FlashStack Deployment Overview Workshop

Overview
Description, Pre requisites
Content
Lessons, Course Structure

Overview

Hands on workshop that focuses on the following objectives:

Overview FlashStack architecture and components
Discuss individual component functionality and operation within FlashStack design
Review configuration of each Cisco component
Provide additional coverage on Pure storage product offering and functionality
Explore pre-built lab environment and customize to enable additional functionality

Target audience

End-user and Cisco Partner enablement teams
Technical design and installation personnel

Duration

2 days

Outline

Module 1 – FlashStack Solution Overview

Market positioning and Solution overview
FlashStack Architecture
Management Overview
Use cases and Cisco Validated Designs

Module 2 – UCS Compute

UCS review
- UCS product range
- Components and architecture
UCS Management
- General operations and management
- UCS manager policy and configuration
  - server profiles
  - pools and policies
  - switching modes
  - LAN network connectivity
  - SAN/FC/FCOE storage connectivity
  - boot options – FC and iSCSI
UCS and Intersight
UCS configuration considerations for FlashStack
LAB
- UCS explore and configure

Module 3 – MDS SAN connectivity

MDS product family and overview
SAN Protocol review
- SCSI, iSCSI, NVMe
- FC/FCOE refresher
  - FCID/WWN
  - FC processes and services
  - Flow control
  - Port options
- VSANs
- Zoning
- NPIV/NPV

MDS management and operations
- DCNM-SAN
- CLI
MDS configuration considerations for FlashStack
LAB
- MDS explore and configure

Module 4 – Pure Storage – FlashArray

Product family and overview
Initial setup overview
- Smartconfig
GUI management
- GUI environment overview
- General configuration tasks
- storage provisioning – Hosts and Volumes
- snapshots and protection groups
Pure and Intersight
Pure configuration considerations for FlashStack
LAB
- FlashArray explore and configure

Module 5 – Cisco Networking

Networking design options
- Overlays and SDN
- micro-segmentation Security and access
- PC and VPC
Product family and overview
ACI Overview
Nexus NXOS and DCNM-LAN overview
Networking options and Intersight
Networking configuration considerations for FlashStack
LAB
- NXOS explore – DCNM and CLI
- ACI explore

Module 6 – Whole of stack review

Summarize inter-workings of FlashStack environment
Review a workload running on UCS that is stored on Pure FlashArray being connected over MDS FC SAN. Workload is accessible by other workloads via Cisco network
LAB
- Top to bottom walk through and join the dots config
- Confirm all parts of FlashStack are working together

Labs focus

Explore a working, but partially configured, UCS/MDS/FlashStack/Nexus environment. Common and base configuration tasks will be pre-coded.
Allow participants to explore and configure each component of FlashStack solution using on-prem management tools
- UCS
  - Validate connectivity and switching configuration
    - LAN and SAN policies to connect to existing networks
  - Create UCS server profiles, policies and pools
  - Apply to B series servers

Pure
- Create storage volumes
- Map Host to storage

MDS
- Explore dual fabric MDS configuration
- Create FC Zone rules to allow host/target connectivity over MDS

System Bring up
- Install OS image in UCS server
- Boot from SAN

Network
- Validate Cisco Nexus network configuration
- Enable workloads to talk over IP/Ethernet

Explore Intersight operations