The other day I was looking for a Cisco IOS 15 license matrix and was unable to find anything definitive and all that I was doing was trying to find out what services are enabled in different images. Granted, one can use the Feature Navigator to find out and compare, but sometimes we just need something quick and simple.
In IOS 15 there is a Base image, a Security Image, a Data Image, and a Unified Communications / Collaboration Image.  Each one has some common features, but for the most part each are different.  Below is a matrix that I was able to put together using the Cisco Feature Navigator and comparing all the images to each other.  If you would like an Excel version, you can click here

I had to remove the in-line matrix for the moment as it was just too big for WordPress to handle.  For now, just grab the link above.
Also, I think I need to check a few things with some of the other hardware out there.  I think the Cisco 3925e that I selected has much more features in the base code then say, a 2901 would have.  I will do an updated post shortly on some of the model comparisons and IOS feature matrix.
 
 

Just wanted to take a moment and let you know that as of today, I have made a quick change to the front page of the blog.
Historically when you visit the site you where presented with the full article on the front page – this has led to slow load times as well as an increase in bandwidth usage.  In order to try and 1) Save your time; 2) Reduce server load; and 3) Save bandwidth I have added a READ MORE AND COMMENT button to the posts.  Just click on the more and the full post will load.

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A few months ago (wow, has it been that long) I did a post on Cisco Live 2011 – Why you should go… and wanted to now follow that up with what you should expect while you are there as well as what you should bring with you.  If this is your first time I hope that this helps, if this is your 2nd, 3rd, etc time – please post in the comments with suggestions.  Each and every one of us experiences the event a little different, so sharing is always helpful and appreciated.
What do you need to bring with you for this event and what should you do to prepare?  Pack a good size suitcase and leave room!  You have the chance to get so many shirts, bags, whiz bangs, and other nick-knacks at World of Solutions you will need the space.  Not to mention if you shop at the Cisco Store there and get shirts, books, golf balls, pens, etc – you will need a place to take all that stuff back with you.  The first few years I would up shipping things back, and that does get expensive real quick!

 

Well this week I FINALLY got my FastMAC U-Socket power outlet – keep in mind I ordered it back in March of 2011 – only took about 3 months to get it.  I knew it was back ordered when I ordered it, but I honestly never expected it to take 3 months.  The company did nothing to my awareness to notify me of the status during those three months.  I finally had to call and ask for a status when I noticed the website was showing in-stock – but when I did call they did move me ahead in the queue for shipment and I got them about  a week later.  Now that they are in-stock there, that fiasco should not happen to anyone else (chalk it up to wanting to be one of the first).  The only thing I am a little sore on is the shipping – even after all that time I was still had to pay to have them shipped. I would have been happy with a coupon equal to the shipping charge, oh-well – no big deal to be honest – the wait was worth it!
_**

 
This post is more of an informative post with regards to what tools I tend to use on a regular basis in my job.  Recently, Stretch wrote about what was in his tool bag over on PacketLife.Net .  He has some GREAT information over there beside just that post, so if you have never visited you should wander over there when you have time.
 
For the most part I tend to use the many of the same tools he discussed, but figured it would be nice to share what I have in my bag. So, without further typing, here we go!
Note:  If you click on the pictures it will take you to a link to where you can either get the tool or a similar tool if the one I had is no longer availablee

This is probably my most used tool when I do not have to make cables.  It contains just about every nut, bolt, and screw that you will find in a data center.  It is easy to use, quick to find, and very versatile. No need to separate screw drivers or pliers, just grab this and you are good to go!

Network Warrior – 2nd Edition

Recently, O’Reilly published the long awaited Network Warrior 2nd Edition by Gary Donahue (aka GAD).  This was a much anticipated update since technology has changed since the original publication back in 2007.  I am glad to see the inclusion of the Cisco ASA, Cisco Nexus, and IPv6, and Voice – as well as a few others.  Most (if not all) of the examples in the book are shown in different Cisco languages – CatOS, IOS, and also NX-OS.  These examples are great for helping the ready to understand and see the differences ( as well as the evolution ) of the codes.  

There has been some interesting discussions on configuration differences with IOS and JUNOS on Twitter the past few days.  One of the biggest things has been the inclusion of a Rollback command in JUNOS; and to be perfectly honest, that has to be one of the best commands that JUNOS has!
In case you are not familiar with it, in JUNOS if you submit a change and then enter commit confirm (default 10 minutes), the router will not “save” the configuration change until you commit the change again.  This way if you make a change, lock yourself out of the device, it will revert to the previous configuration and you should have your access back.
(some housekeeping)
Router/Switch Output
Commands
Notes

[edit]
user@host# commit confirmed
commit confirmed will be automatically rolled back in 10 minutes unless confirmed
commit complete
#commit confirmed will be rolled back in 10 minutes
By entering commit again, the change will become permenant
[edit]
user@host# commit

Now, what about IOS?  Well, typically we do the reload in x command before we make a change, but is there another way?  Well, yes there is!  We have the archive command and the config replace command string that will perform a similar function to to the JUNOS command and less drastic then the reload in command.
So, lets first cover the archive command.
The archive command allows you to make an archive of the config either over a time-period (say 1440 minutes) or when the write-memory command is initiated.  The archive can be stored in flash, tftp, ftp, or a few other places. To setup archiving:
Rack1R2#conf t
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
To enter the archive config, enter the archive command
Rack1R2(config)#archive
From there, you need to tell it 1) where to store the file and 2) what to call it.
Here it will be flash:/archive with a name of Rollback
Rack1R2(config-archive)#path flash:/archive/Rollback
Here I tell it to archive the previous config whenever the write-memory command is executed
Rack1R2(config-archive)#write-memory
Also, I might as well make sure that we back it up once a day at a minimum.  Range is from 1 minute to 525600 minutes (1 year)
Rack1R2(config-archive)#time-period ?
<1-525600>  Number of minutes to wait between archive creation
Rack1R2(config-archive)#time-period 1440
Rack1R2(config-archive)#
Now, if we look at the flash:/archive/ folder, what will we see?  Lets look (I already have some saved in memory)
Rack1R2#dir flash:archive
Directory of flash:/archive/
17  -rw-        1806   Jun 3 2011 19:34:16 +00:00  Rollback-2
18  -rw-        1806   Jun 3 2011 19:35:02 +00:00  Rollback-3
16  -rw-        1744   Jun 3 2011 19:31:54 +00:00  Rollback-1
512057344 bytes total (328622080 bytes free)
Rack1R2#
As you can see, we have a few files there, each appended with a number (call it revision with highest being most recent). To check, use the show archive command
Rack1R2#show archive
There are currently 4 archive configurations saved.
The next archive file will be named flash:/archive/Rollback-4
Archive #  Name

1       flash:/archive/Rollback-1
2       flash:/archive/Rollback-2
3       flash:/archive/Rollback-3 <- Most Recent
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Rack1R2#
So, what does all this mean and how does this relate to the commit confirm command in Junos?  Good question!  Here we go!
So, when you need to do a change, just execute the archive config command prior to the change.  That will create a snapshot of the existing config in the archive directory.
Rack1R2#archive config

Lets take a look and see what revision we have saved:
Rack1R2#show archive
There are currently 5 archive configurations saved.
The next archive file will be named flash:/archive/Rollback-5
Archive #  Name

1       flash:/archive/Rollback-1
2       flash:/archive/Rollback-2
3       flash:/archive/Rollback-3
4       flash:/archive/Rollback-4 <- Most Recent
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Rack1R2#
Now, there is another command that we need to know about – its the configure replace command!  We can use that similar to the commit confirm command because of the archive command.
Rack1R2#configure replace flash:archive/Rollback-4 time 60
That is all good – lets test the command!
 
I have R1 and R2 configured like the diagram below, connected via Frame-Relay and all interfaces are in RIPv2

Here is the routing table and interface status on R2:
Rack1R2#sh ip route
Codes: C – connected, S – static, R – RIP, M – mobile, B – BGP
D – EIGRP, EX – EIGRP external, O – OSPF, IA – OSPF inter area
N1 – OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 – OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 – OSPF external type 1, E2 – OSPF external type 2
i – IS-IS, su – IS-IS summary, L1 – IS-IS level-1, L2 – IS-IS level-2
ia – IS-IS inter area, * – candidate default, U – per-user static route
o – ODR, P – periodic downloaded static route
Gateway of last resort is not set
150.1.0.0/16 is variably subnetted, 4 subnets, 2 masks
R       150.1.1.1/32 [120/1] via 150.1.12.1, 00:00:23, Serial4/0.1
C       150.1.12.0/24 is directly connected, Serial4/0.1
R       150.1.11.0/24 [120/1] via 150.1.12.1, 00:00:23, Serial4/0.1
R       150.1.111.1/32 [120/1] via 150.1.12.1, 00:00:23, Serial4/0.1
150.2.0.0/32 is subnetted, 3 subnets
C       150.2.222.2 is directly connected, Loopback2
C       150.2.22.2 is directly connected, Loopback1
C       150.2.2.2 is directly connected, Loopback0
Rack1R2#sh ip int br | ex un
Interface                  IP-Address      OK? Method Status                Protocol
Serial4/0.1                150.1.12.2      YES manual up                    up
Loopback0                  150.2.2.2       YES manual up                    up
Loopback1                  150.2.22.2      YES manual up                    up
Loopback2                  150.2.222.2     YES manual up                    up
Rack1R2#
Here is the same information for R1
Rack1R1#sh ip route
Codes: C – connected, S – static, R – RIP, M – mobile, B – BGP
D – EIGRP, EX – EIGRP external, O – OSPF, IA – OSPF inter area
N1 – OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 – OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 – OSPF external type 1, E2 – OSPF external type 2
i – IS-IS, su – IS-IS summary, L1 – IS-IS level-1, L2 – IS-IS level-2
ia – IS-IS inter area, * – candidate default, U – per-user static route
o – ODR, P – periodic downloaded static route
Gateway of last resort is not set
150.1.0.0/16 is variably subnetted, 4 subnets, 2 masks
C       150.1.1.1/32 is directly connected, Loopback0
C       150.1.12.0/24 is directly connected, Serial4/0.1
C       150.1.11.0/24 is directly connected, Loopback1
C       150.1.111.1/32 is directly connected, Loopback2
150.2.0.0/32 is subnetted, 3 subnets
R       150.2.222.2 [120/1] via 150.1.12.2, 00:00:12, Serial4/0.1
R       150.2.22.2 [120/1] via 150.1.12.2, 00:00:12, Serial4/0.1
R       150.2.2.2 [120/1] via 150.1.12.2, 00:00:13, Serial4/0.1
Rack1R1#sh ip int br | ex un
Interface                  IP-Address      OK? Method Status                Protocol
Serial4/0.1                150.1.12.1      YES manual up                    up
Loopback0                  150.1.1.1       YES manual up                    up
Loopback1                  150.1.11.1      YES manual up                    up
Loopback2                  150.1.111.1     YES manual up                    up
Rack1R1#
Lets test the connectivity by PINGing R2 Loopback 2 from R1 Loopback2
Rack1R1#ping 150.2.222.2 so lo2
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 150.2.222.2, timeout is 2 seconds:
Packet sent with a source address of 150.1.111.1
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 56/57/60 ms
Rack1R1#
Good, now lets test the config replace command (IOS Rollback)
First, we will archive the config
Rack1R2#archive config
Now lets see what archives we have:
Rack1R2#sh archive
There are currently 6 archive configurations saved.
The next archive file will be named flash:/archive/Rollback-6
Archive #  Name

1       flash:/archive/Rollback-1
2       flash:/archive/Rollback-2
3       flash:/archive/Rollback-3
4       flash:/archive/Rollback-4
5       flash:/archive/Rollback-5 <- Most Recent
[– SNIP –]

Ok, Rollback-5 is the most recent.
Now on R1 we will start a 1000 packet ping
Rack1R1#ping 150.2.222.2 so lo2 repeat 100
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 1000, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 150.2.222.2, timeout is 2 seconds:
Packet sent with a source address of 150.1.111.1
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now that we have that started, lets move on
Now, on R2 we will execute the configure replace command, set the timer to 60 seconds, then shut down the Serial 4/0 (frame-relay) interface
Rack1R2#configure replace flash:/archive/Rollback-5 time 60
Timed Rollback: Backing up to flash:/archive/Rollback-7
It will now ask you to make sure you want to do this – checks and balances
This will apply all necessary additions and deletions
to replace the current running configuration with the
contents of the specified configuration file, which is
assumed to be a complete configuration, not a partial
configuration. Enter Y if you are sure you want to proceed. ? [no]: Y
Total number of passes: 0
Rollback Done
*Jun  3 21:43:22.026: Rollback:Acquired Configuration lock.
Rack1R2#conf t
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
Rack1R2(config)#int ser 4/0
Rack1R2(config-if)#shut
Rack1R2(config-if)#
*Jun  3 21:43:28.274: %LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface Serial4/0, changed state to administratively down
*Jun  3 21:43:29.274: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Serial4/0, changed state to down
Rack1R2(config-if)
Hmm, if we look at the ping that we have going on R1 we see that it can no longer PING R2
Rack1R1#ping 150.2.222.2 so lo2 repeat 1000
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 1000, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 150.2.222.2, timeout is 2 seconds:
Packet sent with a source address of 150.1.111.1
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!………………………….
……..
Lets wait…. there, the config just rolled back on R2 and R1 can PING again!
Rack1R1#ping 150.2.222.2 so lo2 repeat 1000
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 1000, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 150.2.222.2, timeout is 2 seconds:
Packet sent with a source address of 150.1.111.1
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!………………………….
…………………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Success rate is 94 percent (948/1000), round-trip min/avg/max = 56/57/240 ms
Rack1R1#
So what happened on R2?  Here is the output on the console:
Rack1R2(config-if)#Timed Rollback: rolling to:flash:/archive/Rollback-7
!Pass 1
Neat, it will show you the commands it is about to enter!

!List of Commands:
interface Serial4/0
no shutdown
end
Total number of passes: 1
Rollback Done
*Jun  3 21:44:22.218: Rollback:Acquired Configuration lock.
Rack1R2(config-if)#
*Jun  3 21:44:22.778: %PARSER-3-CONFIGNOTLOCKED: Unlock requested by process ’21’. Configuration not locked.
Rack1R2(config-if)#
*Jun  3 21:44:24.586: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface Serial4/0, changed state to up
*Jun  3 21:44:25.586: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Serial4/0, changed state to up
Rack1R2(config-if)#
If all is good after your change and you need to not roll-back, just issue the command configure confirm and it will cancel the rollback._
_
Rack1R2#configure confirm
 
If you already issued that command, you will get the following output:
Rack1R2#configure confirm
%No timed rollback pending
Rack1R2#
Not as simple as the JUNOS commands, but is still valuable in the IOS world!
 
R1 Config Here
R2 Config Here
 

Enterprise Network Testing

 
Let me start off by saying that this is not the “normal” Cisco Press book where you learn technologies; no with this book you actually see how to use what you have learned and ways to approach the testing of those technologies.   This book covers the often neglected part of what we do, proper testing and planning.  It is refreshing to be able to read a book like this, it is heavy on the acronyms, but that is almost expected for a Cisco Press book anyways!
The book is divided into three main parts.  Part 1 – Introduction to Enterprise Network Testing, Part 2 – Case Studies, and Part 3 – Test plans.
Part 1 reviews the basics of business cases, network life-cycles, testing and lab strategies, test approach, and finally, executing a test plan.  The Network Life-cycle is something that we know about but never tend to look at.  Not that we intentionally ignore it or anything, but I think most shops run a bit slim in the Network Engineering group and tend to have to support the business as well as take care of current projects.   It is sometimes nice just to be able and sit back and follow the PPDIOO, but alas those times are few and far between.  Below is a diagram that can act as a friendly reminder that we should do that more often then we do today.  Perhaps the material in this book is something that can help each of us remind the senior management about this process and they might start to understand the benefits that this approach can bring.

 
 
When it comes to the case studies of this book, they are some amazing studies!  They are not the small networks that you would think, they are larger networks and show you the thought that is behind the design phase. It can help you to understand the bigger picture of a design as well as provide a sheltered approach to larger network designs.  It is not everyday that we need to design a large MPLS network for a company, but if we ever need to support one we might have a better understanding of what we are looking at. The case studies walk you though the process discussed above, so you can start to see the actual application of the concepts – and thus be able to gain a better understanding of them.
The last part, Part 3, is all test plans.  These are very nice reference materials that can be looked back upon when you are designing.  They can help you to formulate your own test plans, and by referencing back you can make sure you do not miss anything.  There are numerous plans for different technologies – from DMVPN/GetVPN to Nexus to Wide Area Application Services.  They cover the whole 10 yards of information – everything you need to think about is there!
 
There are a few other gems in this book that surprised me.  When you think of testing a network, typically you take a router and use it for a single function.  In the beginning of this book they show you how to make 1 router into 100 routers in a relatively simple fashion.  I have done small scales of this in the past, but the way that they covered this approach was easy to understand and comprehend.  Another gem was the mention of the little know service, chargen, and how to use it in your test scenarios.  We very nice to see that mentioned – need to remember to use that one from time to time as I forgot about it!
Overall this is a very good book – one that I am glad is now in my Cisco Press library!
 

There was some quick conversation on Twitter this morning about the CCIE Lab being available during Cisco Live 2011.  Well, after some digging around I was able to find a copy of the ad that talks about the availability of the lab.  Based on what the ad says, seats are available on July 9th and July 10th only.  This lab can only be scheduled via the Cisco Live registration site, below are the instructions on how to schedule.
I have to say that this is a long time coming, and lets hope they continue this with – say – the CCDE!?!?  It does not say what CCIE labs will be available, and my best guess would be R&S only at this time.
UPDATE – 5/31 – It is my understanding (from a beautiful source) that the following CCIE Labs will be available:

 
Welcome to the new site!  I have recently moved the site from the WordPress hosted site so a new location.  This site is now reachable via blog.fryguy.net or www.fryguy.net, www.fryguy.net being the preferred method going forward.  I still need to finish up a few things here and there, but all the posts have been moved with all their content – so we should be good to go!
Why did I move it you may ask, well I just felt it was time to be able to branch out a bit.  I can now host video, flash, or anything else that suit my readers.
So, if you have any suggestions or ideas – just let me know!  Also, if you find any problems – please let me know so that I can correct them quickly.
Thank you, and again – Welcome!