Using IOS Menus to Load Labs
Since I am using my home lab for the bulk of my training, I have been trying to find a way to easily load different lab configurations so I can rework different things or just practice a lab over and over. One easy and pretty slick way to accomplish this is to use the menu command built into the IOS.
In the example below, I have created a menu that prompts me to choose which lab I would like to load. All of the configuration files exist in a LabConfigs directory within the root of my TFTP server. Once I choose an option, the router/switch reaches out to the TFTP server for the configuration file and copies it to the startup-config. After this is complete, I have to issue a reload command to bring up the device with the selected configuration.
News from CCIE Voice Techtorial
Some very interesting information regarding the upcoming future of the CCIE Voice lab exam from Cisco Live!. I have reposted some of the more interesting ones below.
- Troubleshooting tasks could potentially include in depth knowledge of the protocols used for establishing call setup. Detailed knowledge of the call flow involved in protocols such as SIP/MGCP/H323/SCCP/Q931/etc will be required in order to explain why certain calls to the “provider” are failing. It was mentioned that the candidate may not even have to fix the problem and instead create a text file with the relevant traces/debugs and a suitable explanation. A process not too dissimilar when you create a TAC case
- The Voice CCIE pass rate is currently between 20% and 25% but expect that figure to drop as the impending lab updates will no doubt increase the difficulty of the test.
- Cisco will continuously modify the content of the lab and this includes changing the number of UCM and UCME sites. You can expect 3 UCM sites, 3 UCME sites or anything in between!
Read the full update from IPExpert here
IP Voice Media Streaming App Service Won’t Start
I have come across an issue, as many others have, that the IP Voice Media Streaming App service will not start when running CUCM on VMWare. According to my research, this is only a problem when running on an AMD processor, and was supposed to be fixed in the 7.1 release of CUCM. Evidently, it was not.
As most of you probably know, the IP Voice Media Streaming App service provides voice media streaming functionality for CUCM for use with MTP, Conferencing, and MoH. If this service is not running, you will having problems working through any lab scenarios that involve any of the items listed.
The steps to get this working are pretty simple, but since they involve manipulating files in the root directories of CUCM, I would not recommend doing anything like this on a system that is in production. Since CUCM installed on VMWare is normally in a lab, you may proceed.
Lab Configurations & Topology
Like I mentioned in my previous post, I will be adding my device configurations as I go along through different stages of my studying (especially if it was something I think will be of interest). Now, figuring out how to make everything work together is a very integral part of the whole CCIE experience. So please only use these configurations if you are stuck on something, or are just curious as to how I did something.
Since I am about 85% done with gathering the equipment necessary to progress through the lab books, I have started to connect all of my equipment and configure the WAN interconnectivity. As you will see from the topology drawing I have uploaded, my design is quite similar to that of IPExpert’s and Internetworking Expert’s lab topologies. This was obviously done on purpose so I will be able to work through the lab manuals without much hindrance.
Building My Own CCIE-V Lab
From the beginning I am been pretty sure that I was going to build my own lab so I can work at my leisure and not have to worry about getting everything done in an 8 hour period. In doing some research, I found that this was not going to be an inexpensive venture. Luckily, I am going to be able to leverage some equipment in our lab at work. This is going to save me around $1500 – $2000.