This learning path on foundational Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) provides a comprehensive introduction and deep dive into the core aspects of BGP, the backbone of the internet's routing architecture. It starts by explaining the basics of BGP, including its purpose, operation, and fundamental concepts such as Autonomous Systems (AS), BGP sessions, and the BGP routing table. The series progresses to cover more advanced topics, such as BGP path selection, route advertisement, and the implementation of various BGP attributes like Local Preference, AS Path, and MED. Through practical examples, configurations, and troubleshooting scenarios, viewers gain a thorough understanding of how BGP facilitates global data exchange and the techniques network engineers use to optimize and secure BGP networks. The series aims to equip network professionals with the knowledge needed to manage and optimize BGP in real-world environments, emphasizing best practices and common pitfalls.

Today, network engineers, especially in the data center space, must acquire AI/ML infrastructure skills and be able to discuss the required infrastructure upgrades and the reasoning for the upgrades with upper management. At WWT, we are committing $500 million to help our customers with AI/ML, and we have launched a new series of Learning Paths to help the reader navigate complex AI topics. By mastering these areas, data center network engineers can effectively contribute to successfully implementing and managing advanced AI and HPC infrastructure, aligning technological capabilities with business objectives while maintaining a robust and secure network environment.

Cisco has been at the forefront of developing a suite of standalone tools for data center networking, collectively known as the Day 2 Operations Suite. Recently, Cisco has initiated the integration of these tools into a unified interface called NEXUS Dashboard, providing a consolidated view and shared data repositories for enhanced application correlation. This Learning path is designed specifically for those administrators that need to perform and manage the day to day upkeep of the NEXUS Dashboard product. The learning path will include videos, article and a hands on lab going over what a typical admin would need to setup on NEXUS Dashboard. We will cover whats new with NEXUS Dashboard 3.2, creating routes for the management and data networks, creating syslog server, remote NFS and SFTP storage, creating backups, and upgrading the version. We will also go through remote authentication with radius, creating users and roles, and Intersight configuration. Finally we will bring up 2 ACI simulators and onboard the ACI fabrics to the NEXUS Dashboard platform.

Cisco has been at the forefront of developing a suite of standalone tools for data center networking, collectively known as the Day 2 Operations Suite. Recently, Cisco has initiated the integration of these tools into a unified interface called NEXUS Dashboard, providing a consolidated view and shared data repositories for enhanced application correlation. This Learning path is designed specifically for those new to networking or new to the NEXUS Dashboard product. Future learning paths will go into more detail about operating and implementing the NEXUS Dashboard platform.

This learning path will walk through many different types of physical media from coaxial cable to fiber. It will also contain a brief history of Ethernet and the OSI Model.

This learning path on foundational Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) provides a comprehensive introduction and deep dive into the core aspects of OSPF. It starts by explaining the basics of OSPF, including its purpose, operation, and fundamental concepts such as OSPF Neighbors, advertising routes, authentication, OSPF network types, and many others. This learning path aims to equip network professionals with the knowledge needed to manage and optimize OSPF in real-world environments, emphasizing best practices and common pitfalls.

Cisco ACI is a policy-driven CLOS or Spine/Leaf based switching fabric utilizing layer 3 ECMP routing in the underlay and VXLAN encapsulation in the overlay to transport layer two and layer three traffic East/West across the fabric and North/South in and out of the fabric. ACI consists of the Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC), a centralized controller that manages all aspects of the ACI fabric. The leaf switches are ToR switches that provide connectivity between servers and external networks, and the spine switches are Layer 3 switches that provide ECMP high-bandwidth connectivity between leaf switches. An ACI fabric can be expanded East/West by adding leafs, cabling to the spines, and registering them. ACI was designed to operate as "One Big Switch" (like a chassis-based NEXUS 7K) with the controllers acting like the Supervisors, the spines as fabric modules, and leafs acting as blades. This approach allows us to decouple these elements from the chassis and place them anywhere in the data center. The leafs (blades) can be placed anywhere in the data center, so you are not limited to a chassis. We can take this decoupling one step further and put a leaf in a remote data center (remote leaf), place a spine and leaf fabric extension into a second data center (multi-pod), or a new spine-leaf fabric in a data center (multi-site). Using the NEXUS Dashboard Orchestrator (NDO), we can treat multiple fabrics as one entity from a policy standpoint and manage and perform day two operations from a single pane of glass. The power of ACI allows us to stretch layer two and layer three across multiple fabrics and use a single policy for forwarding traffic in the data center. This Learning Module will guide you through basics and implementation skills.

This learning path provides a comprehensive guide to mastering Cisco's Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and its variants, including PVST+, RSTP, and MSTP. It covers the fundamentals of STP, such as preventing network loops and ensuring redundancy, while diving into advanced configurations like adjusting STP costs and bridge priority to optimize network performance. The path also emphasizes security features such as Loop Guard, Root Guard, BPDU Guard, and many others, to protect against unintended topology changes and network instability. Additionally, students will engage in hands-on labs to configure STP, allowing them to apply best practices and gain practical experience in designing secure, efficient, and resilient networks."

This intermediate learning path on Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is tailored for network professionals who are ready to move beyond the basics and develop a deeper, more practical understanding of OSPF in enterprise networks. The path explores key deployment and optimization techniques including route redistribution between OSPF and other protocols, effective route summarization at ABRs and ASBRs, and implementing route filtering to control routing information flow. It also covers OSPF area types in detail, including standard stub areas, totally stubby areas, and Not-So-Stubby Areas (NSSA), with guidance on when and how to use each to simplify routing and improve scalability. Throughout, the learning path emphasizes best practices, common design mistakes to avoid, and hands-on configuration strategies to help learners confidently apply OSPF in complex, real-world environments.

The NEXUS Dashboard Insights service is a powerful tool that revolutionizes network telemetry utilization. Transforming raw data into actionable insights significantly reduces downtime and enhances overall network performance. This service leverages advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to provide visibility for real-time network operations. This means that IT administrators can see what's happening in the network as it happens, allowing them to address issues before they escalate. One key benefit of NEXUS Dashboard Insights is its ability to resolve issues proactively. Instead of waiting for problems to occur and then reacting, the tool identifies potential issues early on and provides recommendations for resolution. This proactive approach not only minimizes disruptions but also ensures that the network runs smoothly and efficiently. Moreover, NEXUS Dashboard Insights offers a comprehensive understanding of the network. It analyzes various aspects of the network, from performance metrics to security threats, and presents this information in an easy-to-understand format. This holistic view enables IT administrators to make informed decisions and optimize network performance. By empowering IT administrators with these capabilities, NEXUS Dashboard Insights ensures that networks are managed efficiently. The tool's real-time visibility, proactive issue resolution, and comprehensive network understanding contribute to optimal performance and reduced disruptions, making it an invaluable asset for any organization.