Introduction:

The world of telecommunications is rapidly evolving, and service providers are continuously seeking innovative technologies to enhance network performance, scalability, and security. Cisco’s IOS XR and ASR 9000 Series routers are at the forefront of this technological evolution, providing robust solutions for service providers who demand high-performance routing platforms and advanced software capabilities.

The Libyan Academy for Telecom and Informatics has identified a need for a comprehensive training program that covers the Cisco IOS XR and ASR9K technologies. This program is designed to equip your team with the necessary skills to effectively implement, manage, and troubleshoot Cisco’s advanced networking technologies. By participating in this training, your organization will gain deep insights into Cisco IOS XR’s architecture, routing protocols, hardware configurations, and the best practices for maintaining network security and scalability.

Objectives:

Develop Expertise in Cisco IOS XR:

  • Understand the architecture, features, and capabilities of Cisco IOS XR.
  • Learn how to install, configure, and manage IOS XR software in a service provider environment.

Master ASR 9000 Series Routers:

  • Gain practical knowledge of ASR9K hardware components and configurations.
  • Learn to troubleshoot common hardware and software issues associated with ASR 9000 routers.

Enhance Routing Protocol Knowledge:

  • Deep dive into advanced routing protocols such as OSPF and BGP, with a focus on service provider networks.
  • Learn to optimize routing performance through route maps, policy controls, and route redistribution techniques.

Improve Network Security and Scalability:

  • Implement robust security measures for Cisco IOS XR and BGP networks.
  • Learn best practices for scaling BGP in large, service provider environments.

Hands-on Troubleshooting Skills:

  • Develop critical troubleshooting skills for resolving hardware and software issues.
  • Utilize diagnostic tools and techniques to improve network performance and reliability.

Understand IPv6 and MPLS Implementation:

  • Learn to configure and verify MPLS and IPv6, ensuring your networks are future-ready.

Course Outline:

Introduction to the Cisco IOS XR:

  • Overview of Cisco IOS XR architecture
  • Key features and benefits of IOS XR
  • Differences between Cisco IOS XR and other Cisco operating systems

ASR9K Product Family:

  • Introduction to the ASR 9000 Series
  • Core components and modules
  • Applications of ASR 9000 in service provider networks

ASR9K Hardware Properties:

  • In-depth understanding of ASR 9000 hardware architecture
  • Components, line cards, and power systems
  • Hardware-based forwarding and scalability

Cisco IOS XR Software Basics:

  • Core functionalities of IOS XR software
  • User interfaces, CLI basics, and navigation
  • Configuration modes and their usage.

Cisco IOS XR Software Installation:

  • Software installation procedures
  • Package management and upgrades
  • Best practices for software maintenance

Cisco IOS XR Software Security:

  • Security architecture within IOS XR
  • Implementing security policies and access control lists (ACLs)
  • Securing IOS XR network devices

Cisco IOS XR Software Operations:

  • Day-to-day management of IOS XR environments
  • Operational monitoring and system management tools
  • IOS XR system administration tasks.

Cisco ASR 9K Hardware Basic Troubleshooting:

  • Identifying and diagnosing common hardware failures
  • Troubleshooting hardware components
  • Using built-in diagnostics and tools for hardware analysis.

Implementing and Verifying Open Shortest Path First Multiarea Networks:

  • OSPF protocol overview and benefits
  • Configuring OSPF in a multiarea network
  • Verification and troubleshooting techniques for OSPF

Introducing Routing Protocol Tools, Route Maps, and Routing Policy Language:

  • Overview of routing protocol tools
  • Creating and applying route maps
  • Configuring routing policies and filters using RPL

Implementing Route Redistribution:

  • Principles of route redistribution between protocols
  • Configuring and controlling route redistribution
  • Avoiding routing loops and common redistribution issues

BGP Overview:

  • Introduction to Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
  • Key concepts of interdomain routing
  • BGP in service provider environments.

Implementing BGP Protocol:

  • Configuration of BGP sessions (iBGP and eBGP)
  • Establishing BGP peerings and route exchange
  • Verification and troubleshooting BGP neighbors.

Influencing Border Gateway Protocol Route Selection using Policy Controls:

  • Route selection process in BGP
  • Policy controls for influencing route selection
  • Configuring BGP attributes such as weight, local preference, and AS-Path.

Route Selection Using Attributes:

  • Detailed understanding of BGP attributes
  • Manipulating BGP attributes for optimal route selection
  • Configuring communities and MED for traffic engineering

Scaling BGP in Service Provider Networks:

  • Addressing scalability challenges in large BGP environments
  • Using route reflectors and confederations
  • Best practices for efficient BGP scaling.

Optimizing BGP Scalability:

  • Advanced techniques for scaling BGP
  • Prefix limiting, filtering, and summarization
  • Utilizing route dampening and other stability mechanisms

Improving BGP Convergence and Implementing Advanced Operations:

  • Enhancing BGP convergence times
  • Fast reroute (FRR) and graceful restart
  • Configuring advanced BGP features such as dynamic neighbor discovery

BGP Transit Autonomous Systems:

  • BGP transit routing concepts
  • Best practices for managing transit AS
  • Implementing transit services for multiple customers.

Customer-to-Provider Connectivity with BGP:

  • Configuring BGP for customer connectivity
  • Implementing customer-based routing policies
  • Troubleshooting customer-provider BGP connections.

Troubleshooting Routing Protocols BGP & OSPF:

  • Troubleshooting methodologies for BGP and OSPF
  • Using Cisco IOS XR diagnostics and logging tools
  • Common issues and solutions for BGP and OSPF

Implementing and Verifying MPLS:

  • Introduction to MPLS technology
  • Configuring MPLS in IOS XR environments
  • Verification and troubleshooting of MPLS networks

IPv6 Configuration:

  • Introduction to IPv6 addressing and concepts
  • Configuring IPv6 in IOS XR environments
  • Verifying and troubleshooting IPv6 implementation

Internet Routing Security Overview:

  • Importance of security in internet routing
  • Overview of common routing security challenges
  • Best practices for securing internet-facing routers

BGP Security:

  • Implementing security for BGP sessions
  • Protecting BGP from attacks such as route hijacking
  • Configuring BGP MD5 authentication and TTL security.

BGP SNMP-NetFlow:

  • Integrating BGP with SNMP and NetFlow for monitoring
  • Using SNMP and NetFlow to track BGP traffic
  • Best practices for BGP performance monitoring

BGP FLOWSPEC:

  • Overview of BGP FLOWSPEC
  • Configuring FLOWSPEC for traffic filtering
  • Use cases and practical applications of BGP FLOWSPEC.