Advanced Switching Lab for CCNP and CCIE

To configure and verify inter-switch communication using both Layer 3 interfaces and VLAN trunking, ensuring that devices across switches can communicate over a specific VLAN.

This lab focuses on configuring trunk negotiation modes on Cisco switches. SW1 uses dynamic desirable mode to actively form trunks with SW2, SW3, and SW4, while the others use dynamic auto, resulting in access mode fallback between them.

This lab demonstrates trunk negotiation and encapsulation configuration on Cisco switches. SW1 uses dynamic desirable mode with static 802.1Q encapsulation, while SW2, SW3, and SW4 use dynamic auto mode. The goal is to verify that only SW1 initiates trunking with 802.1q, without negotiation.

This lab involves configuring trunk negotiation and encapsulation on Cisco switches. SW1 uses dynamic desirable mode with static 802.1q encapsulation, while SW2, SW3, and SW4 use dynamic auto. Additionally, trunk links are configured to send VLAN 172 traffic untagged, simulating native VLAN behavior across inter-switch connections.

Learn to configure static 802.1Q trunk links, disable Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP) for security, set dynamic auto mode on other links, and verify trunking behavior, gaining practical skills in VLAN trunking, switch port modes, and network troubleshooting.

Learn how to configure dynamic trunking protocols, set up and manage VTP domains with server and client roles, implement VTP authentication, and verify VLAN propagation across switches using VTP. This enhances their understanding of scalable VLAN management in enterprise networks.

Learn to configure static 802.1Q trunk links, set a root bridge for all VLANs, implement VTP version 2 with different switch modes, and ensure VLAN consistency and host communication across switches. This reinforces VLAN design, trunking, and VTP operations in multi-switch networks.

Learn to configure VTP client mode, enable VTP pruning to optimize broadcast traffic across switches, and verify trunk efficiency using command-line outputs. This strengthens their skills in managing Layer 2 scalability and reducing unnecessary traffic in VLAN environments.

Learn to enable VTP pruning across a domain, modify the prune-eligible VLAN list to ensure VLAN 7 traffic is preserved on all trunk links, and verify the configuration using trunk interface outputs. This improves their ability to control VLAN traffic flow and optimize Layer 2 network performance.

Learn to configure and secure VTP version 3 across switches, set up authentication with a hidden password, and assign VLAN modification privileges to a specific switch. This builds advanced skills in VLAN management, VTP security, and role-based configuration control in enterprise networks.

Learn to configure Layer 2 EtherChannel manually between SW1 and SW2, SW3, and SW4 without using negotiation protocols like PAgP or LACP. You'll also set up 802.1Q trunking, with SW1 initiating the negotiation. Port-channel interfaces will follow the format Port-Channel1Y, where Y matches the switch number.

Learn how to configure Layer 2 EtherChannel using Cisco’s proprietary PAgP protocol, with only SW1 actively initiating negotiation. SW1 also initiates 802.1Q trunking. Port-channel interfaces will follow the format Port-Channel1Y, where Y corresponds to SW2, SW3, and SW4 respectively

Learn how to configure Layer 2 EtherChannel using the industry-standard LACP protocol, with only SW1 actively initiating negotiation. SW1 also initiates 802.1Q trunking. Port-channel interfaces will follow the format Port-Channel1Y, where Y corresponds to SW2, SW3, and SW4, respectively.

Learn how to configure a Layer 3 EtherChannel between SW2 and SW4 using two directly connected Ethernet links. You'll use Port-Channel24 and assign IPs from the 155.1.108.Y/24 subnet, where Y is the switch number. Both switches will actively negotiate using LACP, ensuring IPv4 reachability between them.

Learn how to configure VLAN trunking using 802.1Q, manage inter-switch connectivity, implement Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) for redundancy, and control STP root bridge election priorities to ensure network stability and failover in VLAN environments.

Learn how to manipulate Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) path selection using port cost values. They’ll ensure preferred traffic flow through a specific link and configure backup paths for redundancy, enhancing network reliability and control over Layer 2 traffic paths.

Learn how to influence STP path selection using switch priority settings. They’ll configure preferred and backup links for traffic flow, ensuring that traffic from SW4 to SW1 uses a specific link unless it fails, enhancing network control and fault tolerance.

Learn how to customize STP timers to control network convergence behavior. They’ll configure hello, forward delay, and max age timers to optimize stability and responsiveness across all VLANs, ensuring consistent performance for both current and future VLAN configurations.

Learn how to configure STP PortFast on access ports to speed up network convergence, set up trunking with 802.1Q encapsulation, and apply STP settings at the interface level. This enhances efficiency and avoids delays during device startup without using global STP commands.

Learn how to globally enable STP PortFast for all access ports without using interface-level commands. They’ll configure access mode and VLAN assignment, ensuring faster transition to forwarding state for end devices while maintaining STP stability across the network.

Learn how to configure STP UplinkFast to improve network recovery time when a Root Port fails. They’ll use default STP priorities and verify rapid failover behavior, gaining practical skills in enhancing Layer 2 network resilience and minimizing downtime.

Learn how to configure STP BackboneFast to accelerate convergence during indirect link failures. They’ll ensure that switches quickly expire the max age timer and begin reconvergence, improving network recovery time and maintaining stability in complex Layer 2 topologies.

Learn how to configure hybrid EtherChannel setups with Layer 2 and Layer 3 interfaces, use negotiation protocols like LACP, apply BPDU Guard for STP protection, and implement automatic recovery mechanisms. This enhances link redundancy, security, and dynamic reconnection in enterprise networks.

Learn how to configure a mixed Layer 2/Layer 3 EtherChannel using dynamic negotiation protocols like LACP, apply BPDU Guard globally to protect against STP loops, and implement automatic recovery without using interface-level commands, enhancing link redundancy, security, and network automation.

Learn how to configure mixed Layer 2 and Layer 3 interfaces, assign IP addresses and VLANs, and apply BPDU filtering to prevent STP disruptions. They’ll gain skills in isolating STP domains and managing traffic flow while avoiding interface-level configuration commands.

Learn how to configure BPDU Filter globally for PortFast-enabled ports, ensuring STP packets are blocked only on access ports. They’ll also gain experience in setting up mixed Layer 2/Layer 3 interfaces and validating that specific ports, like FastEthernet0/20, follow the global STP filtering policy.

Learn how to configure Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to enhance network stability by ensuring SW1 remains the Root Bridge.

Learn how to configure Spanning-Tree Loop Guard to prevent unidirectional link issues on inter-switch connections. Without using interface-level commands on SW1 and SW2, you’ll learn how to protect the Layer 2 network from potential STP failures and ensure consistent loop-free communication across switches.

Learn how UDLD detects and disables faulty links to maintain network integrity, without using any interface-level commands on SW1 and SW2.

Configure Multiple Spanning-Tree (MST) across SW1–SW4 using the region name MST and revision 1. You’ll assign VLANs to three MST instances and set SW1 and SW4 as Root Bridges for instances 1 and 2. You’ll also configure backup Root Bridges using the lowest priority values to ensure redundancy and stability.

In this lab, you’ll configure Multiple Spanning-Tree (MST) across SW1–SW4 using region MST and revision 1. You’ll assign VLANs to two MST instances and set SW1 as the Root Bridge for instance 1 using the lowest priority. You’ll also modify STP cost so traffic from SW2 to SW1 flows through the last link to SW4, with automatic failover to the remaining link if needed.

In this lab, you’ll configure Multiple Spanning-Tree (MST) on SW1–SW4 using region MST and revision 1. You’ll assign VLANs to two MST instances and set SW1 as the Root Bridge for instance 1 using the lowest priority. You’ll configure SW2 with the next lowest priority as a backup Root Bridge. Then, using STP priority, you’ll ensure traffic from SW4 to SW1 flows through the last link to SW2, with automatic failover to the remaining link if that path goes down.

You’ll configure Multiple Spanning-Tree (MST) on SW1–SW4 using region MST and revision 1. You’ll assign VLANs to two MST instances and enable PortFast on SW1’s Ethernet0/1 interface. This allows the port to immediately transition to the forwarding state, helping reduce convergence time and improve network efficiency.

Learn to configure VLANs, Layer 3 interfaces, access ports, and port protection on switches to control inter-switch communication and implement basic network segmentation and security using Cisco IOS commands.

Learn to implement traffic policing on switches by configuring rate limits for unicast and broadcast traffic. Explore bandwidth control using absolute values and relative percentages to optimize network performance and security.

Learn to configure VLANs, Layer 3 interfaces, and static CAM entries to control traffic flow and enforce communication restrictions between switches, enhancing network segmentation and security at the data link layer.

Learn to configure traffic redirection and VLAN tagging on switches. The focus is on directing specific interface traffic to designated hosts and ensuring proper VLAN assignment for untagged inbound traffic.

Explore Remote SPAN (RSPAN) configuration to monitor traffic across switches. The focus is on capturing and redirecting VLAN traffic for analysis, using access ports, tagged traffic handling, and RSPAN VLAN setup.

Learn how to configure switch ports for data and voice traffic using VLANs, trunking, and CDP. The focus is on implementing voice VLANs, native VLANs, and traffic filtering to support converged network environments.

Learn to automate switch configuration using macros. The focus is on simplifying repetitive tasks by applying predefined settings for VLAN assignment and BPDU filtering across multiple interfaces.

Configure private VLANs to enforce granular Layer 2 isolation and selective communication. The setup demonstrates how primary, community, and isolated VLANs can be used to control access between devices while maintaining IP connectivity.