The Understanding Cisco Data Center Foundations (DCFNDU) v1.0 course helps you prepare for entry-level data center roles.

In this course, you will learn the foundational knowledge and skills you need to configure Cisco data center technologies, including: networking, virtualization, SAN networking, and unified computing. You will get an introduction to Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (Cisco ACI™), automation, and cloud computing. You will get hands-on experience with configuring features on Cisco Nexus® Operating System (Cisco NX-OS) and Cisco Unified Computing System™ (Cisco UCS®).

Associated Certification: None

Associated Exam: None

Course Objectives

After taking this course, you should be able to:

• Describe the foundations of data center networking
• Describe Cisco Nexus products and explain the basic Cisco NX-OS functionalities and tools
• Describe Layer 3 first-hop redundancy
• Describe Cisco Fabric Extender (FEX) connectivity
• Describe Ethernet port channels and virtual port channel (vPCs)
• Introduce switch virtualization, machine virtualization, and network virtualization
• Compare storage connectivity options in the data center
• Describe Fibre Channel communication between the initiator server and the target storage
• Describe Fibre Channel zone types and their uses
• Describe N-Port Virtualization (NPV) and N-Port Identifier Virtualization (NPIV)
• Describe data center Ethernet enhancements that provide a lossless fabric
• Describe Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
• Describe data center server connectivity
• Describe Cisco UCS Manager
• Describe the purpose and advantages of application programming interfaces (APIs)
• Describe Cisco ACI
• Describe the basic concepts of cloud computing

Target Audience

• Data center administrators
• Data center engineers
• Systems engineers
• Server administrators
• Network managers
• Cisco integrators and partners

Course Prerequisites

To fully benefit from this course, you should have the following knowledge and skills:

• Good understanding of networking protocols
• Good understanding of the VMware environment
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft Windows operating systems

These are the recommended Cisco courses that may help you meet these prerequisites:

• Implementing and Administering Cisco Solutions (CCNA)
• Introducing Cisco Data Center Networking (DCICN)
• Introducing Cisco Data Center Technologies (DCICT)