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2015

  • 2 min read

Cisco VIRL – Update

Cisco released VIRL almost a year ago and it’s not at the 1.0 version yet but it’s getting close as they have done some good work towards the product since it first lunched. Cisco VIRL is like GNS3 which is simulation platform that runs Cisco’s current operating systems so instead of buying used Cisco hardware you can run this program on your computer. This software is geared towards proof-of-concept designs, for personal and training on Cisco Certifications. Let’s talk about it!

  • 12 min read

Configuring OSPF - The Basics

We have to start somewhere so let’s look at the basics of configuring OSPF. Remember OSPF is an IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol) and allows packet authentication as well as IP multicast when sending and receiving updates. In this post we are configuring OSPF in a single area. In this topology we have four routers and two PCs. The PCs subnet are 172.30.2.0/24 and 172.30.3.0/24. We have point to point connections between each router.

  • 7 min read

PRTG Daily Email Powershell Script

So I don't write much powershell but recently I needed a way to send daily emails out of PRTG. Thanks Paessler which has kept it simple with their PRTG monitoring system as the hardest part of this script was getting the data in HTML, remember I don't write much powershell. ;)

  • 2 min read

Passed the 640-911 DCICN

Cisco started this exam back in 2012 and I have thought/semi-studied about this test for about over a year now, just did not feel comfy about it until recently. I took the test last week and passed, however there were some questions on the exam I noticed that weren't on the exam blueprint so that kind of surprised me. I was happy to still be able to pass the exam but I was caught off guard. So with that I’ll let you know what I used to study and what areas I think might help so you won't be as "surprised" as I was.

  • 3 min read

Converting Hexadecimal to Decimal and Binary

The purpose of this post is to reference the CCNA Data Center (640-911) exam. This exam starts the conversation of IPv6 and since IPv6 is hexadecimal this post starts the talk about how we look at a hexadecimal values and learn how to convert them to binary and decimal. If you know subnetting skills then this won’t be that difficult. If you are new then check out The Wonders of Binary post as well as Part 1 and Part 2 of subnetting. Let’s get started!

  • 8 min read

Install Rancid and ViewVC on Centos 7

In this post I want to walk though the steps to install Rancid on CentOS 7 minimal. Rancid is a great tool to help monitor a device configuration for any changes. It also keeps track of them by using CVS (Concurrent Version System) for backups, so you can go back and compare versions or revert to a previous configuration. Rancid supports multiple hardware from Cisco, HP, Dell, Juniper and more. This is all open-source so you can create custom scripts or add commands to really make this a personal repository that fits your company.  During this install guide several things are required when we install Rancid, I have tired to make this as simple as possible but its not just a type and watch it install. You have to customize some of the scripts to make Rancid work like it should. Read it though and follow along.