QoS Study Plan

down77

Taking a study break was just what the doctor ordered! Earlier this year I regained my CCNP and added the CCDP credential to my profile. After this was done I took a few weeks off of studying to let my brain rest, and to spend some time enjoying other things. Now that I've had some time to rest and recuperate, I'll be heading down the CCIP path and starting with the QoS Exam... and for those who have hinted at it in other posts yes this is part of my prerequisite review path in pursuit of my own Cisco Number/Plaque; CCIE R&S.

Why QoS first? Because I've had more and more requests for services that could benefit from this wonderful feature! Service Providers, Storage Engineers, and Voice specialists understand the importance of low latency/jitter-less infrastructures as well as traffic shaping to assist in a long term capacity management strategy. Not to mention I have a massive Data Center refresh coming up where a significant amount of QoS will be required

The materials I plan to use are from the following:

Books:
Amazon.com: Cisco QOS Exam Certification Guide (IP Telephony Self-Study) (2nd Edition) (9781587201240): Wendell Odom, Michael J. Cavanaugh: Books --> Primary Text
Amazon.com: End-to-End QoS Network Design: Quality of Service in LANs, WANs, and VPNs (0619472051764): Tim Szigeti, Christina Hattingh: Books

CBTs:
CCIP Certification Courses

Labs:
GNS3 while on the road and a mixture of 1800/2800 routers and 3550/3750 switches when at the house.

I will attempt to use eBooks (Kindle) to study this time but may end up breaking down and getting physical books to take with me during my travel. I'll also be supplementing with various Cisco docs and blogs.

More to come as I start reviewing

lrb

Nice! Best of luck in your studies. I'm also studying for this exam to finish off my CCIP and I'm finding quite a lot of ways I can apply this stuff at work which is helping a lot to get through the material. Odom's book is incredible. Let me know what you think of hte INE video for this too.

down77

Thanks, I'll need the luck for at least one of the topics. I know I am very weak on MPLS so I'll be spending extra time studying up on that one.

I broke down and bought the physical book today and thanks to Amazon Prime it'll be here tomorrow. Reading an ebook is alright, but things were not the same as the physical book. I also realized there is at least 30 minutes per flight where electronic devices are not allowed which is a loss of some prime study time.

I also started going over the first 3 modules of the INE QoS series and so far I like it.

instant000

QoS understanding comes in handy for understanding the "Modular Policy Framework" that's used on the ASA's.

So, if you ever head down the Security track, it'll be useful there, also.

down77

Great tip! If I remember correctly they took the MQC and adapted it for security devices.

down77

I'm a little over 33% done reading the QoS Exam guide and I must admit so far its not as bad as I thought it would be. I've been using NBAR and AutoQoS for a while so that helps in the comprehension of material.

So far I've been playing around with some Classification and Marking labs, especially IP DSCP to CoS and vice Versa. One thing I had forgotten from the CCDA/CCDP studies is that CoS marks either the significant bits in the Dot1q header, or least significant bit in the ISL header. This is important especially when we consider that VLAN trunking is necessary and the placement of the trust boundary can be extended to be closer to the ingress point.

I'll be listening to the INE videos tonight and will start going over Queuing (Congestion Management) tomorrow. Next week will be slow as I'll be in a Cisco Nexus class but there will be some QoS review as part of that as well.

down77

A little bit of a nice surprise... USPS left me a present on the door. MPLS fundamentals and Internet Routing Architectures (2nd Ed.) were waiting for me on my doorstep.

lrb

I've found the Odom book to be extremely solid for learning QoS.. the part on shaping and policing was a great read (although I've probably forgotten all the equations by now)! I've always loved Odom's books, including the ROUTE OCG which everyone seems to dislike.

down77

You're right, its a pretty good read so far but he does skip around a little bit in the CBWFQ and LLQ sections by referencing material that has not yet been covered (policing). I can see how some people may think this to be confusing.

I'm a little over half-way done with the text and plan to start adding some labs when I am done with the Nexus class. I may even rewrite part of the Nexus QoS Lab and play around with it in GNS3.

lrb

If it helps, the latest version of IPerf for Linux has the ability to set Precedence/DSCP.. I've been using it for testing remarking at trust boundaries.

Iperf | Download Iperf software for free at SourceForge.net

jadouking

There is also PackETH for linux.
It has a GUI. Supports dot1P (COS) and TOS/DSCP.

Good luck btw!
I am joining you for QOS.

down77

Looks like I'll have to fire up another linux VM to start playing around. I had to return the 3750s this morning since they were needed for an emergency replacement @ a clients office, but the good news is I'll get a few more to play with in a week or two.

Now that the Nexus class is over I'll be starting on Shaping/Policing today and will also be going back over Congestion Management (WFQ, CBWFQ, and LLQ) labs.

Last week wasn't very productive for QoS, but I was able to get a lot done with OTV and play around with many of the NX-OS 5.2.1 changes that came about. Looking forward to the CPOC lab time starting next sunday.

jadouking

Good luck man.

I will start "officially" in 3 days. I relaxed this weekend after I passed MPLS.
I am planing first to read some chapters from E. Comer's Internetworking with TCP/IP.
The parts presenting TCP sliding window and TCP slow start...
Those TCP features are the reason why WRED is not suitable for TCP based data flow and why TCP connections are more affected by packet drops than UDP.

down77

I haven't read E. Comer's book but I may check books 24x7 and glance through it.

How did you enjoy the MPLS studies? I'm looking forward to getting into the BGP/MPLS material since I deal with it on a consulting basis.

Tonight's reading is going to be going back over Shaping and go through Class Based Policing Mechanics. I'll save the configuration review for tomorrow morning so I'm wide awake... started falling asleep during last nights reading

cisco_trooper

I'm getting ready to embarq on the QoS Exam myself. I've read the End to End QoS book, but it's been a couple years. I remember enjoying it. I have not read the certification guide yet.

down77

I've had a few people tell me that End to End QoS is a good read but I havent picked it up yet. So far the QoS Exam Guide isnt horrible, there is just a few sections of dry material to push through... thank gosh for fresh ground starbucks coffee!


On a different note, some of my old WGU books sold so I picked up Routing TCP/IP 1 and Developing IP Multicast Networks. I'll have plenty of review material to read during my flights!

SteveO86

Out of curiosity, how does the 642-642 QoS exam, differ from the old ONT exam.

Or is just more in-depth?

Forsaken_GA

SteveO86 wrote: »

Out of curiosity, how does the 642-642 QoS exam, differ from the old ONT exam.

Or is just more in-depth?

Well, the old ONT exam also covered elements of Wireless and VOIP. The QoS exam is just pure QoS, so yes, it's more in depth, but there is a large amount of overlap between it and ONT.

jadouking

down77 wrote: »

How did you enjoy the MPLS studies?

MPLS and BGP are full of fun
As you need only routers. You can 100% rely on dynamips/gns3 to practice most of the topics (if not all)...

down77

jadouking wrote: »

MPLS and BGP are full of fun
As you need only routers. You can 100% rely on dynamips/gns3 to practice most of the topics (if not all)...

Looking forward to it! I'm doing QoS with mostly dynamips and exploiting ICMP traffic which is better than nothing. When I'm at the house (weekends) I get to use my regular gear for studies, hence real traffic.

Finished reading on Shaping/Policing tonight and off to Congestion Avoidance tomorrow. Along with Classification/Marking I've done a bit of shaping/policing in previous environments so it comes a bit more natural.

down77

SteveO86 wrote: »

Out of curiosity, how does the 642-642 QoS exam, differ from the old ONT exam.

Or is just more in-depth?

The QoS exam goes a lot more in depth than the ONT did. ONT did a great job of going over basic QoS configurations and concepts, but as Forsaken stated the QoS exam expands on the topics and adds much more depth. I don't remember reading much on ATM or Frame Relay considerations in ONT but then again, its been a while since I read it.

down77

Heading up to CPOC today which means I'll get at least 2 hours of reading time on the Airplane. I'm not expecting much study time this week due to the long days @ Cisco Labs but I should get quality time on the flight up/back!

On a side note, its a very morbid thought that I have to fly out today; the day of all days. Here is a prayer for everyone who lost their lives 10 years ago and for the hope that we continue to heal and progress forward as a united front. God Bless!

down77

Back from Raleigh and what a blast that was! I may have to do a write up on the CPOC experience but for now it's time for more QoS. I had access to phenomenal resources while at the Cisco Campus and every one of them encouraged me to continue on for my CCIE. A few of the SE's there spent time with me in the late afternoon reviewing the ins and outs of QoS best practices, tips, tricks, and overall good suggestions. The most important tip I got goes back to the Design studies... Plan > Do > Check > Act.

I'm reviewing the QoS layer 2 and best practice sections now and then finishing the week with labs. If all goes well I'll schedule the attempt for the end of next week when I'm back from being a road warrior.

lrb

Sounds like your going great for this exam man! I've just finished the QoS cert guide and finished labbing up to Queuing. I really want to knock this out before the end of next month so I can make a start on Juniper certs. We got a big bunch of SRX's and EX switches coming in and I thought I could knock out some exams while getting them deployed.

down77

Oooh! Those sound like some fun toys. A friend of mine is a Juniper Field Engineer and one of these days I'm going to hit him up for access to some of his equipment.

I should be finished with the QoS Cert Guide today and should have the labs done by this weekend. I have a few more flights coming up this week (Texas anyone?) where I'll get ~4hrs dedicated time to lab in Dynamips/GNS3. I just started putting together some Evernote workbooks to start saving configs/info/study tips/etc for long term review. I'm hoping this will help coming up for MPLS (one of 2 topics that kind of worry me).

After QoS is done, are you starting on the Written?

down77

Reading is now complete and its time for more hands on Labs, and INE video review. The exam has been scheduled for next tuesday. I'm hoping for some quality study time on the flights to/from my next engagement and also after hours in the hotel room.

zer0foo

Are you using any resources for the labs, or just mocking up your own in gns3?

lrb

down77 wrote: »

After QoS is done, are you starting on the Written?

Tempting as I have paid for Narbik's 5-day R&S bootcamp in Sydney AUS later this year but I probably won't go seriously into it until next year sometime. Work had the funds available for Cisco courses and I'm not interested in doing any of the other ones courses available. I'll probably get my arse handed to me on the bootcamp but I'm very much so looking forward to the challenge . I'll post a thread about my day-to-day experience on the week (although I hear the students don't get much downtime on his bootcamps!)

You'll have a blast studying for BGP and MPLS.. those two exams (and all of hte material I used to study for them) were the most fun I've had studying since I got into IT. The two topics topics work so well studying for them together too.. are you going to do the composite exam or do them individually? I personally did them individually and found it gave me more time to concentrate on individual topics for each exam. YMMV though.

Best of luck next Tuesday!

down77

zer0foo wrote: »

Are you using any resources for the labs, or just mocking up your own in gns3?

I've been using some of the INE QoS labs, GNS3-Labs, and yes even mocking up a number of scenarios on both physical gear and dynamips.

Here are some examples to lab up:
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/message/78917
http://gns3vault.com/Quality-of-Service-QOS/


Just a word to the wise... it's not a good idea to set up policing on netflix traffic when your wife is trying to stream some shows.

down77

lrb wrote: »

Tempting as I have paid for Narbik's 5-day R&S bootcamp in Sydney AUS later this year but I probably won't go seriously into it until next year sometime. Work had the funds available for Cisco courses and I'm not interested in doing any of the other ones courses available. I'll probably get my arse handed to me on the bootcamp but I'm very much so looking forward to the challenge . I'll post a thread about my day-to-day experience on the week (although I hear the students don't get much downtime on his bootcamps!)

You'll have a blast studying for BGP and MPLS.. those two exams (and all of hte material I used to study for them) were the most fun I've had studying since I got into IT. The two topics topics work so well studying for them together too.. are you going to do the composite exam or do them individually? I personally did them individually and found it gave me more time to concentrate on individual topics for each exam. YMMV though.

Best of luck next Tuesday!

Thank you! 790 or bust right? A pass is a pass is a pass afterall.

I've done a bit of BGP in previous positions but not as much MPLS implementation... I'm looking forward to it. I may actually do the composite exam rather than the individual ones to save a little $$$ to spend on other activities. The level of dedication and preparation will be the same as if I took them seperately and I do plan to spend enough time on both topics.

The Narbik 5-day R&S bootcamp should be a lot of fun! I was hoping to get work to pay for the Narbik 360 course sometime next year but it appears that may not be in their plans. I agree, it'll be a challenge but most definitely a fun one!

ITdude

down77 wrote: »

Just a word to the wise... it's not a good idea to set up policing on netflix traffic when your wife is trying to stream some shows.

Isn't that why they have Quikster (or whatever they are calling it now)?