Lab 14 done. INE Vol 1 - 2nd pass.

Lab 14 - Back to Back VRFs - Let's say you have 2 different Service Providers you want to leverage in order to get reachability between 2 remote sites. One way the 2 service providers can still utilize MPLS is to create a peering point between 2 PE routers. Lab 14, goes into using 2 PE routers, 1 per provider, and establishing multiple interfaces for multiple VRF route exchange. So, after putting a sub-interface into a vrf, you'll have to ipv4 vrf bgp peer to the other providers PE. In this lab, the other thing to recognize is that the VRF stays consists/uniform as it traverses through both providers, same route-target and Route distinguishers are used. However, if you wanted to export and import different route targets, you should be able to do that as well.

Lab 13 done. INE Vol 1 - 2nd pass.

Lab 13 - MPLS VPNs with VPNv4 Route Reflection - pretty straight forward, under the vpnv4 address family in bgp you designate the neighbors you want as Route-Reflector-Clients. Similar to ipv4 route-reflector-clients. To deny IPv4 bgp route exchange, under the address-family ipv4, do a 'no nei a.b.c.d activate' to turn off ipv4.

Labs 9, 10, 11, and 12 done. INE Vol 1 - 2nd pass.

9- VRF Export Maps - basically using a route-map to classify a prefix/subnet and setting a extcommunity RT.

10- BGP SOO - Pretty similar to an Export Map but instead of setting RT in a route-map setting extcommunity SOO and applying the route-map to a bgp neighbor

11- OSPF Sham Links - Because OSPF will always prefer Intra area routes, when there's a backdoor link between 2 remote sites, the MPLS connectivity isn't used for the intersite communications unless a OSPF Sham link is created between the 2 PEs. Similar to a virtual link in syntax, just remember to advertise the Loopbacks your using to create the sham link into BGP (red connected) for reachability

12- OSPF and Domain-id - using individual processes on a per site basis and individual VRFs, you can still achieve site to site communications or restrict via a OSPF domain id and the proper import/export of route-targets.

Labs 6, 7, and 8 done. INE Vol 1 - 2nd pass.

Lab 6 - MPLS VPNs with eBGP, straight forward, don't need any redistribution into BGP VPNv4, an administrative benefit of using eBGP as the CE-PE protocol.

Lab 7 - Central Services MPLS VPNs, need to be careful on what to route-targets to import and export, be specific and only include the ones you need.

Lab 8 - MPLS VPNs with Extranet, using an additional route-target to connect CEs in 2 different MPLS VPNs together. By using a second route-target import/export you can create an overlapping VPN between 2 or more CEs.

Labs 4 and 5 done. INE Vol 1 - 2nd pass.

Lab 4 - MPLS VPNs with OSPF
- Pretty straight forward, use "router ospf XXX vrf YYY"


Lab 5 - MPLS VPNs with EIGRP
- Not as straight forward for me, use a main EIGRP process then use address-families, don't forget to include an "autonomous-system XXX" in the address family.

Good to do these two labs back to back because you get to see the difference in how VRFs are handled.

Labs 1,2, and 3 done. INE Vol 1 - 2nd pass.

Decided to Vol 1 again from both vendors, 2nd time around is much easier but still tripping up on some silly mistakes.

I was able to do labs 1, 2, and 3 in a matter of an hour. I still made the silly mistake of not specifying bgp next-hop-self between the PEs... It's funny how quickly I forget, I even made a note of this at the end of lab 1 during my first pass.

on to the next one.

1 Year as a CCIE.

In three days, it'll be one full year since I got my numbers in R&S. Like many other bloggers, it a good time to reflect.

What's changed in the last year?
- My job, although with the same company, I've transitioned from a Pre-Sales Engineer to a Post Sales Engineer, augmenting the customer's staff by being on site and being responsible for primarily their WAN devices.
- Opportunities, I've had doors open and opportunities present themselves that had I not gotten my CCIE, I don't think I'd be considered or offered.
- Confidence and Understanding, the last year has been a growth experience within myself. I'm more confident in what I do and where I want to be.

I'm looking forward to the remainder of 2010, I'm pursuing another track, albeit much slower. And who knows what the future has in store?