Cisco CCIP BGP 642-661 Configuring BGP on Cisco Router

Cisco retired the 642-661 exam in July 2012. However, this training retains considerable value as an IT resource.

BGP…It's only the biggest routing protocol in the world! Regardless if your focus is certification-based or you are planning to deal with BGP at your day-to-day job, the practical, hands-on approach Jeremy Cioara uses will keep you referring back to these Nuggets again and again.

Complete with GNS3 labs and scenarios, this BGP series is a must for anyone pursuing the CCIP or CCIE certifications or those who handle networks in the service provider or corporate enterprise environments.

Videos material contains:

Welcome to BGP: How to Get the Most from This Series - 00:14:54
Welcome to the CBTNugget BGP Series!!! In this Nugget, Jeremy discusses the best strategies you can use while navigating the BGP content, the benefits of building a home lab, and how to fall in love… (just watch, you'll understand that last item!)

Foundation: What is BGP? When Do I Use It? - 00:29:45
Moving into BGP without fully understanding what it is can be a waste of time (at best) or just plain dangerous (at worst). This Nugget pulls the shroud of secrecy away from BGP, clearly defining its purpose and practical usage scenarios.


Foundation: What is BGP? When Do I Use It? (Part 2) - 00:29:54
Because BGP can have a fairly massive impact on your routers, the first question you need to answer is "Do I really need to use this?". In this Nugget, Jeremy clearly defines when NOT to use BGP as well as when you SHOULD use BGP. In addition, he walks through the BGP "resume" (key technical facts) as well as the golden BGP rule.

Foundation: Establishing a BGP session with an ISP - 00:34:04
Before there can be routes…there must be neighbors! In this Nugget, Jeremy walks through the process of forming a neighbor using BGP and lays down the base configuration from the customer premise to the ISP.

Foundation: Establishing a BGP session with an ISP, Part 2 - 00:25:47
One ISP wasn't good enough…in this Nugget, we add a second! As the second ISP is brought online a whole host of great topics is revealed: the BGP topology table, the BGP route selection process, and BGP Looking Glasses.

Foundation: Establishing a BGP session with an ISP, Part 3 - 00:10:04
So your BGP sessions are up, you're receiving routes…but now you want to send routes to the ISP. How do you safely do that? Not only do we answer that question, but we decided to throw in a little distribute-list/route-map filtering and BGP summarization just for fun.

Foundation: Understanding the Key BGP Attributes - 00:32:04
World of Warcraft and BGP…could they be more similar than you think? You'll find out in this Nugget as Jeremy walks through the different categories of BGP attributes: mandatory, discretionary, optional, and so on. These concepts are absolutely critical to understanding route manipulation in future Nuggets!

Foundation: Understanding and Using Route Maps - 00:28:59
It's virtually impossible to get much done in BGP configurations without using Route Maps - this Nugget focuses on the foundation concepts of Route Maps, their application to BGP, and a large dose of Route Map configuration examples.

BGP SP: Getting in the Service Provider Mindset - 00:41:25
BGP typically applies to two network environments: Service Providers and Enterprise (large) Business. This Nugget focuses on the BGP concepts that specifically apply to service providers. Topics include: eBGP/iBGP relationships, BGP Split Horizon, iBGP attribute processing and the place of interior gateway protocols (IGPs) within the BGP design.

BGP SP: Configuring a Transit AS - 00:26:49
Shift your mind to the service provider/data center/cloud-based environments! In this Nugget, Jeremy reviews the GNS3-based configuration of a transit autonomous system (AS) and gives a great perspective on data center design.

BGP SP: Configuring a Transit AS, Part 2 - 00:27:54
Let the service provider configuration begin! This Nugget focuses on the foundation: configuring the IGP (of OSPF) for redundant loopback interfaces and bringing up the iBGP neighbors (keeping in mind the BGP Split Horizon rules along with disabling BGP Synchronization).

BGP SP: Configuring a Transit AS, Part 3 - 00:32:28
The service provider configuration focus now turns to the eBGP relationships. In this Nugget, Jeremy walks through the configuration of eBGP peers (upstream ISPs), features like load-balancing and eBGP-multihop, and private autonomous systems.

BGP SP: Configuring a Transit AS, Part 4 - 01:02:14
In this final piece of the transit autonomous system configuration, Jeremy walks through the process of advertising networks from and to clients and upstream ISPs. Be careful! There's more here than you think! You'll want to make some extra time to watch this Nugget and take some detailed notes!

Controlling BGP: Influencing Route Selection - 00:25:21
Okay, so you've got the foundation setup in place. BGP neighbors have formed, routes are being exchanged…we should be done, right? NO WAY! This is where the fun begins! Now we turn our attention to manipulating route selection from a customer and service provider perspective and lay the foundation for a section we've titled "Controlling BGP."

Controlling BGP: Using Regular Expressions and AS-Path Filters - 00:37:13
Learn Regular Expressions (RegEx), impress your friends and get promoted! Well, perhaps RegEx isn't that great, however it IS an essential piece of handling BGP! In this Nugget, Jeremy demystifies the top regular expressions you'll need to handle AS-Path filtering (coming up in the next Nugget!).

Controlling BGP: AS-Path Filter Examples - 00:28:56
Now that you've become a regular expression ninja, it's time to apply that knowledge into practical scenarios. This nugget focuses on two examples of using AS-Path access-lists to filter routes and modify BGP attributes.

Controlling BGP: Using Prefix Lists - 00:42:14
Given a side-by-side comparison, we definitely think learning Access Lists for the first time is more difficult than Prefix Lists…but it's a close competition!!! In this nugget, Jeremy artfully walks through example after example of using prefix lists to match routes, filter networks, and modify BGP attributes.

Controlling BGP: Resetting Neighbors, ORF, and Other Strange Sounding Acronyms - 00:20:07
Blasting a router with a "clear ip bgp" command and a random time of day could be a resume-creating event. So you might be wondering, "how do I propagate changes to route-maps, prefix-lists, and the like without taking down neighbor connections?" That's what this nugget is all about: route refresh capabilities, soft neighbor resets, and ORF…all in one place!

Controlling BGP: BGP Communities - 00:35:05
BGP Communities are a free-form way of tagging your routes to do…well, whatever you want with them! In this Nugget, Jeremy unpacks the purpose of the BGP Community attribute, providing practical examples from both the enterprise and service provider network perspective.

Controlling BGP: BGP Attributes - Putting it all Together - 00:17:24
Jeremy felt the need to add one more brief Nugget to summarize the big "BGP Attribute" picture.

Growing BGP: Revisiting the Service Provider Design - 00:27:08
Earlier in the series, we introduced a Nugget titled "BGP SP: Getting in the Service Provider Mindset" - consider this the sequel! Now that you've had a host of BGP tools added to your toolbelt, we get back to the practical design by discussing best practices to advertise customer routes, BGP Multipath support, organizing the service provider network, and public vs. private addresses!

Growing BGP: Route Reflectors - 00:22:56
BGP Route Reflectors are a scary concept - they bend the rules of BGP Split Horizon and open your core network to routing loops. In this Nugget, Jeremy carefully breaks down the definition of a Route Reflector as well as the best design practices.

Growing BGP: Confederations - 00:26:33
Okay…we'll try to hold back on as many Star Trek references as possible, but COME ON! Why else would they call them BGP Confederations? This Nugget takes Route Reflectors to a whole new level, demonstrating how to create autonomous systems WITHIN your autonomous system!

Tweaking BGP: Why BGP Can Kill Your Router and How to Stop It - 00:21:52
As you know, BGP is a monster protocol; if care is not taken, it can eat your router for lunch. This Nugget is dedicated to understanding the individual BGP processes running on your router, optimizing their functions, and protecting yourself against the "misconfigured-router-of-death."

Tweaking BGP: Peer Groups and Route Dampening Smackdown - 00:29:46
By now, you've probably noticed that most of your BGP configuration occurs by entering redundant "neighbor" commands for each peer. Enter BGP Peer Groups to save the day! This Nugget discusses Peer Group concepts and configuration as well as a little BGP Route Dampening penalty smackdown!