Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN: The Rebrand, the Architecture, OMP
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (formerly Viptela / Cisco SD-WAN): the naming history, the four-plane architecture, OMP routing, and the zero-touch edge onboarding flow.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (formerly Viptela / Cisco SD-WAN): the naming history, the four-plane architecture, OMP routing, and the zero-touch edge onboarding flow.
A step-by-step, screenshot-by-screenshot walkthrough of installing Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) 2.10 on VMware ESXi: deploy the OVA, size the VM, attach the refplat ISO, run setup, and start your first node.
How to build a working QoS policy on a Cisco router: MQC class maps, policy maps, the LLQ + CBWFQ model, and the shaper rule that makes it actually engage.
BGP weight is the first tiebreaker in the path-selection algorithm, set locally and never propagated. The three ways to set it, how it compares to LOCAL_PREF, and worked examples.
End-to-end QoS for VoIP across an MPLS L3VPN: DSCP marking, the LLQ + CBWFQ policy at the CE edge, and the DSCP-to-MPLS-EXP mapping the carrier needs.
How EtherChannel hides bundled links from STP, the bundling protocols (LACP, PAgP, on), the dangerous failure modes, and why LACP active on both sides is the only safe configuration.
The two ways to route between VLANs on Cisco: SVIs on an L3 switch and router-on-a-stick. Real IOS XE config for both, the performance gap, and the gotchas.
A decision framework for migrating from MPLS L3VPN to SD-WAN: what's different, when to migrate, the 7-step transition that works, and when the right answer is to stay.
BGP looking glasses explained: what they show, the public servers worth bookmarking, a four-step troubleshooting recipe, and how to host your own with hyperglass.
VLAN, subnet, and broadcast domain are not the same thing. The layer each lives at, the relationships between them, and the misalignment that breaks hosts silently.
SD-WAN in five minutes: what it is, what it replaces, the four-plane architecture, transport-independent overlays, and how it stacks against traditional MPLS WANs.
How to enable IEEE 802.1X on Windows 11 wired adapters. Start the Wired AutoConfig service, configure the Authentication tab, push the same settings via Group Policy.