Introducing Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches 1.1

The Introducing Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches (DCIMDS) v1.1 course gives you an overview of Cisco® MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches, including platform architecture, software, and management capabilities. You will learn the key features that contribute to high performance and availability, flexibility, and operational simplicity and investment protection. During hands-on lab time, you’ll configure: a Multilayer Director Switch (MDS) SAN fabric using Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) and Command Line Interface (CLI) commands; SAN analytics and SAN telemetry streaming; device aliases and zoning; and more . You’ll gain a technical understanding of how to build highly available, scalable storage networks using the robust, flexible hardware architecture with network and storage management intelligence.

Objectives

This course will help you:

• Gain a technical understanding of the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches capabilities through Cisco’s unique combination of lessons and hands-on practice
• Be the technical consultant on deployment options
• Prepare to give technical demonstrations on the MDS 9000 Series

After taking this course, you should be able to:

• Describe Cisco MDS SAN features and advantages
• Describe fixed and modular platforms
• Describe Cisco MDS architecture and high-availability mechanisms
• Describe technologies used in modern SANs
• Describe SAN management with Cisco DCNM
• Initalize a Cisco MDS switch and add it to DCNM
• Describe key value-add features that distinguish Cisco MDS switches
• Configure basic Cisco MDS features and interfaces using DCNM

Who should attend?

Technical decision makers and professionals who architect, implement, or manage data center SAN environments, including:

• Solutions architects
• Data center architects
• Network architects
• Systems engineers
• Data center engineers
• Network engineers
• Technical decision makers
• Cisco integrators and partners

Prerequisites

To fully benefit from this course, you should have the following knowledge and skills:

• Experience managing data center deployments
• Knowledge of the fundamentals of SAN technologies
• Understanding of business and application requirements

Course Outline

Describing Cisco MDS Platform

• Introduction and Advantages of Cisco MDS
• Fixed Platforms
• Modular Platforms

Describing Cisco MDS Architecture

• Store-and-Forward Architecture
• High Availability
• Redundancy

Describing Storage Technologies

• Fibre Channel
• Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) Over Fibre Channel
• Fibre Channel Over IP
• Fibre Channel Over Ethernet

Managing Cisco MDS Switches

• Cisco Data Center Network Manager
• Cisco NX-OS CLI
• Cisco NX-API

Describing and Using Cisco MDS Key Features

• Virtual Storage Area Networks (VSANs)
• Inter-VSAN Routing
• Port Channels
• Slow-Drain Device and Path Analysis Using Congestion Control Mechanisms
• N Port Virtualization (NPV) and N-Port identifier Virtualization (NPIV)
• Zoning
• Smart Zoning
• SAN Analytics and Telemetry Streaming
• Diagnostics Toolbox
• SAN Extension
• Other Differentiator Features