Showing posts with label cisco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cisco. Show all posts

Friday, July 22, 2016

Network Engineers need Linux

Although I am my no means an expert in Linux (yet), I have done the swap.  I have dropped Windows for a Mint 17.3 Linux.  Since I work in the network consulting realm, it does make things (some things) a little simpler.  I am a fan of Windows 10, but the good about Linux far out weighs the good about Windows.



Benefits:
  • Become more familiar with commands that are regularly used to install and troubleshoot Cisco and other vendor appliances
  • terminal services are much more fluid and many variants are available
  • VIRL and GNS3, in my opinion, run much more efficiently on Linux.
  • Over all performance increase 
  • Less bloat in my OS
  • The new Linux distros' GUIs are as good as, if not better than Windows
  • IT'S FREE!
Drawbacks:

  • Visio and a few other office like products
  • I like Outlook much better than Thunderbird or Evolution

*** I still have Windows 10 installed on my hard drive for now if I need to use certain applications


More info on current Linux distributions: Click Here

More info on Mint: Click Here

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Cisco VIRL Installation

So I finally had the chance to install Cisco VIRL.


Here are a few things that I learned:

  • Installation on bare metal is a pain
    • it is totally possible and is doable, but installing on a free esxi host is much easier
    • interfaces get tricky unless your box matches the base config exactly
  • ESXi is your friend
    • if you have an old PowerEdge 710 server laying around you might as well run ESXi on it an load the pre-configured OVA
    • no messing with linux interfaces in the server
    • just have to build the back end networking in ESXi
  • Don't use the minimum required RAM
    • purchased the 30 node license, but quickly ran out of 32GB (only ran 14 nodes)
    • maxed out the server at 128GB and I can max out my node limit
  • Cisco's community links don't work (as of 7/6/16)
    • all of the google results redirect you to a parked domain
    • this makes troubleshooting and tips a pain if something gets screwed up
    • community forum exists, but it hard to get to threads directly at the moment
  • YOU CAN EXPORT TO GNS3!
All in all I think its great that you can run multiple types of devices (NXOS, IOS, IOSXE, switches).  If you have someone paying for it I would get it, but GNS3 will still be my personal go-to software.  

Here is a link to Cisco's documentation: Click Here
If you'd like some detailed info on doing a Bare Metal install (on a poweredge server): Click Here

Thursday, April 23, 2015

WPA(WPA2)-PSK not supported for ISE guest CWA?

I ran across this one very recently. 

If you are using ISE for CWA, then you are "limited" in what you can do from and SSID security standpoint.
Basic constraints:

  • Set Layer2 security to None with MAC filtering. 
  • Select the ISE IP address for both Authentication and Accounting Servers. 
  • Advanced tab, enable AAA Override and set the Network Admission Control (NAC) State to RADIUS NAC (CoA support)
This means that you cannot use a PSK when you want to do central web auth with ISE.  Its sounds bad (unsecure) until you think about the security mechanisms behind it.  

  • Your guest VLAN should not have access to anything besides the internet once authenticated.  
  • All devices must get registered in ISE before they can authentication, so even if an unencrypted packet is sniffed, the device still gets redirected to the Guest portal page.  
  • Absolute worst case, the "hacker" gets on your guest network: your guest VLAN ACLs peel them off to the internet only and you disallow peer to peer communication on the SSID.

I realize this might make some people uncomfortable with "no security" in the SSID, but keep in mind that this is for guest only and ISE is validating clients.

Links to ISE/WLC Guest Configuration:

Friday, April 10, 2015

Cisco ISE Fail Open Ports

One thing that you have to to consider when installing ISE in an organization is complete ISE failure.  In this scenario ISE has failed because of complete power outage or network access to ISE has been removed and no access can be granted to end devices.  This could in effect shut down your entire company.  This is a very big problem when dealing with a multi-site business with a singular data center.

On your switch ports, add the following command to your standard 802.1x config:
authentication event server dead action authorize vlan X

This command will grant access and dump all traffic on the specified VLAN in the event of total ISE failure/unreachability.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Simple IP SLAs

One of the easiest ways adjust routing for a backup link it to simply use an IP SLA.

Basic premise:

Create an SLA to track a specific IP from a specific IP.  You ideally want to track from an external interface the is always going to be able to reach the tracked IP unless there is an outage.

ip sla 7
 icmp-echo (IP to track) source-ip (your local interface IP)
 timeout 6000
 threshold 3000
 frequency 30

Now you have to start your SLA.

ip sla schedule 7 life forever start-time now

Next you setup tracking of that SLA for reachability

track 7 ip sla 7 reachability
***(track 7 rtr 7 reachability) code version differences

Now for the implementation.  You simply add the track statement to the route you want to be preferred and add the backup route with a worse metric.

ip route DestinationNetwork Mask NextHop track 7
example:
ip route 172.16.48.0 255.255.255.0 172.18.8.129 track 7

ip route DestinationNetwork Mask NextHop Distance
example:
ip route 172.16.48.0 255.255.255.0 10.14.32.1 200

You can get way more complicated with this, but this is a simple solution for backup links.

references:
Cisco SLAs

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Ipad/Iphone SSID Join issue

I have seen this happen to more people than I can count.

Symptoms:


  • Ipad/Iphone can't join a wireless network
  • Ipad/Iphone can't roam properly
  • Laptops and androids join/roam just fine
  • Debugs on the Controller show the Ipad/Iphone joining 


Solution:

Turn on Fast SSID switching.


















The apple devices for whatever reason try to join a 2nd SSID before they receive the response from the controller. With the option disabled the WLC sets a delay before the devices and join a different SSID.  The vicious cycle begins.

Nothing make people more irritated than not being able to use their shiny apples.

References:
rscciew



Thursday, October 16, 2014

Patching Cisco ACS

Problem

During an ACS upgrade I have gotten the following error message many times and banged my head against the nearest wall:
 "% Manifest file not found in the bundle"

Here is an example:
acs/admin# patch install 5-6-0-22-1.tar.gpg Upgrade
Do you want to save the current configuration ? (yes/no) [yes] ?
Generating configuration...
Saved the running configuration to startup successfully
% Manifest file not found in the bundle
acs/admin#

Commence Head-Wall meetings

Reason
Here is (in my opinion) the most common reason for this error:
  • Incorrect command

Resolution

The command should be:

    • acs/admin# acs patch install 5-6-0-22-1.tar.gpg repository Upgrade ------ Correct
    • acs/admin# patch install 5-6-0-22-1.tar.gpg Upgrade -------- Incorrect 


Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Apples on your Cisco gear

If you Apple devices on your network, this is a handy doc from Cisco.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/technology/vowlan/bestpractices/EntBP-AppMobDevs-on-Wlans.pdf

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Wireless Mobility Connections Fail and Do Not Recover When ASA is Rebooted

I saw this issue for the first time today so I thought it was worth sharing. 
Full article is linked here: LINK

Took TAC a while to find the issue, but apparently TAC says its a design issue not a bug.

Brief overview:

Problem

In this situation a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) at 10.10.1.2 attempts to communicate with the WLC at 10.10.9.3, but the communication fails.
This problem can be triggered by any of these events:
  • The ASA is rebooted.
  • The routing table is modified by an administrator or routing protocol.
  • An interface is shut down, then brought back up by the administrator.
Besides mobility traffic, this problem might be experienced for any UDP or non-TCP IP protocols.

Solution

Solution 1

One possible solution for this issue is to remove the same-security permit intra-interface command from the ASA. This solution prevents the u-turn connection from being built back out the same interface on which the original packet was received, which allows the correct connection to be built when the interface comes up. However, depending on the routing table of the ASA, this solution might not work (the traffic might be routed to another interface other than the intended destination based on the routing table), and the same-security permit intra-interface command might be necessary for other connections on the ASA.

Solution 2

For this specific instance, the problem was successfully mitigated by enabling the timeout floating-conn feature. This feature, which is not enabled by default, caused the ASA to tear down these connections one minute after a more preferred route to one of the endpoints is added to the routing table out a new interface of the ASA, which occurs when the dmz interface comes up. The connections are then immediately rebuilt when the next packet arrives at the ASA, using the more preferred interface (dmz, instead of inside for the 10.10.9.3 host).
ASA(config)# timeout floating-conn 0:01:00 

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Outdoor Mesh

Cisco's outdoor mesh is not a new concept, but a different animal than the indoor world.  You can cover much larger areas with fewer APs.  Be warned, just because you can 'see' the AP from a location doesn't mean it can 'see' you.  the 1550 series APs have a much greater sensitivity than lets say the 3600 series.  The external omni-direction antenna can detect down to the range of -92 dBm.  The real limiting factor is going to be your clients.  Laptops at 'full' power will get you a lot further then your average Moto handheld scanner, iPhone, etc.  There is lots of good info out there, but some of it is hard to find.

Here is a list of documents that are very useful for mesh deployments:

Cisco 1550 Ordering Guide

Cisco Mesh Deployment Guide 7.3

Cisco Mesh Deployment Guide 7.4

Cisco 1552 Range Calculator

Monday, January 30, 2012

Convert Lightweight AP back to Autonomous

On occasion I need an autonomous AP, but all I have is a drawer full of lightweights.  Here is the process for getting them back to autonomous mode:
(This is from Cisco)

Step 1 The static IP address of the PC on which your TFTP server software runs should be between 10.0.0.2 and 10.0.0.30.
Step 2 Make sure that the PC contains the access point image file (such as c1200-k9w7-tar.122-15.JA.tar for a 1200 series access point) in the TFTP server folder and that the TFTP server is activated.
Step 3 Set the timeout value on the TFTP server to 30 seconds.
Step 4 On the PC where the TFTP server is located, perform these steps:
a. Disable any software firewall products, such as Windows firewall, ZoneAlarm firewall, McAffee firewall, or others.
b. Ensure all Windows files are visible. From Windows Explorer, click Tools > Folder Options > View; then uncheck the Hide extensions for known file types check box.
Step 5 Rename the access point image file in the TFTP server folder to c1200-k9w7-tar.default for a 1200 series access point, c1130-k9w7-tar.default for an 1130 series access point, c1240-k9w7-tar.default for a 1240 series access point, and c1250-k9w7-tar.default for a 1250 series access point.
Step 6 Connect the PC to the access point using a Category 5 (CAT5) Ethernet cable.
Step 7 Disconnect power from the access point.
Step 8 Press and hold MODE while you reconnect power to the access point.
Step 9 Hold the MODE button until the status LED turns red (approximately 20 to 30 seconds) and then release.
Step 10 Wait until the access point reboots, as indicated by all LEDs turning green followed by the Status LED blinking green.
Step 11 After the access point reboots, reconfigure it using the GUI or the CLI.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Upgrade Cisco AP to LWAPP without UpGrade tool

I don't know how many times I've tried to use Cisco's free upgrade tool and had something go wrong, but it was too many to bother trying again. As with most things Cisco, CLI is my favorite way to do it. I did a little research and found a command that saved me all the frustration of the Upgrade Tool.

Here's all you need to totally bypass the Upgrade Tool and do it yourself:

1. Download Tftpd32/64: Link

2. Start Tftpd32/64

3. Change your current directory to the directory to the directory that contains your LightWeight image file

4. Log in to your AP (while its attach to a network your PC can access)

5. Input this command:

Ap#archive download-sw /leave-old-sw tftp://(tftpserver IP)/imagename

6. Allow AP to download image from your PC.

7. Reload AP

8. Sigh (you're done)


If you really want the link to the UpgradeTool here it is: Link