Cisco ISE 3.5 Labs: The Complete Series
The hub for the PingLabz Cisco ISE 3.5 lab series: nine hands-on posts covering setup, 802.1X and MAB failures, Live Logs codes, TACACS+ device admin for IOS XE and ASA, policy sets and CoA.
GUIDES MEET PRACTICE
Learn networking. Put it into practice.
Clear networking guides and 68 CCNA browser labs. Learn the concepts, practice IOS-style commands, and check your work as you go.
One lab free. No account, installation, or hardware needed.
A browser simulation of selected IOS behavior. It does not run an IOS image.
EXPLORE THE LIBRARY
Go deeper by topic
01Fundamentals
Models, addresses, and the basics that connect everything.
↗ 02Switching & VLANsBuild and troubleshoot Layer 2 networks.
↗ 03RoutingUnderstand forwarding decisions and paths.
↗ 04Security & accessExplore controls, authentication, and firewalls.
↗ 05WirelessFrom WLAN fundamentals to controller operations.
↗ 06Linux & toolsDiagnose and verify from the command line.
↗FREE FIELD REFERENCES
Four field references. Free to keep.
A free PingLabz account unlocks the Linux, ASA, BGP, and OSPF PDFs. Choose the guide you need and keep it close while you practice.
Linux commandsCisco ASABGPOSPF
GO FURTHER WITH PRO
A whole network to practice in.
Pro unlocks 60 build labs, six troubleshooting labs, and the campus Mega Lab. Follow guided exercises, try IOS-style commands, and check your configuration as you go.
SELECTED READING
Useful places to begin
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Latest guides
Open Source Network Observability Tools: The Series
The hub for the PingLabz observability tools series: LibreNMS against Zabbix on the same devices, Netdisco for topology and MAC/ARP search, and Suricata and Zeek watching the management network.
Open Source Network Config Tools: The Complete Series
The hub for the PingLabz config tools series: Oxidized backups to Git, Batfish offline validation, NetBox as the Ansible source of truth, and one real IOS XE change taken through all of them.
NetFlow Visibility with Open Source Tools: The Complete Series
The hub for the PingLabz flow visibility series: five hands-on posts that take NetFlow v9 from Cisco IOS XE into Akvorado, GoFlow2 and pmacct, and use it to find top talkers and scans.
Zabbix for Network Monitoring: The Complete Series
The hub for the PingLabz Zabbix series: nine hands-on posts on Zabbix 7.0 LTS with Cisco IOS XE and Linux, from adding the first router over SNMPv3 to quiet triggers, escalation, discovery and database upkeep.
Grafana for Network Monitoring: The Complete Series
The hub for the PingLabz Grafana series: ten hands-on posts that take Cisco IOS XE routers and Linux hosts from SNMP metrics to logs, flows, alerts and a NOC wall screen in Grafana 13.
Suricata and Zeek on the Management Network: IDS Alerts in Grafana and Loki
I mirrored my lab's management network into Suricata 8.0.3 and Zeek 9.0.0, shipped the logs through Alloy into Loki, and alert in Grafana when anything outside the NOC touches router management. Tuning, gotchas and real output.
Netdisco on Cisco IOS XE: CDP Topology, MAC and ARP Search over SNMPv3
Netdisco 2.117001 on IOS XE 17.18 over SNMPv3: one seed router, CDP finds the rest, then MAC and ARP search and the neighbour map. Plus what a small lab can't show.
LibreNMS vs Zabbix on Cisco IOS XE: Same Devices, Same SNMPv3, Honest Results
LibreNMS 26.10.2 and Zabbix 7.0.32 monitoring the same IOS XE routers and switch over SNMPv3: autodiscovery, graphs, a real BGP alert test and measured memory, with where each tool fits.
One Change, Every Tool: NetBox, Batfish, Ansible, Oxidized, Zabbix, Loki and Akvorado
One real IOS XE change through a fully open source workflow: intent in NetBox, a Batfish check, an Ansible push, the Oxidized commit, then Loki, Zabbix and Akvorado all seeing it. With versions and honest limits.
NetBox as a Source of Truth for Ansible: Pushing Intent to IOS XE
I loaded my home lab into NetBox 4.7, used it as the live Ansible inventory, and pushed interface descriptions to IOS XE: check mode, apply, an idempotent re-run, and Oxidized recording the change.
Batfish for Cisco IOS XE: Catch a Bad ACL and a Null Route Before They Go Live
Batfish models IOS XE configs offline. It caught a shadowed ACL line and a static route that null-routed a LAN before deployment, and it is honest about the 23 lines it couldn't parse.