No problem, i have a pretty elaborate setup at home and I only included the relevant lab stuff. I actually have gear in my basement so I'm not next to the noise and have multiple vlans on my home network to trunk lab traffic around.
On other disclaimer - I have a lot of background deploying/supporting ESXi in a production environment so I'm very familiar with virtual hardware, software, networking, etc. For folks that do NOT have a similar professional background with virtualization my advice would be to keep it simple - use a spare laptop/desktop/server and run esxi and be done with it. My laptop setup took a while to get fine tuned and have only had it setup this way in the last 6 months of studying (the first 9 months i had gear in my office, some vms on mac, some on external ESXi, it was a mess and too loud). Fusion/player isn't too hard in itself and is simplified by not trying to connect multiple networks like I did with my home wifi and lab concurrently - if you can't get it working just turn off your wifi, hard wire into the switch and assidn a static IP (or build a dhcp scope on hq router or switch) - don't worry about internet while you're labbing. I actually just passed my lab this week! I will be migrating to the collab using the written and haven't given much thought about the "new" lab (aka voice v4 using CUCM 9 or 10 with some video). For those writing off the current voice blueprint (due to no more seats) I would recommend getting at least one ISR G2 with PVDM3 and 3 9971 phones. The major difference here is that the PVDM3 chips can actually be used as a video conference bridge, for example 3 9971 phones. Also get familiar with current IOS like 15.1M/T and 15.2M/T, although there are tons of new features I don't know how many are voice/video related (there's now a trust list for h323/sip dial-peers, by default no IPs are trusted). Video conf reference for ISR G2: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6790/gatecont/ps4952/qa_c67-649850.html The collab blueprint doesn't include the TelePresence products (VCS, TMS, etc) so I would expect that configure a SIP trunk to a "cloud video controller" (aka VCS) would be fair game. The good news is this is very similar to build a "cloud SIP trunk" right now on current blueprint - build the trunk and the router group/list/pattern and you're done. bandwidth and codecs are controlled thru locations/regions just like with audio. Time will tell but I would estimate the at least 75% of knowledge gained from studying voice v3 will translate to collab v1 - no one knows *exactly* what will be dropped (frame relay?) and what will be added (video phones). I'm not sure if IPexpert has materials for collab at the moment, but I thought I saw holiday sales on their training that said if you buy voice v3 then you will get collab v1 materials for no additional cost. I've been stuck in CUCM 7.0 for so long I have been avoiding CUCM 9, but now I'm looking forward to it. Do a google search for "new features in cucm 9" and consider whether those would be potential new test questions. The big one I would expect is enhanced-locations-CAC and possibly native CUCM call queuing. I would expect CCX to stick around, but native call queuing could likely replace (or compliment) B-ACD. I have learned a lot from this study group and will keep an eye on it for a while to help everyone still pressing on towards CCIE Voice/Collab. It was a long journey for me and this study group definitely on several occaisions - I plan to pay it forward and I hope the rest of you that WILL PASS will do the same for future candidates. Good luck! On Thu, Dec 12, 2013 at 8:34 AM, <wilson.sam...@bt.com> wrote: > Thanks Justin for the post. > > I have had used the Dell Precision 390 with 16 G RAM, however the noise > and the power consumption is just bit crazy and the second most important > aspect is that, one can be mobile with Mac Pro, not a doable situation with > fat cat server. > > Btw, have you already passed your Lab? > > If you are in case preparing for the Collab version, I wanted to know if > there are IPExpert is already providing the training for it and what about > the lab network layout for the same. > > Regards > Sam Wilson > > ------------------------------ > *From:* ccie_voice-boun...@onlinestudylist.com [ > ccie_voice-boun...@onlinestudylist.com] On Behalf Of Justin Carney [ > justin.s.car...@gmail.com] > *Sent:* Thursday, December 12, 2013 8:24 AM > *To:* Chrysostomos Christofi > *Cc:* ccie_voice@onlinestudylist.com, (ccie_voice@onlinestudylist.com) > > *Subject:* Re: [OSL | CCIE_Voice] CCIE Lab Prep via VMware > > I have been using an older macbook pro with 16gb to run my vms on > fusion. (I was running the officially supported 8gb max up until 2 months > ago when I got a 16gb kit on amazon for $150) > > I use the physical ethernet port in bridged mode (ie no nat, vms have > layer 2 access to the eth0 port) for all vms and have my physical switch > (hq switch) directly connected. All routers are behind the access switch > and when I practice lan qos I just use an unused switchport since my "pc" > port is also my "server" port. > > On my mac I also have wifi enabled and that has a default route. The phys > eth0 port has a static ip (same subnet as my vms) but NO default route. I > use the mac os x terminal app (think cmd prompt on a pc) to add static > routes to all vm/lab subnets to use the eth0 while general internet traffic > uses wifi default route. In this setup I *could* access gui from mac > (ffox, safari, chrome) to cucm but latley I have used an xp vm full screen > on an external monitor for my mock labs...to avoid nuances in my mac os x > (non-ie browsers and terminal) versus the win xp (ie and putty) when you > sit the real lab. > > If you're willing to spend the cash I highly recommend using hard phones > (I just use 7961) and your own switch and routers. The reason I used my > laptop rather than a beefy server was because I can take the vms with me > anywhere and practice the gui sections while at work or travelling. (I > could also use softphones to practice using only my laptop, just like some > of the ipexpert bls demo videos.) I think newer versions of fusion let you > build a loopback interface for the mac but I actually built an rj45 > loopback plug for my physical ethernet port (on a mac the static ip on the > physical eth port is only "up" when it is connected to a switch...or my > loopback plug). > > Regarding vm sizing, fusion (and the free vmware player for pc) does NOT > allow you to oversubscribe you ram. If you have 6 vms with 2gb vram each > you must have 6*2=12gb ram on the mac...right now I can run 6 vms all > together: > -pub 1.5gb > -sub .75gb > -cuc 1gb > -ccx 2gb (it doesn't work right for me after change ram post install of > app) > -cups 1gb > -win xp 2gb > > When I had 8gb previously I could run them all but it was near 100% ram > usage on the mac and it slowed to a crawl so I would only run one of the > apps (cuc, ccx, or cups) at a time or even shutdown the sub if needed. > > Bottom line is practice whatever way works for you within your budget. I > needed to be mobile so I used my laptop. If I had a dedicated rack and > phones at work I would have used a server there instead and just vpn/rdp > while remote. > > On windows laptop vmware player would be very similar - 8gb is do-able, > but 16gb is ideal. I think the paid version of vmware workstation (under > 100 I think) may let you oversuvscribe ram. If using a random server with > esxi (or esxi on a vm inside fusion or player), you can oversubscribe ram > but I wouldn't recommend it. Either way you connect your esxi server or > laptop to a physical switch. Someone else suggested using the 3750 poe for > all phones and skipping the esw wic and nm modules-I agree those aren't > anything fancy just use the 3750 and config site b and c as trunk ports > instead if avvess ports. > > Hope this helps... > > -Justin > > (Sent from my phone, please excuse and/or laugh at any typos.) > On Dec 12, 2013 7:49 AM, "Chrysostomos Christofi" < > ch.christ...@logicom.net> wrote: > >> Hi >> >> >> >> >> >> Actually I mean about switch and router >> >> >> >> *From:* Bennajer Isidro [mailto:bennajer.isi...@outlook.com] >> *Sent:* Thursday, December 12, 2013 2:38 PM >> *To:* Chrysostomos Christofi >> *Cc:* wilson.sam...@bt.com; kstap...@cisco.com; josh.pe...@gmail.com; >> ccie_voice@onlinestudylist.com >> *Subject:* Re: [OSL | CCIE_Voice] CCIE Lab Prep via VMware >> >> >> >> I just started my voice study. Currently im running all my equipment in >> virtual environment. To install all uc server. U can try to dl vmplayer >> then install esxi inside of it. >> >> >> On 12 Dec, 2013, at 20:15, "Chrysostomos Christofi" < >> ch.christ...@logicom.net> wrote: >> >> Hi >> >> >> >> Could you pls advice how to run a switch and router into vm workstation? >> >> >> >> *From:* ccie_voice-boun...@onlinestudylist.com [ >> mailto:ccie_voice-boun...@onlinestudylist.com<ccie_voice-boun...@onlinestudylist.com>] >> *On Behalf Of *wilson.sam...@bt.com >> *Sent:* Thursday, December 12, 2013 1:09 PM >> *To:* kstap...@cisco.com; josh.pe...@gmail.com >> *Cc:* ccie_voice@onlinestudylist.com >> *Subject:* Re: [OSL | CCIE_Voice] CCIE Lab Prep via VMware >> >> >> >> Hi Kenneth, >> >> >> >> I have used VMWare Workstation ver 8 ( I am not very sure what version I >> am running for the last 1 year) but VMWare Workstation works fine, no >> issues at all. However, there is one catch, and that is, one is at the >> mercy of the Host OS's resource allocations (CPUs, Memory etc) and that >> tends to slow down the installation in most of the times (I have an old >> Dual Xeon, 16 GB Mem with 500G + 1 TB HDD on which I run these beasts) the >> Host OS is Win XP 64 Bit and it works, though I can run almost 5 VMs in >> parallel, it becomes slow, thanks to the XP >> >> >> BUT, just last sunday I saw my colleague running OS X on his Mac Pro >> Notebook, with 4 VMs (with UC 7.0 Servers) and Call of Duty and 2 Windows >> Server 2003 VMs without ANY hint of slowing down the system or turning it >> into an oven. >> >> That experience makes me believe that, its much better to go for a Mac >> Pro (16 GB ver or whatever the max is allowed) and play whatever you like >> on it, with the help of VMWare Fusion (thats what he is running). >> >> I am pretty sure, this setup is worth it, if it works easy, because just >> 2 run any machine with 2 CPUs (with Cooling and HDD incl) can make a good >> size hole whenever the electricity bill comes due :-| >> >> >> >> Let us know which road you are taking, I am almost certain to go with the >> Mac Pro route. >> >> >> >> Regards >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> *From:* ccie_voice-boun...@onlinestudylist.com [ >> ccie_voice-boun...@onlinestudylist.com] On Behalf Of Kenneth Staples >> (kstaples) [kstap...@cisco.com] >> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 10, 2013 9:25 PM >> *To:* Josh Petro >> *Cc:* ccie_voice@onlinestudylist.com >> *Subject:* Re: [OSL | CCIE_Voice] CCIE Lab Prep via VMware >> >> Thanks for sharing that valuable info Josh. Me and my peers were speaking >> about that exact thing (having the routers and switches. I'll make sure and >> use the ESXi over the desktop version. Thanks again. >> >> >> >> >> >> Kenneth Staples (Shift 7am – 4pm CST) >> Customer Support Engineer >> Cisco RMS - Unified Communications >> kstap...@cisco.com <https://webmail.bt.com/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx> >> >> Phone: +1 512 340 3143 >> CCNOC = 866-777-6269 >> GVNOC = 866-643-9428 >> TelePresence = (888) 654-9113 >> Cisco Systems, Inc. >> 9500 Amberglen Blvd. >> United States >> Cisco.com - http://www.cisco.com >> >> This email may contain confidential and privileged material for the sole >> use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure >> by others is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient (or >> authorized to receive for the recipient), please contact the sender by >> reply email and delete all copies of this message. >> >> For corporate legal information go to: >> http://www.cisco.com/web/about/doing_business/legal/cri/index.html >> >> >> >> *From: *Josh Petro <josh.pe...@gmail.com> >> *Date: *Tuesday, December 10, 2013 8:21 PM >> *To: *Kenneth Staples <kstap...@cisco.com> >> *Cc: *"ccie_voice@onlinestudylist.com" <ccie_voice@onlinestudylist.com> >> *Subject: *Re: [OSL | CCIE_Voice] CCIE Lab Prep via VMware >> >> >> >> If you're serious about studying, I would avoid the desktop version and >> go with ESXi and a good, reliable machine. You'll be fighting fatigue, the >> labs and learning new stuff, so adding troubleshooting a VMware Desktop >> issue will only frustrate you unnecessarily. >> >> I have 7961's and they were fine. I would recommend getting two 9900 >> series phones if you can so you can simulate video. Trust me, having the >> phones, gateways and switch will help a ton. Also, just find a 3750 switch >> and forget the router switch-modules. It's much easier and you'll still >> learn the needed commands. Just make sure you pay attention to the commands >> for those switch-modules (for VLAN setup, etc.) when studying. >> >> >> >> Anyone else, please feel free to comment. >> >> >> >> Josh >> >> >> >> On Tue, Dec 10, 2013 at 2:13 PM, Kenneth Staples (kstaples) < >> kstap...@cisco.com> wrote: >> >> Thanks josh. I've been hearing that the VMWare desktop should be all >> that's needed with the exception of some physical routers/switches for the >> branch sites and phones of course. The the Lab requirements for the new >> Collab IE, what more equipment may be needed….or will your current set up >> be sufficient? Might need additional phones of course for video. Thanks >> >> >> >> >> >> Kenneth Staples (Shift 7am – 4pm CST) >> Customer Support Engineer >> Cisco RMS - Unified Communications >> kstap...@cisco.com >> >> Phone: +1 512 340 3143 >> CCNOC = 866-777-6269 >> GVNOC = 866-643-9428 >> TelePresence = (888) 654-9113 >> Cisco Systems, Inc. >> 9500 Amberglen Blvd. >> United States >> Cisco.com - http://www.cisco.com >> >> This email may contain confidential and privileged material for the sole >> use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure >> by others is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient (or >> authorized to receive for the recipient), please contact the sender by >> reply email and delete all copies of this message. >> >> For corporate legal information go to: >> http://www.cisco.com/web/about/doing_business/legal/cri/index.html >> >> >> >> *From: *Josh Petro <josh.pe...@gmail.com> >> *Date: *Tuesday, December 10, 2013 12:37 PM >> *To: *Kenneth Staples <kstap...@cisco.com> >> *Cc: *"ccie_voice@onlinestudylist.com" <ccie_voice@onlinestudylist.com> >> *Subject: *Re: [OSL | CCIE_Voice] CCIE Lab Prep via VMware >> >> >> >> Kenneth >> >> I run my entire lab on ESXi 5.1 in demo mode. Saves having to purchase >> since this is lab anyhow. Just shutdown the VMs and the host when you're >> don't for the day and you'll get some time out of it. I have a dell >> workstation with a Xeon processor with 6 cores and 24gb RAM. The more >> important equipment is the routers. I did two attempts on the voice lab and >> having the routers makes a huge difference for home studying. For >> collaboration, you can get by with most of the 2800/3800 features until a >> 2900/3900 is available on the cheap. >> >> Josh >> >> On Tuesday, December 10, 2013, Kenneth Staples (kstaples) wrote: >> >> I wanted to ask if there is anyone out there preparing for the Voice >> CCIE lab using a VM server for the all UC servers involved and maybe even >> for the routers/switches as well? I could understand if your running all >> the UC servers on one VM server and the routers/switches that are needed >> are seperate from the VM. >> >> >> >> The reason I ask is because I'd like to see if it's possible to study >> convenient from my home (without having run 4 to 5 servers) rather than >> coming into the office to study for the lab. Ideally, I'd like to have one >> VM server running all UC nodes, and maybe a couple of routers/switches (non >> VM if necessary) and of course the physical phones to run from my home for >> easy/convenience of studying and less equipment as possible. However, I'm >> not sure if this is possible. Thanks in advance for your response. >> >> >> >> >> >> Kenneth Staples (Shift 7am – 4pm CST) >> Customer Support Engineer >> Cisco RMS - Unified Communications >> kstap...@cisco.com >> >> Phone: +1 512 340 3143 >> CCNOC = 866-777-6269 >> GVNOC = 866-643-9428 >> TelePresence = (888) 654-9113 >> Cisco Systems, Inc. >> 9500 Amberglen Blvd. >> United States >> Cisco.com - http://www.cisco.com >> >> This email may contain confidential and privileged material for the sole >> use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure >> by others is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient (or >> authorized to receive for the recipient), please contact the sender by >> reply email and delete all copies of this message. >> >> For corporate legal information go to: >> http://www.cisco.com/web/about/doing_business/legal/cri/index.html >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Free CCIE R&S, Collaboration, Data Center, Wireless & Security Videos :: >> >> iPexpert on YouTube: www.youtube.com/ipexpertinc >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Free CCIE R&S, Collaboration, Data Center, Wireless & Security Videos :: >> >> iPexpert on YouTube: www.youtube.com/ipexpertinc >> >
_______________________________________________ Free CCIE R&S, Collaboration, Data Center, Wireless & Security Videos :: iPexpert on YouTube: www.youtube.com/ipexpertinc
