CloudLabBox
Try the free demo

Cisco NX-OS data centre lab 15 of 15

Capstone commissioning a Nexus pod

Commission a two-switch Nexus pod from a one-page brief, with no step-by-step: vPC, gateways on both VLANs, authenticated routing, a read-only role, a saved golden state and automatic safeguards.

Run this lab

It needs Standard: its 5 nodes are set to 7 vCPU and 13,824 MB in total.

In your workspace: Shared, then Cisco Nexus NX-OS data centre guided labs, then 15 - Capstone commissioning a Nexus pod

Run it on Standard from £5 a day

The free demo can’t run it: it has 6 vCPU and 8 GB, and this lab’s nodes need 7 vCPU and 13,824 MB together. Every lab plan includes every guided lab.

Level
Advanced
Time
About 150 minutes
Nodes need
7 vCPU, 13,824 MB
Smallest plan
Standard

The scenario

Ashgrove has sold hall 3's first full pod. You have one afternoon and one page. R1 (the edge router) is ready and correct, and H1, the tenant's server, has a two-port LACP bond. N1 and N2 have only their names, logins and management addresses. There are no step-by-step tasks here: plan the order yourself. If you get stuck, the hints go through it requirement by requirement.

RequirementDetail
1. vPCDomain 1. N1 primary (role priority 100), N2 200. Keepalive over mgmt0. Peer link Po1 on Ethernet1/3-4. peer-switch and peer-gateway.
2. AccessvPC 10 (Po10, Ethernet1/5) to H1, a trunk with native VLAN 10 that allows VLANs 10 SERVERS and 20 BACKUP. H2 on N2 Ethernet1/6, VLAN 20.
3. GatewaysHSRP version 2. VLAN 10: group 10, VIP 10.10.10.1, SVIs .2 and .3, N1 active at priority 110. VLAN 20: group 20, VIP 10.20.20.1, SVIs .2 and .3, N2 active at priority 110. Preempt on.
4. RoutingOSPF process POD, area 0. Ethernet1/1 point-to-point (N1 10.1.1.1/30, N2 10.2.1.1/30), loopbacks 10.255.0.1 and .2, SVIs passive.
5. Link securityOSPF MD5 through a key chain named OSPF-KEYS, key 1, string Ashgrove-Key1, as R1 has.
6. Access controlRole POD-READ with read-only access to everything. User noc, password Noc-Lab-2026, in that role.
7. SafeguardsEEM applet GUARD-ERASE that blocks write erase and logs a warning. Scheduler job SAVE-STATE copying the running configuration to bootflash:pod-state.cfg, every 10 minutes.
8. Golden stateWhen all of it passes, take a checkpoint named GOLDEN on each switch, and save the configuration.

Outcome tests: H1 reaches H2, and both reach 203.0.113.1. With either vPC member link shut, H1 still reaches the outside.

What you’ll practise

  • Plan and order a pod build yourself
  • Bring together vPC, HSRP and OSPF with keychain authentication
  • Add operational safeguards: RBAC, a checkpoint, an EEM guard and a scheduled save
  • Prove the pod works, and that it survives a failure

The tasks

  1. Start the lab
  2. Build it
  3. Prove it
  4. Hand it over

The Lab Tasks pane has the scenario, these tasks, the checks to run, hints and the full solution.

Topology and devices

The network as it opens in EVE-NG, drawn from the lab’s own canvas, and the image each node runs.

Topology of Capstone commissioning a Nexus pod5 nodes and 1 network, 9 links. Every link is listed as text below the diagram.N1N2R1H1H2MGMTe0e6eth0e1Gi0/0e1Gi0/1e5eth0e5eth1e3e3e4e4e0
5 nodes and 1 network, with the interface names each link uses. On a narrow screen, scroll the diagram sideways.
Every link, as text
  • N1 e1 to R1 Gi0/0
  • N2 e1 to R1 Gi0/1
  • N1 e3 to N2 e3
  • N1 e4 to N2 e4
  • N1 e5 to H1 eth0
  • N2 e5 to H1 eth1
  • N2 e6 to H2 eth0
  • N1 e0 to MGMT (network)
  • N2 e0 to MGMT (network)
Nodes in Capstone commissioning a Nexus pod, with the image each runs and the vCPU and RAM it’s set to
NodeDeviceImage in Add NodeSet to
N1Cisco Nexus 9000vnxosv9k-9300v-9.3.102 vCPU, 6,144 MB
N2Cisco Nexus 9000vnxosv9k-9300v-9.3.102 vCPU, 6,144 MB
R1Cisco IOSvvios-adventerprisek9-m.SPA.159-3.M61 vCPU, 512 MB
H1Alpine Linuxclbalpinebase-alpine-base-3-20-31 vCPU, 512 MB
H2Alpine Linuxclbalpinebase-alpine-base-3-20-31 vCPU, 512 MB

How to open this lab

  1. Sign in to your workspace at lab.cloudlabbox.com.

  2. In File Manager, open Shared, then the folder Cisco Nexus NX-OS data centre guided labs.

  3. Open 15 - Capstone commissioning a Nexus pod and start its nodes, then open Lab Tasks for the scenario and the steps.

The lab is read-only. You can start the nodes and configure the devices, but changes to the topology can’t be saved. To change it, rebuild it in your own folder.

More Cisco NX-OS data centre labs

All Cisco NX-OS data centre labs

Related labs in other courses

CloudLabBox is independent of Cisco. The lab follows exam topics and isn’t vendor training material; vendor names identify the exams and the images in the workspace.