VLAN Trunking Protocol

• VTP is a Cisco-proprietary protocol that use Layer 2 trunk frames to distribute and synchronize VLAN information throughout a switched network.
•  VTP Manages the addition, deletion, and name changes of VLANs within a VTP domain.
• VTP messages are transmitted on swtiches’ 802.1Q and ISL trunks.
• By using VTP, misconfiguration and configuration inconsistencies are minimized.

VTP Domains

• A VTP domain is a switch or group of interconnected switches that share the same VTP environment or areas with common VLAN requirements.
• A switch can belong to only one VTP domain.
• Switches in different VTP domains do not share VTP information.
• Switches in a VTP domain advertise several attributes to their domain neighbor containing information about:
  • VTP management domain
  • VTP revision number
  • known VLANs
  • Other specific VLAN parameters

VTP Modes

•  Server Mode
  • This is the default VTP mode
  • VTP servers have full control over VLAN creation, deletion, and modification.
  • All VTP information is forwarded/advertised to other switches.
  • Received VLAN information is sychronized if they carry the latest information about the domain.
  • Each VTP domain must have at least one server so that all created, modified, or deleted VLANs and other VLAN information can be propagated.
  • Saves VLAN and VTP configuration in NVRAM in a file called vlan.dat (typically in Cisco Catalyst 6500/6000 series switches). In most other cases it is saved in flash.
• Client Mode
  • Cannot create, modify, or delete VLANs.
  • Listens to VTP advertisements from other switches and modify their VLAN configurations accordingly.
  • Forwards VLAN advertisements to other switches.
    • This mode is effectively a passive listening mode.
  • Does not save VLAN configuration in NVRAM
• Transparent Mode
  • Do not participate in VTP.
  • Creates, modifies, and deletes VLAN only on the local switch.
    • These changes do not propagate to other switches.
    • Does not synchronize its VLAN database with received advertisements.
  • In VTP version 1, switch does not relay VTP information unless VTP domain name and VTP version numbers match other switches.
  • In VTP version 2, they forward received VTP advertisements out their trunk ports regardless of VTP domain setting.
  • Saves VLAN configuration in NVRAM.

VTP Advertisements

• VTP switches send VTP information to other switches participating in VTP. They advertise:
  • VLANs (only VLANs 1 to 1005)
  • Configuration Revision Numbers
  • Other parameters such as VTP domain name and password.
• They are sent as multicast frames every 5 minutes or when there is a change.

Configuration Revision Numbers

• Each time a VTP server modifies its VLAN information, the configuration revision number is incremented by 1.
• If the configuration revision number that is being advertised is higher than the number stored on the other switches in teh VTP domain, the rest of the switches in the domain ovewrite their VLAN configurations with the new information being advertised.
• The VTP advertisement process always starts with revision number 0.
• It is important that any new switches that are added to the network have revision number 0 before plugging into the network.
• The VTP revision numnber is stored in NVRAM and is not affected by a reload of the switch.
• The following methods resets the revision number to 0:
  • Change the switch’s VTP mode to transparent and then change the back to server.
  • Change the switch’sVTP domain to a bogus name, then change the VTP domain back to the original name.
• VTP advertisements can originate from client-mode switches upon bootup.
  • They may also originate from server-mode switches as VLAN configuration changes.

3 Forms of VTP Advertisements

• Summary advertisements
  • Sent by VTP domain servers.
  • Sent every 300 seconds (5 minutes) or every time VLAN changes occurs.
  • List information about the VTP domain such as:
    • VTP version
    • Domain name
    • Configuration revision number
    • Time stamp
    • MD5 encryption hash code
    • Number of subset advertisements to follow.
• Subset advertisements
  • Sent by VTP domain servers after a VLAN configuration change occurs.
    • These advertisements list the specific changes that have been performed, such as:
      • Creating or deleting VLANs.
      • Suspending or activating a VLAN.
      • Changing the name of a VLAN.
      • Changing a VLANs MTU.
  • Subset advertisements can list the following VLAN parameters:
    • Status of the VLAN
    • VLAN type (Ethernet or Token Ring)
    • MTU
    • Length of the VLAN name
    • VLAN number
    • Security Association Identifier (SAID) value
    • VLAN name
  • VLANs are listed individually in sequential subset advertisements.
• Advertisement requests from clients
  • A VTP client can request any missing VLAN information.
    • For example:
      • A client has its database erased and after a reload the VTP domain membership has changed.
      • It hears a VTP summary advertisement with a higher revision number than it currently has.
  • When a client advertisement request is made, the  VTP domain servers respond with summary and subset advertisements to bring it up to date.

VTP Pruning

• By defualt, a trunk link transports traffic from all VLAN, unless specific VLANs are removed from the trunk.
• VTP pruning uses VLAN advertisements to determine when a trunk connection is flooding traffic needlesly.
  • It makes more efficient use of trunk bandwidth by reducing unnecessary flooded traffic.
  • Broadcast and unknown unicast frames on a VLAN are forwarded over a trunk link only if the switch on the receiving end of the trunk has ports in that VLAN.
• Consider the following network below:

• Traffic from Switch A is only forwarded to Switches B and D while traffic out to Switches E and C are “pruned”.
• This prevent uneccesary traffic sent to switches that do not have ports in the Red VLAN (where traffic was originated and destined to).

Configuring VTP

Configuring VTP Management Domain

switch(config)#vtp domain domain-name

Configuring VTP Mode

switch(config)vtp mode {server | client | transparent}

• Server Mode
  • Default mode
  • Each domain must have at least one server.
  • May be used even if other server and client switches are present – provides redundancy in case of server failure.
• Client Mode
  • One way to configure new switches as client mode so that it can learn existing VTP infromation from existing servers. Once it has learned the current configuration, it may be configured as a server if redundancy is desired.
•  Transparent Mode
  • VLANs can be created, modified, and deleted. But the changes remain in the local switch
  • Received advertisements from other switches, however, are forwarded to others.
  • This mode can help prevent the possibility of duplicate and over-lapping VLANs.

Configuring VTP Password

Switch(config)#vtp password password

• Password can only be configured on VTP servers and clients.
• Password string is not sent, rather the MD5 hash is sent in VTP server advertisements and used to validate received client advertisements.
• Password string can be 1 to 32 characters and is case-sensitive.

Configuring VTP version

 switch(config)#vtp version {1 | 2}

• Version 1 is the default
• They are not interoperable, ie. the same version must be used throughout the management domain.

Configuring VTP Pruning

switch(config)#vtp pruning

• If this command is used on a VTP server, it is advertised to the rest of the domain and all listening switches will also enable pruning.
• General purpose VLANs (2 – 1001) are eligible for pruning on all trunk links if needed.

Using the following interface configuration command, the list of pruning eligibility can be narrowed down:

switch(config-if)#switchport trunk pruning vlan {add | except | none | remove} vlan-list

• vlan-list – a list of eligible VLAN numbers (2 -1001), separated by commas or dashes.
• add – a list VLAN numbers added to the already configured list; this is a shortcut from typing a long list of numbers
• except - excludes the specified VLANs from being included in the pruning.
• remove – removes the specified VLANs from the already configured list.

 Verifying VTP

• show vtp status
  • Displays information about about the VTP configuration and current state in Cisco IOS.
  • The output describes the VTP version, the numbers of VLANs supported locally, the VTP operating mode, VTP domain name, and the VTP pruning mode.
• show vtp counters
  • Diplays statistics about VTP operation.

References:

1. Understanding VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) – Cisco System, Inc.
2. Configuring VTP –  Catalyst 3560 Switch Software Configuration Guide, 12.2(20)SE
3. Managing vlan.dat in Cisco Catalyst Switches Running Cisco IOS Software

This entry is not an authoritative guide. These are merely notes and rehash of the primary text materials and resources that I use. For a thorough guide of the BCMSN course, consider purchasing Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN) (Authorized Self-Study Guide) (4th Edition) by Richard Froom, Balaji Sivasubramanian, and Erum Frahim and CCNP BCMSN Official Exam Certification Guide (4th Edition) by Dave Hucaby ; as well as following the links on the reference section of this entry.

The following topics will be covered in this post:

• VLAN
• VLAN Trunking

VLAN

• Virtual LAN (VLAN) is a swiched network of hosts or end devices with a common set of requirements without regard to the physical locations of the users.
• VLANs have the same attributes as physical LANs but end devices can be grouped on the same LAN segment regardless of location.
• VLANs segment the network into its own separate Layer 2 broadcast domain.
  • Switches filter broadcast packets from all ports or devices that don’t belong to the same VLAN.
• VLANs are slightly different from a physical subnet:
  • A physical subnet consists of devices on a physical cable segment.
  • A logical subnet consists of devices that communicate with each other regardless of physical location – VLANs.

End-to-End and Local VLANs

• End-to-end VLANs
  • Also called campus-wide VLANs.
  • Span throughout the entire switch fabric of a network.
  • They may span several wiring closests or even buildings.
  • End-to-end VLANs group users according to common requirements.
  • In this design the 80/20 rule is utilized – that is, 80% of traffic stays within the local workgroup, whereas 20% is destined to remote resources (which is typically routed).
  • Beacuse all VLANs must be available at each access-layer switch, VLAN trunking must be used to carry all VLANs between the access- and distribution-layer switches.
• Local VLANs 
  • Local to a specific domain, such as Building Access switches and their respective Building Distribution submodule.
  • Range in size from a single switch in a wiring closet to an entire building.
  • Design moves toward an 20/80 rule where 20% of traffic is local and 80% is destined to a remote resource across the core layer.
  • Results in traffic crossing a Layer 3 router or multilayer switch to reach network resources – but still allows the network to provide secure and consistent method of data delivery.
  • Typically used in the Building Access submodule.
  • A typical VLAN organization configures the minimum number of VLANs on a single access switch within a wiring closet, rather than having VLANs from multiple departments configured on the same switch.
  • The goal of local VLANs is not to extend the VLANs beyond the Building Distribution submodule.
  • Local VLANs provide users with the same level of performance regardless of their location because Layer 3 devices also switch and route at wire rate due to hardware-switching.

End-to-end VLANs are not recommended in an enterprise network, unless there is a good reason. In an end-to-end VLAN, broadcast traffic is carried over from one end of the network to the other, creating the possibility for a broadcast storm or Layer 2 bridging loop to spread across the whole extent of a VLAN. This can exhaust the bandwidth of distribution- and core-layer links, as well as switch CPU resources. Now the storm or loop has disrupted users on the end-to-end VLAN, in addition to users on other VLANs that might be crossing the core. When such a problem occurs, troubleshooting becomes more difficult. In other words, the risks of end-to-end VLANs outweigh the convenience and benefits.

Static and Dynamic VLANs

• Static VLANs
  • Constitutes switch ports that are manually assigned to a particular VLAN.
  • End devices become members of a particular VLAN base on what port on the switch they are plugged into.
  • They can be configured via a VLAN-management application or the command line.
  • Each port receives a Port VLAN ID (PVID) that associates it with a VLAN number.
  • Works well where adds, moves, and changes are rare.
  • The port-to-VLAN membership is normally handled in hardware (ASICs) where it provides good performance because all port mappings are done at the hardware level, with no complex table lookups needed.
• Dynamic VLANs
  • Provide membership base on the MAC address of an end device.
  • Configuration is accomplished by using a VLAN membership Policy Server (VMPS).
    • VMPS contains a database that maps MAC addresses to VLAN assignments. 
    • The switch assigns a VLAN to a host based on information in the MAC address-to-VLAN mapping on the VMPS.
  • It is dynamic because when a host moves from one switch to another in the network, the switch will dynamically assign that particular host to the right VLAN.
  • A dynamic port belongs to only one VLAN at a time. Multiple hosts maybe on the same port but they must all belong to the same VLAN.

VLAN Ranges

Configuration

There are two methods to configure a VLAN:

1. Global configuration mode – relatively newer method that allows configuration of extended VLAN ranges.
2. VLAN database configuration mode – supports only the configuration of VLANs in normal range (1 – 1005).

Create VLAN in global configuration mode:

Switch#configure terminal
Switch(config)#vlan 100
Switch(config-vlan)#name Accounting

Create VLAN in database configuration mode:

Switch#vlan database
Switch(vlan)#vlan 100
VLAN 100 added:
     Name: VLAN0100
Switch(vlan)#vlan 100 name Accounting
Swtich(vlan)#exit
APPLY completed.
Exiting….

• Cisco recommends using global configuration mode to define VLANs.
• The VLAN database command mode is session oriented. When you add, delete, or modify VLAN parameters, the switch does not appy the changes until you exit the session by entering apply or exit command. Using the abort command will not apply the changes made to the VTP database.
  • The gloabl configuration command has been deemed an obsolete method.

Delete a VLAN

Switch#config t
Switch(config)#no vlan 100
Switch(config)#end

•  After a VLAN is deleted, the ports that belong to tha VLAN becomes inactive until it is assigned to another VLAN. Ports in inactive state do not forward traffic.

Assign a port to a VLAN

Switch#config t
Switch(config)#interface fa1/0
Switch(config-if)#description Host A
Switch(config-if)#switchport
Switch(config-if)#switchport host
switchport mode will be set to access
spanning-tree portfast will be enabled
channel group will be disabled
Switch(config-if)#switchport mode access
Switch(config-if)#switchport access vlan 100
Switch(config-if)#no shut
Switch(config-if)#end

•  The switchport command with no keywords configures interfaces as Layer 2 interfaces on Layer 3 switches.
• The switchport host command effectively configures a port for a host device.
  • This feature is a macro for enabling Spanning Tree PortFast and disabling EtherChanneling of a per-port basis.
• The switchport mode access command specifies the port as an access port. 
• The switchport access vlan command places a port in a particular VLAN.

VLAN Verification

• sh vlan id 
  • Displays information about a VLAN identified by VLAN number.

• sh vlan name
  • Displays information about a VLAN by name in Cisco IOS.

• sh running-config interface
  • Displays the current configuration of a particular interface.

• sh interface switchport
  • Shows detailed information about a specific swithcport

VLAN Trunking

• An access switchport can only support one VLAN. However, multiple IP subnets can exist on that single VLAN.
  • For example, a shared hub connected to one switch port with hosts plugged into the hub – one with IP 192.168.1.1/24 and the other with 192.168.2.1/24.
• A trunk port however, supports more than one VLAN on a single switch port.
  • Trunk ports carry traffic for multiple VLANs across a single physical link.
  • It can be used to connect to another switch (to extend Layer 2 operations across an entire network, such as end-to-end VLANs) or connect a switch to a router (for example, router-on-a-stick)
  • A trunk link is not assigned to a specific VLAN. Rather, one or many VLANs can be transported on a single trunk link.
• Cisco supports trunking on Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet links, as well as aggregated Fast and Gigabit Etherchannel links.

Trunking Protocols

• In order for a switch to distinguish between traffic belonging to different traffic, there are two trunking protocols that are used to identify or tag the frames.
  • Inter-switch Link (ISL)
  • IEEE 802.1Q
• When a VLAN frame is transmitted over a trunk link, a unique identifier is placed in the frame header. A switch that receives the frame examines the identifier to determine which VLAN it belongs.
  • the identifier is removed by the receving switch.
  • If the frames traverses another trunk link, the forwarding swich adds back the VLAN identifier into the frame header.

Inter-switch Link Protocol (ISL)

• Cisco-proprietary.
• High-end routers and appliances support ISL.
  • Later Cisco Catalyst switches no longer support ISL.
• Non-ISL devices receiving an ISL-encapsulated frame may consider them transmission errors if the header plus data frame exceeds the MTU size
• Devices that do not support ISL simply drops the frame.

• The ISL frame has a header that is 26 bytes and an additional 4 bytes for the ISL FCS header. 30 bytes is added to the original frame.
• Notice in the diagram that it contains two header fields.
  • The original header field stays the same from its original frame. The second is generated by the ISL trunk port.
• The ISL encapsulation leaves the original frame un-modified.
• The source VLAN is identified with a 15-bit VLAN ID field in the header (see image above).
• Although primarily used for Ethernet media, ISL can be used to carry Token Ring, FDDI, and ATM frames over Ethernet ISL by using the 3-bit Type field in the ISL header.
• Because tagging information is added at the beginning and end of each frame, ISL is sometimes referred to as double tagging.

IEEE 802.1Q Protocol

• As opposed to ISL, this method of frame identification is standardized.
• Instead of encapsulating the frame with a header and trailer, 802.1Q inserts the tagging information inside the frame and modifies several fields. For this reason, it is typically called single tagging or internal tagging.

• 802.1Q inserts a 4-byte tag just right after the source field. The fields in the tag are as follows:
  • Tag Protocol Identifier (TPID) - 2-byte field that has value of 0×8100.
  • Tag Control Information (TCI) – the other 2-bytes. Broken down as:
    • PRI – a 3-bit priority field used to implement class-of-service (CoS) functions in the accompanying 802.1Q/802.1p prioritization standard.
    • Canonical Format Indicator (CFI) – 1-bit field that indicates the frame format (0 for Ethernet and 1 for Token-ring). Also known as canonical format, or little-endian or big-endian format.
    • VLAN ID – 12-bit VLAN field.
• 802.1Q uses an internal tagging mechanism that modifies the original frame (note the “X” on the original FCS field), recalculates the CRC value for the entire frame with the tag, and inserts the new CRC vlaue in a new FCS.
  • In comparison, ISL encapsulates the entire frame and adds a second FCS and does not modify the original frame FCS.

Baby Giants

• Note that both ISL and 802.1Q taggin methods add to the lenthg of an Ethernet frame.
  • ISL adds 30 bytes to each frame for a total of 1548 bytes on each ethernet frame.
  • 802.1Q adds 4 bytes for a total of 1522 bytes per frame.
• Because Ethernet frames cannot exceed 1518 bytes, the additional VLAN tagging information can cause the frame to become too large.
  • Frames that are larger than 1500 bytes (but smaller than 2000 bytes) are called baby giants.
• Switches usually report these frames as Ethernet errors or oversize frames.
• To properly handle and forward baby giants, Catalyst switches use proprietary hardware with the ISL encapsulation method. In the case of 802.1Q encapsulation, switches can comply with the IEEE 802.3ac standard, which extends the maximum frame length to 1522 bytes.

Native VLAN

• 802.1Q trunks define a native VLAN for frames that are not tagged by default.
• Switches transmit any Layer 2 frames from a native VLAN on the trunk port untagged.
• The receiving switch forwards all untagged packets to its native VLAN.
• The native VLAN is the default VLAN configuration of the port.
• When the port is not trunking, the access VLAN configuration defines the native VLAN.
• In the case of Cisco switches, the default VLAN is VLAN 1 and is configurable.
• Two devices that are trunking has to have the same native VLAN configuration on both sides of the link.
  • Misconfiguration may cause Layer 2 loops or blackholes.
  • CPD issues a “VLAN mismatch” console error message if native VLANs don’t match.
• Tagged or not, a switch will forward Layer 2 frames received on an 802.1Q trunk port.
  • ISL drops unencapsulated frames. All frames, including native VLAN are encapsulated.

Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP)

• Cisco-proprietary point-to-point protocol that negotiates a common trunking mode between two switches.
• DTP negotiates the operational mode of directly connected switch ports to a trunk port and selects an appropriate trunking protocol.
• DTP should be disabled if a switch has a trunk link connected to a non-trunking router or firewall interface because those devices cannot participate in DTP negotiation.
  • A trunk link can be negotiated between two switches only if both switches belong to the same VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) management domain or if one or both switches have not defined their VTP domain (that is, the NULL domain).
  • If the two switches are in different VTP domains and trunking is desired between them, you must set the trunk links to on mode or nonegotiate mode. This setting forces the trunk to be established.

 VLAN Trunk Configuration

Switch(config)# interface type mod/port
Switch(config-if)# switchport

• The switchport command puts the port in Layer 2 mode.

Switch(config-if)# switchport trunk encapsulation {isl | dot1q | negotiate}

• The switchport trunk encapsulation command configures the type of enccapsulation for the port:
  • isl – VLANs are tagged by encapsulating each frame with the Cisco ISL protocol.
  • dot1q – VLANs are tagged in each frame using the IEEE 802.1Q standard protocol. The native VLAN is sent normally and is untagged.
  • negotiate – The default configuration, negotiates the encapsulation to select either ISL or 802.1Q, whichever both ends of the trunk support. If both ends support both types, ISL is used.

Switch(config-if)# switchport trunk native vlan vlan-id

• The swichport trunk native vlan command is used to define the untagged or native VLAN as vlan-id (1 to 4094).
• By default, 802.1Q trunks use VLAN 1 as the native VLAN.
• ISL trunks has no effect on this command because ISL does not support untagged VLANs.

Switch(config-if)# switchport trunk allowed vlan {vlan-list | all | {add | except | remove} vlan-list}

• The switchport trunk allowed vlan command defines which VLANs can be trunked over the link.
• By default a switch transports all active VLANs (1 to 4094) over a trunk link.
• There are times that trunk links should not carry all VLANs. Because trunk links are also part of the VLAN, it and broadcast traffic are forwarded to every switch port on the VLAN. If the VLAN does not exist past the far end of the trunk link, there is no reason to propagate broadcast accross the trunk.
• The following are some parameters:
  • vlan-list – An explicit list of VLAN numbers, separated by commas or dashes.
  • all – All active VLANs (from 1 to 4094) will be allowed
  • add vlan-list – A list of VLAN numbers will be added to the already configured list; this is a shortcut to keep from typing a long list of numbers.
  • except vlan-list – All VLANs (1 to 4094) will be allowed, except for the VLAN numbers listed; this is a shortcut to keep from typing a long list of numbers.
  • remove vlan-list – A list of VLAN numbers will be removed from the already configured list; this is a shortcut to keep from typing a long list of numbers.

Switch(config-if)# switchport mode {trunk | dynamic {desirable | auto}}

• The switchport mode command sets the trunking mode to any of the following:
  • trunk – Sets the port in permanent trunking mode.
  • dynamic desirable (default setting) – The port attemtps to actively convert the link to trunking mode. It “asks” the other end of the trunk link to bring up a trunk. If the far-end switch prot is configured as trunk, dynamic desirable, or dynamic auto mode, trunking is negotiated successfully.
  • dynamic auto – The port turns into a trunk link only if the far-end of the switch actively requests it. If both ends are dynamic auto, the trunk does not form. If the other end of the switch is trunking mode or dynamic desirable mode, trunking is negotiated.

Example: Configure a Port for ISL Trunking

Switch#conf t
Switch(config)#interface FastEthernet 0/48
Switch(config-if)#switchport
Switch(config-if)#switchport trunk encapsulation isl
Switch(config-if)#switchport mode trunk

Example: Configure a Port for 802.1Q Trunking

Switch#conf t
Switch(config)#interface FastEthernet 0/48
Switch(config-if)#switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q
Switch(config-if)#switchport mode dynamic desirable
Switch(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan 1 – 100
Switch(config-if)#no shut

Verification Commands

• sh running-config interface fa0/48
  • Displays port information for trunking.
• sh int fa 0/48 switchport
  • Displays switchport information for trunking
• sh int fa 0/48 trunk
  • Displays trunk information for a particular port

References:

1. Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide, 12.1(9)EA1 – Creating and Maintaining VLANs
2. Inter-Switch Link and IEEE 802.1Q Frame Format – Cisco Systems, Inc.

This entry is not an authoritative guide. These are merely notes and rehash of the primary text materials and resources that I use. For a thorough guide of the BCMSN course, consider purchasing Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN) (Authorized Self-Study Guide) (4th Edition) by Richard Froom, Balaji Sivasubramanian, and Erum Frahim and CCNP BCMSN Official Exam Certification Guide (4th Edition) by Dave Hucaby ; as well as following the links on the reference section of this entry.

Studying has slowed considerably since the new baby was born. But I’ve resumed back to my studies. So far I’ve finished the re-read of the first two chapters of the BCMSN study guide. The chapter on the Enterprise Composite Model bores the heck out of me. In my preliminary schedule for the second phase of my studies, I was planning on covering chapters 3 and 4 of the book this week. Seeing as the weekend is almost here and I’m just barely finishing chapter 2, I need to re-adjust the study schedule again. That’s fine. That’s one of the challenges I expected. The important thing right now as far as studying goes is that I’m constantly moving forward. I don’t need to move fast. I just need to move forward.

Because of this:

Yes, I’m a proud father of a new baby boy (my 2^nd). His name is Noah Ryan and he was born  April 09, 2009.

Now I will have to re-think my study schedule as this little dude will most likely take up a lot of my time and attention – as it should. For the last couple of days, I haven’t had the time nor the energy to study. Even the few moments when I could’ve studied, I just didn’t have the motivation. However, my wife believes that I just need to re-adjust and get back to some sort of routine and in no time, I’ll find a good balance for studying and family time. God bless her for her.

I still want to stick to my original goal of taking the BCMSN exam either in late July or early August. How I’m going to do that, I still don’t know.  But hopefully things will work out just fine. I might have to cut down on blogging my notes and focus more on doing practice questions and labs. I guess we’ll see how it goes. At least I’ll try to blog about and document my progress regardless of how I proceed in my studies.

I just finished the last chapter (Wireless LANs) of the study guide. In all, it took just over 3 weeks to read over 800 pages of text. If you don’t know, that’s super fast for me and a personal record as well. Of course I was shooting for high-level overview of the material and not a thorough study. The next phase is the chapter deep-dive.

I almost feel unprepared for what to do next as  I have not scheduled the next phase of my study plan. I suppose I can forgo studying tonight and work on planning out my next schedule.  Obviously this next phase will be at a much slower pace. This is where I will throw in all the other components of my preparation – lab, Exam guide, Cisco.com supplements, etc. Since I’ve penciled in the end of July as my targeted exam date I’m hoping to use up the rest of this month, May and June to focus heavily on the second phase. Then the rest of July will be spent on review.

This plan does not take into account conditions and circumstances brought about by the new baby we’re about to have. So wish me luck.

Mon, 6-Apr-09: Chapter 14: Read pp. 647 – 684 – Layer 2 security, AAA, Port security, 802.1x, NAC.
Tue, 7-Apr-09: Chapter 14: Read pp. 684 – 717 – ACLs, Firewalls, DHCP snooping, IPSG, DAI, etc.
Wed, 8-Apr-09: Chapter 15: Read pp. 721 – 741 – Catalyst switchin architecture: 6500, 4500, 3750, 3560, 2960.
Thu, 9-Apr-09: Chapter 16: Read pp. 743 – 763 – Metro solutions: DWDM, SONET, CWDM.
Fri, 10-Apr-09: Chapter 17: Read pp. 765 – 804 – Monitoring performance: SPAN, VLAN SPAN, Remote SPAN, VLAN ACL capture.
Sat, 11-Apr-09: Chapter 18: Read pp. 807 – 830 – Wireless LAN, Theory and standards.
Sun, 12-Apr-09: Chapter 18: Read pp. 830 – 856 – 802.11 operational standards, Implement WLANs, Cisco WLANs. 

Mon, 13-Apr-09: Chapter 18: Read pp. 856 – 876 – Cisco wireless clients, Configure basic WLAN, End of chapter.

Well this weekend was very productive for me as far as reading goes. I’ve managed to regain a huge lead I had in the beginning in terms of pages read so far. Right now I’m on the wireless section and am looking to finish the book either tonight or tomorrow at the latest. I did cheat a little bit by skipping one chapter (chapter 16 – Metro Solutions (MAN)). The book mentions that the chapter is not covered in the exam and the topics don’t appear in the BCMSN blueprint either. Besides I did buy a book on Metro Networks  a couple of weeks ago to read on my spare time – just based on general interest. But for now the main focus is to get through the first phase of the readings and move on to the second phase for a more focused and in depth study.

Mon, 30-Mar-09: Chapter 10: Read pp. 441 – 469 – QoS fundamentals.
Tue, 31-Mar-09: Chapter 10: Read pp. 470 – 498 – More QoS.
Wed, 1-Mar-09: Chapter 11: Read pp. 501 – 525 – Mulitcast, PIM, IGMP.
Thu, 2-Apr-09: Chapter 11 : Read pp. 525 – 551 – Layer 2 multicast protocols, Configuring, monitoring and verifying multicast.
Fri, 3-Apr-09: Chapter 12: Read pp. 554 – 579 – High availability, Implement redundant sup engines, Stateful switchover, etc.
Sat, 4-Apr-09: Chapter 12: Read pp. 579 – 618 -  HSRP, VRRP, GLBP, Cisco IOS SLB.
Sun, 5-Apr-09: Chapter 13: Read pp. 621 – 645 – IP telephony.

I haven’t been able to do as much reading this week as I had hoped. After my son’s 3-yr birthday party last Saturday, I got sick and was not able to keep ahead of my readings. Thankfully though, I read ahead the prior week so I’m actually still on pace with my schedule. The only downside is that I probably won’t be able to finish ahead of schedule.

Las night my wife started feeling some contractions which put us on a vigilant mode just in case the baby decides to come out sooner. So it’s becoming more urgent that I ramp up my readings just so I can finish the first phase of my studies before the baby comes. If not, that’s ok. That just means I’ll need to make a more stringent adjustment on my schedule to make sure I’m keeping a reasonable study schedule and at the same time not ignoring my fatherly and husbandly duties in this time of change -  a good change!