIGRP and not let 10.1.1.8 be redistributed. With Route-map technology, it is possible. We create an ACL that matches the default route. We create the route-map that uses ACL for traffic matching. We call the route-map during redistribution of OSPF into EIGRP:
and here's the new RIB on the distribution switch:

Redistribute connected into OSPF
In a past exercise, we created a loopback on R2 and redistributed it into OSPF. Let's check that the 2.2.2.0 prefix has a cost of 20 and an O E2 type on another router:

metric-type

What if we omit the "subnets" keyword?
R2 now advertises only classful networks that show in its RIB. Otherwise, they are not redistributed:

We'll create a loopback on R4. We'll redistribute it as a connected interface into OSPF. Normally, this will create a LSA7 in area 34 that will be converted by R3 in LSA5:

We see the LSIDs of 3 LSA7 in OSPF database of R4. They correspond to the connected subnets that have been redistributed.
R3 OSPF database(partial):
LSA7 shows too in its database. The new comer here is LSA5.
We can also see the 2.2.2.0 subnet, that corresponds to the loopback of R2 that has been redistributed into OSPF, at R2. This shows only on R3 database, because R4 gets only a default route to subnets that are outside area 34.
Let's see OSPF database on R2 (partial):
Obviously, we see subnet 2.2.2.0 as LSA5 because it is redistributed here on R2. 4.4.4.0 shows too. It has been learned from R3 (an ABR) as LSA5. Everything works correctly.

Redistribute BGP into OSPF
Always following the TSHOOT lab topology, we'll redistribute BGP into OSPF domain on R1 because it is an ASBR:

On R2, we see no redistributed routes. That's because R1 redistributes only classful networks. Let's look at R1 RIB:

Since R1 has, in its RIB, subnets of 209.65.200.0 and not the classful network, then nothing is redistributed.

We add the "subnet" keyword during redistribution of BGP into OSPF:

And we can see the subnets being redistributed correctly, with a metric of 1 by default.

Reducing sleep time

2011-03-25T21:07:00.005+03:00

this is my second day with only 6hours of sleep per night. I already feel drowsiness :-) I listened to EIGRP session from INE CCNP bootcamp, and consciously I almost understood nothing :-)
Reducing my sleep time and keeping it is mandatory to me. I have to admit something. I am not up to date in my field. I have a lot of material to read, to synthetise and to memorize. Besides, I am still not an avid reader like I want to become. Reading is key in the Information age, or better, the Communication age.
I read that nobody died from sleep deprivation. I read about Randy Gardner and was fascinated and reassured. So sleep deprivation does not kill.
I'm not at that stage yet. It's true that for the past month I've been sleeping for more than 8 hours, like a bear :-) So I consider myself that I've been wasting a lot of precious time.
It's 7:15pm, and I'm still in the office.

EIGRP notes

2011-03-24T06:23:00.012+02:00

equal cost load balancing
By default: up to 4 equal cost routes in the routing table.
Here we see that R4 receives two equal cost routes for 10.2.4.12/30 network. It adds them to its topology table:

and to the routing table

to disable equal-cost load balancing:

Now only one route exists for each prefix:

Auto summarization
it happens only when a router is bordering 2+ major networks (e.g. 10.0.0.0 and 195.55.4.0).
for example, in TSHOOT lab, i configured DSW1 interface vlan 10 with ip address 172.16.5.3/16. With auto-summary on, DSW1 advertises the major network -172.16.0.0/16- on its other interfaces, towards its EIGRP neighbors, which are R4 and DSW2.

Cisco EIGRP

Manual Summarization
after creating many loopbacks, in contiguous subnets, I advertise them in EIGRP.
DSW2 is receiving those subnets, with the same successor 10.1.4.9. So manual summarization would decrease the size of the topology table and the routing table.
summarization is useful here for only 10.1.4.16/30 and 10.1.4.20/30 subnets. I'll leave 10.1.4.12/30 advertized as it is.

before summarization:

after summarization:

But 10.1.4.16/30 is still received! that's because we implemented manual summarization on one interface only, towards DSW2. DSW1 still receives 10.1.4.16/30 from R4 not summarized.
To remedy this, we configure route sumarization on the interface facing DSW1 too:

other notes
- when I advertise an interface IP address, the corresponding network is added to the EIGRP topology, and the networks are added to the routing table as Connected:

ip default-network
this is not an EIGRP command. It's a global command that specifies a network of last resort. It'll appear in the running config as a static route:

in the running config, we find a corresponding static route:

on the distribution switches we see nothing special. The "ip default-network" did'nt have an effect on the EIGRP neighbors:

what if we advertise 10.1.1.8/30 prefix on R4?

Except for the new route that's added, no default route exists in the routing table of DSW1:

0.0.0.0 route and network 0.0.0.0
If:
- we create a default route with an interface as its next hop,
- we advertise the 0.0.0.0 network in EIGRP,
then:
EIGRP neighbors will see it as default EIGRP route

Troubleshooting EIGRP
- for EIGRP neighbors to form, they must agree on: area number, K-values, authentication, Hello and Hold timer values

NAT game

2011-03-19T09:54:00.025+02:00

Here's a simple topology to practice NAT, before playing with my real lab:

- ensure that routing is configured between R0 and R2 (RIP for example)
- I didn't announce 172.16.16.0/24 subnet. It should not be seen by R2.

Static NAT

a ping from Client to Server:

Dynamic NAT

when I tried to delete the pool, IOS says:

so I must delete NAT translations:

PAT
two methods to configure PAT: with a pool, or with a single Inside Global IP @.

PAT with a pool
let's configure the interfaces and the pool:

we'll use the same access-list to match source traffic:

the actual NAT statement:

ping from client succeeds:

PAT with single Inside Global IP @

- define inside and outside interfaces, then
the actual NAT statement:

we try to ping from client to server:

but R0 does not show any translations:

Let's "incantate"

2011-03-18T17:09:00.003+02:00

I had bad dreams last three nights. I had a lot of negative self-talk. This is going to disappear because I'm adopting the famous Tony Robbins' incantations. Yes they do work if I repeat them consistently and with belief. Some visualization is helpful. I read that some people experienced success if they do incantations for 20mn a day.
Here are some of my incantations, translated to English:
- I can look at anybody in the eye
- I am self confident
- I have all the resources that I need to succeed
- I can handle any situation I face while being relaxed <-- very useful

You, The Solution: Jackson's career shows power of hard work

2011-03-12T08:54:00.000+02:00

You, The Solution: Jackson's career shows power of hard work

checkpoint of my progress

2011-03-09T21:35:00.003+02:00

I took a LOT of rest the last two weeks. I have a lot of study to cover for the TSHOOT exam. I read that it's not that difficult, and it's fun.
I need to read more. Now, welcome back OSPF :-)

Back from France

2011-03-06T22:39:00.002+02:00

CIPT v8 was full of new knowledge. I'm confident that it'll open more opportunities to learn and to advance in my career. Voice over IP (VoIP) is no longer a luxury technology. It's a must.

For now, I will photoread the CIPT books each night before bed, along with TSHOOT books. tomorrow I'll resume my TSHOOT studies. The goal is:

- to pass the TSHOOT exam before April 15th --> CCNP status

- to study for CIPTv8 and pass the exam before July 15th --> renew CCNP.

CIPT v8 Training

2011-02-27T21:10:00.003+02:00

I landed in France today. It was rough. I took the OrlyVal, metro, RER and train! It took me more than 4 hours to travel from the airport to the hotel. Actually I had difficulties passing through electric gateways in the stations, because all the offices were closed! I thank God and thank those people who helped during my travel.

Tomorrow I have to take the bus. It's 20 mns on feet. Then I'll stop at La Défense. I'll take the RER heading towards Rueil Malmaison.

Time to pray, eat and rest. Tomorrow I have school :-)

The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra: notes

2011-02-13T19:46:00.002+02:00

- practice Silence, 30mn in the morning and before sleep. This is part of the Law of Pure Potentiality
- live the present moment. If you reconstruct the past, you'll reconstruct past emotions. The future is anticipation. If your anticipation is bad, you'll bring negative emotions in your present. So focus on the moment.
- Accept everything as it is, because that's how it is supposed to be. It's part of the Universe to be like that -> Law of Least Effort
- Detach from your goal. That does not mean giving up
- Money, cars, houses,.. are symbols of the Self. If you get attached to symbols of the Self, you'll lose your Self -> Law of Detachment
- Give, whenever you can. If you want love, give love. If you want money, give money -> Law of Giving

If you need motivation to study and work hard

2011-02-11T21:24:00.002+02:00

Chinese young children of low class society work and learn. Here

BGP network command

2011-02-10T23:54:00.004+02:00

- without mask subcommand, we need to have a subnet in the routing table, that belongs to the classful network. But in my lab, even I have a subnet 5.5.0.0/16, I still don't see it in the BGP Table:

However, with the mask subcommand, and by specifying the subnet, I can see it. I don't still get it:

Erasing router configuration from project

2011-02-08T22:02:00.003+02:00

There are some decent .net files that we download from the Internet. This is my case. I downloaded a .net file to use it to review TSHOOT exam.
However, I have to build the configurations from scratch. So I need to erase them from the project.
1/ backup your configurations that sit under working directory
2/ delete the cfg file from the working directory
3/ start the device in GNS3.

BGP notes

2011-02-07T23:03:00.004+02:00

BGP synchronization
- if I receive a route from an IBGP peer, I do not advertise it, unless I have a route to its network in my routing table learned by an IGP
- is off by default
BGP Confederation
grouping some ASes into a new AS (AS-X). Routers external to AS-X only see AS-X --> useful to apply the same update policy to a group of ASes

BGP auto-summary

2011-02-06T16:04:00.012+02:00

If there's auto-summary, a subnet that's redistributed into BGP will be shown in the BGP table in its classful network form. Otherwise, it'll be shown as it is in the routing table.
Recall that the router will choose a best route from the BGP table and will advertise it.

without auto-summary

with auto-summary:
Both subnets (off the routing table) will be summarized to 209.65.200.0/24, their classful network:

don't forget to clear the session with neighbor after auto-summary:

network 209.65.200.224/30 is there because it is advertised with a network command. But 209.65.200.240/29 is summarized to its classful network 209.65.200.0/24

BGP commands

2011-02-06T14:54:00.022+02:00

show ip bgp neighbors

- display configured neighbors

- check the remote-AS number for neighbor X:

- check the router-id of neighbor X:

- check the BGP state with this neighbor:

- check configured BGP timers:

- check which BGP messages have been sent to and received from neighbor X:

show ip bgp summary
- MsgRcvd from and MsgSent to neighbor X:

Show ip bgp

Show ip bgp rib-failure

BGP debug commands

2011-02-06T13:51:00.015+02:00

Debug ip bgp

debug ip bgp is on R1. Nothing special on ROutside.
- a shutdown on int ser1/0 of ROutside, and a debug ip bgp on R1

BGP searches for a route to its configured neighbor. Here, R1 has neighbor 209.65.200.226, and it is directly connected, as we can see in show ip route

Since ROutside serial interface is down, then 209.65.200.226 is no longer reachable, and BGP neighborship went to "Idle":

now a no shutdown under ROutside serial1/0:

and on R1:

We see that OPEN messages are sent and expected to be received.

Finally neighborship is reestablished:

debug ip bgp was useful to see:
- BGP state transitions,
- BGP neighbor state transition
On ROutside, no debug is configured. Some syslog is displayed about BGP:

Debug ip bgp update

TSHOOT lab

2011-02-06T13:49:00.003+02:00

this will be my lab for TSHOOT practice. It's taken from here

2-months Goals

2011-02-06T11:25:00.004+02:00

Deadline: March 6th

First session of Silence

2011-02-04T17:52:00.001+02:00

I finished 15 minutes of silence. Damn it was harder than I thought. At first, a million thoughts rushed into my brain. I felt my head was going to explode! I felt sometimes drowsy. Sometimes I open my eyes to not fall asleep :-)
Now, I feel less stressed, more open to communication. Overall it's a wonderful experience. I want more.

Why Study for certifications?

2011-02-04T07:44:00.005+02:00

In our field, we must keep up to date with the latest technology trends. We also should study continually, pass exams and get certifications.
People think of a certification as a way to negotiate a better salary or get another job. That's true. But the most important thing that you get out of a certification is:
1- the discipline: I myself found -and still find- difficulties to discipline myself to study each day, without deviating. I often find myself caught up in chatting, idle surfing, reading self help articles, downloading movies or audio programs.
2- the knowledge: when I prepare for certification exams, I gather a lot of knowledge that otherwise I would not learn.
These two benefits are long-term, compared to "better job" or "higher salary" arguments.
I'm struggling to focus on TSHOOT material. I have a lot of distraction around me. I need more focus.
What's the most important thing for me to achieve now?

The CEO speech

2011-01-27T17:30:00.001+02:00

I was not expecting a lot from his speech this noon. He talked about staying together and attracting more clients. I was bored. I kept looking at people faces. They were anxious.

Rediscovering NLP

2011-01-27T17:26:00.002+02:00

Waw! I'm going to love this audio book "NLP: The new Technology of Achievement". I only listened to the first track, by charles Faulkner.
I already feel the changes. I'm happier, more productive, less sensitive to people's critics, less influenced by people's opinions, more focused, more energy..
Today I'm going to listen to track 2, by Kelly Gerling.

Tunisia: freedom day

2011-01-25T21:36:00.001+02:00

Pictures of Tunisia: days of the Chaos

2011-01-25T21:27:00.005+02:00

Tunisia is free

2011-01-22T14:16:00.002+02:00

January 14 will be a celebration day for all of us. Tunisia is a country of democracy now. Tunisia is the first country where the people IS the ruler.
I'm proud of being Tunisian.

Olive is back

2011-01-08T08:51:00.004+02:00

04:20 am: building Olive (once again)

06:15 am: put on heavy metal music

07:52 am: JUNOS is being installed

08:06 am: JUNOS is here :-)

still to do:

- free up some disk space on my desktop

- create Olive lab on Vista

- create many Olives

- set a JNCIA lab with connected Tap interfaces

A road revisited

2011-01-08T08:20:00.002+02:00

I was determined to become an international consultant. And I still am. To fly the world, to experience a new lifestyle, to see new cultures, new mindsets.

I no longer care on which networking technology I'm going to work, as long as I'm on the right road.

Time to play with JUNOS.

Riding along the dirty road

2011-01-04T21:38:00.003+02:00

Things are happening fast. Things go in the other direction sometimes. I was a little stubborn. I have to open my eyes and change my focus, change my camera lenses.

Perfect career, an off-road track. Cisco vs Juniper. I need to consider them complimentary, instead of opposite sides. So what about Juniper? Is it the perfect time?

I have blurred mind, scrambled ideas and flashbacks.

certify more or continue Masters?

2011-01-01T13:57:00.005+02:00

I have to choose one between the following:

- continue my education: I have the opportunity to continue an online Masters program. Has anybody heard of Walden University?

good: better diploma, more knowledge...

bad: daily time dedication, may feel pushed sometimes, not really passionate about, consumes all my salary (ouch!)

- continue my certification studies

good: an industry-recognized cert, more practical and in-demand knowledge,

bad: daily time dedication (not that bad), patience, may take exam twice ->money, hands-on lab not always available

I'm more into continuing my certification studies

Feeling stuck

2010-12-22T19:26:00.004+02:00

I'm fed up. I feel pain. This is not for me.

- "what's his job?"

-" he's an engineer at Renault. He needs a credit to build a home. Is it possible?"

-" yes sure"

-" his father delayed his travel due to bad weather. Do you recruit here?"

-" yes. He should go through three interviews. We recruit the elite of the elite, don't we?" (talking to me).

I stood silent, sweat on my forehead,

Engineer at Renault...I'm an engineer too, plugging an RJ-45 cable...

-"I sat for the CAPES on monday."

-" Have you considered continuing your studies and teaching?"

-" Have you thought about studying abroad?"

SWITCH study material

2010-12-11T09:48:00.003+02:00

Here is all the material I've used to study for the exam.

Books

- Cisco BCMSN Command Guide

- Cisco BCMSN student Guide V1 and V2

- Cisco BCMSN Certification Guide 642-812

- Cisco BCMSN Quick Reference Sheets 642-813

- Chris Bryant BCMSN book

- Cisco SWITCH Student Guide V1 and V2

- Cisco CCNP SWITCH Official Certification Exam 642-813

lab

- GNS3

- 3750: for some security features such as IP DHCP snooping, dot1x

- VPCS

- Cisco BCMSN Lab Portfolio

video trainings

- TrainSignal BCMSN

- CBT Nuggets BCMSN

- INE CCNP Bootcamp

other docs

- Cisco.com

- INE articles (esp. MSTP from Petr Lapukhov)

- Cisco Learning Network community

Misc.

- a lot of patience and courage

- Incantations (yes they DO work, if done properly)

- track down your uninterrupted study time with Excel

- use 25minutes sessions with Egg Timer

- MUST use mind maps! Don't be lazy, or think they're a waste of time! It's totally the opposite, they help you retain information with all their colors and pictures.

You find the additional articles I've used here

also, you can find most of my mind maps here

I hope this would help the community out there.

a taste of TOEIC

2010-12-11T08:54:00.002+02:00

I sat for the exam. I needed it. People often told me that I was skilled in English. So I have to prove it to the world.

I used TOEIC Mastery software as study material. I was a fast paced exam. I finished answering questions in time!

I'm waiting for the score...

SWITCH exam: cleared

2010-12-11T08:11:00.000+02:00

Wow that was tough ! I almost thought I was not going to pass after I messed up my second simulation .

This is my third try in switching. I failed twice in the old BCMSN. I got demotivated. Then Cisco issued the new version of the exam. So I decided to get it soon because I should not wait until Cisco releases another version !

As feedback, mastering first hop redundancy protocols (preemption, active/standby,..) is a MUST. Design topics appear a lot. I had a couple of wireless questions too!

Also, don't rely on the "?". I wasn't able to find it the keyboard.

STP vs RSTP: Topology change

2010-12-07T17:03:00.003+02:00

topology change event trigger:

STP: occurs when a port moves:

- from FWD to BLK

- from BLK to FWD

RSTP: occurs when a nonedge port moves from BLK to FWD

topology change detection time:

STP: after MaxAge and no BPDU received (~20sec)--> TCN sent towards Root Bridge.

RSTP: 3 Hellos missed in a row from a neighbor (~6sec)--> Neighbor seen as "down" and MAC addresses learned on that port are flushed.

Asking good questions

2010-12-07T10:20:00.004+02:00

Sometimes it seems that things don't go as expected. Sometimes I think I made mistakes or I did bad calculations. But what if I was asking myself wrong questions? What if I say to myself :

- what do I really want, if I knew it was achievable?

- what can I do, to enjoy my time more?

- what are the things I'm grateful to Allah for right now?

- How can I improve my lifestyle, my health and my relationships?

- what if I was in the right relationship with the right girl, and I wasn't noticing it?

- what if all this is part of my experience?

- what if all the things around me happen for a reason?

- what if I could achieve anything I want in life and I wasn't aware of my potential?

- what if I had the potential to surpass all the people I knew in my life?

What if?

SWITCH exam in two days

2010-12-06T23:08:00.002+02:00

I took a vacation for it. It's time to show my skills, to demonstrate that I've studied for almost 78 cumulative hours for a reason. I'll nail the exam. I'll pass it this year, because I have no other choice.

Against The Wind - Stratovarius

2010-11-28T09:34:00.004+02:00

Once again I try to make things work
facing all the power of society
Searching all the answers of the life
Ill never make it on my own

Was I meant to fail everytime
Seems to me thats my destiny
Is this all that's left to me
Confusion and bad memories

But now my time has come
No more running in the dark
I want much more than this
I really want it all

Against the wind we run
to every place under the sun
We've got so much power inside
We will never give up
Against the wind we go
towards the new shore
together we'll forget the sorrow
its forever gone

Messing with Cisco Time

2010-11-21T19:29:00.007+02:00

Time precision on syslog messages is important for event tracing and history.

1. set the clock: #clock set 18:21:00 21 November 2010

2. set the timezone: (config)#clock timezone UTC 1

To play with the syslog message format, in the timestamp section, there's the following command:
(config)#service timestamp log {datetime | uptime} ...
a simple "exit" can give us what the new syslog format looks like:
the time displayed is the local one. We can see "UTC" as the time zone. The difference between local time and time-zone is the time offset -which is 1 hour for my country Tunisia.

CCNP SWITCH 642-813 mind maps

2010-11-07T17:17:00.003+02:00

Feel free to download them! You nedd a software that can read "imm" files.

just drop a kind word :-)

http://www.4shared.com/file/347wtZJU/STP_Basics.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/91RoXVw6/QoS.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/Pnz4hlXV/Accomodating_Voice_Traffic_on_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/Z0vds6JI/EtherChannel_-_show_commands.html

CEF: show commands

2010-11-07T15:58:00.006+02:00

this demonstrates that IP CEF is not enabled, until SVIs are created:

Once SVI is created, CEF tables are created too, and stay there even if we delete the vlan and the SVI:

Now we set back vlan 101 and its SVI. We display the FIB table:

We do a ping to the attached host (in the vlan). A new entry is added to FIB:

We create SVI 103. FIB is updated. Then we ping from host1 to SVI 103:

Now let's show the adjacency table AT:

Add this to the pile

2010-11-07T15:49:00.002+02:00

I began learning NLP. I got a huge NLP video library. I'm enjoying this stuff. Besides, I resumed my SWITCH studies. It'll take a lot of work, a lot of study time, less sleep and lots of patience. I'm going to condition my mind every day to grasp any SWITCH topic and memorize it, and I'm sure my fresh NLP skills will help me.

Loop Guard: global and interface configuration

2010-09-19T12:59:00.005+03:00

- enabling Loop Guard on an interface level does not enable it for the whole system. In fact, a "show spanning-tree summary total" is a bit misleading in this case.
to configure loop guard on an interface:

"loop guard default" is disabled because we haven't issued a "spanning-tree loopguard default". Easy:

QoS configuration and verification

2010-09-19T12:47:00.008+03:00

* verify that QoS is enabled:

* enable qos:
at this stage, all interfaces are by default untrusted. This means that any frame with a priority value will be remarked as CoS/IP Precedence/DSCP value = 0.

* trust CoS values of incoming frames. Useful for trunks:

* trust CoS values only if an attached Cisco ip phone exists (conditional trust):
At this stage, the trust boundary moves to the IP phone. Any priority value of any attached PC frames is untrused, thus remarked with priority 0.

* rewrite CoS of the frames coming from the PC to a specific value, for instance, 0:

We have some trunk interfaces. Let's trust dot1p priority values there:
* trust CoS values on frames on trunk interfaces:

* verify QoS settings on all interfaces:

Value of knowledge

2010-08-14T14:21:00.001+03:00

Vlan ACLs

2010-08-03T22:29:00.002+03:00

A good Cisco document here

I found an answer to all my VACL-related questions.

A good thing to note here, is the way the author configures the "remaining traffic". Here he defines another router ACL that says "permit any any" and uses it as a matching criteria for the remaining traffic. It also adds another VACL statement for that.

CCNP SWITCH new curriculum: my opinion

2010-08-01T16:41:00.008+03:00

I began studying for BCSMN long ago. I didn't manage to sit for the exam before July 31. Now I'm on track once again. I'm going through the material and I'll fill the gap with the new SWITCH books.

However, I laughed when I saw the same typing mistake that Cisco folks did on their student guide. In fact, I think they just did a copy/paste of the text and added some pages :-)

You don't believe me? Check the Vlan ACL chapter.

Here's the old BCMSN version:

And the new SWITCH version:

Ok, so what now? don't we believe in Cisco books? of course we do. But this should remind us of the importance of personal investigation and further reading. Cisco home page and its fabulous Learning Network are incredible sources of information.

GNS3 home lab on Windows

2010-07-27T01:19:00.004+03:00

I wrote in my old post How to build a home switching lab with GNS3 and Ubuntu about building GNS3 on linux.
I recently upgraded my Ubuntu box from Gutsy to Hardy. However, I have encountered problems while viewing .mov video files.
After a lot of effort, I decided to switch back to GNS3 on Windows, so I can view tutorials and in the same time have access to a lab.
Tonight I successfully run a 9 routers lab simultaneously without losing the connection to Dynamips.
Here are my routers and their Putty sessions:

Here's when I stopped the equipement:

By the way, GNS3 on Windows sucks! it crashes a lot of times. I recommend to go on Linux because it's much more stable.

Behind Michael Jackson Greatness

2010-07-24T20:48:00.002+03:00

I found interesting articles here and here.

May Allah Bless you Michael, you rocked my childhood.

A word from The Masters

2010-07-13T18:59:00.002+03:00

my home virtual lab

2010-07-11T12:18:00.004+03:00

I can not afford a real Cisco lab. I can not buy online gear because that's not possible in my country.
BUT, I can afford a virtual Cisco lab.
Here it is:

Typically, it's taken from CCNP curriculum lab diagrams. I added some modifications to it.
Here's also the .net file associated with it

Calculating idle PC value

2010-07-11T11:55:00.007+03:00

No matter how much processing power you've got, there will always be some processor cycles going on even if your routers are just sitting there for you to tape some CLI stuff.

First thing, before starting your full lab, make sure that the Idle PC Value for each type of router is well calculated.
For example, I added some 1710s as PCs for my lab:
1. all lab should be shut down, except one 1710 routeur.
2. start it
3. log to console, wait until it loads completely and enter privilieged mode
4. check your processor consumption. In Windows, it's with Task Manager. With Ubuntu (my favourite), with System Monitor -> Resources:

5. now, recalculate the Idle PC value on GNS3

6. choose the value in front of which there's an asterisk (*)

7.repeat these steps until you get low processor consumption:

List of missing switch features on GNS3

2010-07-10T10:56:00.001+03:00

Here it is:

Access Switch Device Manager (SDM) Template
ACL - Improved Merging Algorithm
ARP Optimization
BGP Increased Support of Numbered as-path Access Lists to 500
BGP Restart Neighbor Session After max-prefix Limit Reached
BGP Route-Map Continue Support for Outbound Policy
Clear Counters Per Port
DHCP Snooping
DHCP Snooping Counters
Diagnotics Options on bootup
ErrDisable Reactivation Per Port
ErrDisable timeout
EtherChannel
EtherChannel - Flexible PAgP
Etherchannel Guard
Fallback Bridging
Flex Link Bi-directional Fast Convergence
Flex Link VLAN Load-Balancing
Flex Links Interface Preemption
GOLD - Generic Online Diagnostics
IEEE 802.1ab, Link Layer Discovery Protocol
IEEE 802.1s - Multiple Spanning Tree (MST) Standard Compliance
IEEE 802.1s VLAN Multiple Spanning Trees
IEEE 802.1t
IEEE 802.1W Spanning Tree Rapid Reconfiguration
IEEE 802.1x - Auth Fail Open
IEEE 802.1x - Auth Fail VLAN
IEEE 802.1x - VLAN Assignment
IEEE 802.1x - Wake on LAN Support
IEEE 802.1x Authenticator
IEEE 802.1X Multi-Domain Authentication
IEEE 802.1x RADIUS Accounting
IEEE 802.1x with Port Security
IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation (LACP)
IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet
IGMP Fast Leave
IGMP Version 1
IGRP
IP Phone Detection Enhancements
IP Phone Enhancement - PHY Loop Detection
IPSG (IP Source Guard)
Jumbo Frames
L2PT - Layer 2 Protocol Tunneling
MAC Authentication Bypass
MLD Snooping
Multicast Etherchannel Load Balancing
NAC - L2 IEEE 802.1x
NAC - L2 IP
NAC - L2 IP with Auth Fail Open
Packet-Based Storm Control
Per Port Per VLAN Policing
Port Security
Port Security on Private VLAN Ports
Private VLANs
QoS Policy Propagation via Border Gateway Protocol (QPPB)
Rapid-Per-VLAN-Spanning Tree (Rapid-PVST)
Reduced MAC Address Usage
Remote SPAN (RSPAN)
Smart Port
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Loop Guard
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Portfast
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - PortFast BPDU Filtering
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Portfast Support for Trunks
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Root Guard
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Uplink Load Balancing
SRR (Shaped Round Robin)
Standby Supervisor Port Usage
STP Syslog Messages
Switching Database Manager (SDM)
Trunk Failover
Trusted boundary (extended trust for CDP devices)
Unicast Mac Filtering
UniDirectional Link Detection (UDLD)
VLAN Access Control List (VACL)
VLAN Aware Port Security
Weighted Tail Drop (WTD)

check the full topic here

Here I come Again

2010-07-10T10:44:00.003+03:00

It's time to get back on track. It's been months now.
I I've been involved in a large network deployment. I gave much time for people and now I'm giving more time for myself.

I was a loner crusin' with the wind
I wasn't lookin' when you pulled me in
I had to leave you like I always did
You knew damn well I'd come again - Damn Yankees

A picture is worth a thousand words

2010-05-18T17:38:00.003+03:00

Back from Breakdown

2010-04-10T11:47:00.002+03:00

Those programs I mentioned in the previous post are wonderful. The impact on the brain is real. For maximum effectiveness, I plug in my player whenever I sleep or nap. As a result, no more stress, no more 200MPH thinking.
I'm going to try "change your life in 7 days" by Paul McKenna. I read positive feedback about his products and about hypnosis in general.