Background Information on Implementation and Verfication Plans ccie training in delhi india

Network Bulls
http://www.networkbulls.com/
Best Institute for CCNA CCNP CCSP CCIP CCIE Training in India
M-44, Old Dlf, Sector-14 Gurgaon, Haryana, India 
Call: +91-9654672192

The last major section of this chapter also discusses the topics of implementation and verification

planning, but with a different twist. So far, this chapter has been focused on how

you might prepare for CCNP exams. This section instead focuses on implementation and

verification planning as an end to themselves.

No Single Plan Style

Upon reading the CCNP ROUTE Exam Topics, and seeing the references to “implementation

plan” and “verification plan,” you might be at least slightly curious to see examples of

such plans. However, no such example implementation plan or verification plan exists in

this book because no one specific type of plan matters to the exam. In fact, the Cisco authorized

course for this exam, also called ROUTE, also does not offer a specific type or

style of implementation or verification plan.

Several reasons exist as to why no one type of implementation or verification plan is suggested

as the model for preparing for the exams, including the following:

■

around a white board to formal reviews and processes.

Every company does something different, from completely ad-hoc discussions

■

planning, but each uses different terminology, so a single suggested plan format

would implicitly recommend one method or another.

Several standards exist for methodologies that include implementation and verification

www.CareerCert.info

14 CCNP ROUTE 642-902 Official Certification Guide

■

to assess the test-taker’s planning skills.

Creating a pseudo-standard example plan for the sake of CCNP was not actually necessary

Typical Elements in an Implementation Plan

Although no one style of plan matters, the types of items inside a plan have some interest

for the exam. It is also useful to know a few terms regarding some of the formalized methods

for implementation planning.

When an IT organization takes the time to require and review a written implementation

plan for a project, those plans still vary in terms of depth and detail. The plan may include

many details about the existing network, or it may rely on other documentation, ignoring

those details in the implementation plan. The plan may list financials, particularly when

hardware and software must be purchased, or it may leave those details out of the planning

document, instead leaving those details for the management team to handle.

Just for perspective, Table 1-1 outlines some of the types of items you might see in a

network implementation plan:

The existing

network:

Router and switch hardware

IOS versions and feature sets

RAM and flash in each device

Existing configurations

IP Subnet and Addressing Plan, Assignments, and Conventions

Management:

Assumptions and dependencies

Required management sign-offs

New tools, reporting, status update process

Personnel and roles, contact information

New project

details:

Design goals (reference to design doc possibly)

Hardware upgrades

Software upgrades

Timelines to make changes

Specific configurations for each device

Migration issues (assuming a subset of sites are implemented in any

one change window)

Network diagrams, possibly for each interim step during a migration

Project

completion:

Final sign-off requirements

Definitions of success

Submission of revised site documentation, operational procedures,

and any other permanent documentation

Table 1-1

www.CareerCert.info

Chapter 1: Planning Tasks for the CCNP Exams 15

Focus for Implementation Plans for CCNP

Although this sample includes typical elements, the three highlighted elements have some

particular interest in the context of the CCNP exams. The Exam Topics do not state a

general “Create a network project implementation plan,” but rather focuses on a technology

area. Specifically for CCNP ROUTE, the Exam Topics that mention an implementation

plan specifically focus on EIGRP, OSPF, eBGP, redistribution, path control, and IPv6,

respectively.

For the exam, the highlighted elements in the sample plan represent the most likely items

to be within the scope of the Exam Topics. An EIGRP implementation plan in real life—

say for a migration from RIP-2 to EIGRP—probably includes all the elements listed in the

sample plan. However, because EIGRP is a Cisco IOS Software feature, the likely implementation

plan topics relate to EIGRP configuration, verification, and issues about migrating

from one design to another.

Structured Implementation Planning Methodologies

The Cisco authorized courses for the CCNP track mention a few structured methodologies

that can be used to manage network projects. These methodologies include steps, terminology,

and conventions that include the implementation planning, the actual

implementation, and in some cases, specific items for verification planning. (In some

cases, the verification plan is part of the implementation plan or change management

process.) Table 1-2 lists these methodologies, and a few facts about each, for perspective.

Table 1-2

Project Planning Methodologies

Method Owner Comment

FCAPS ISO Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security: This

standard focuses on network and systems management. Implementation

planning falls into the change management category.

ITIL Great

Britain

Information Technology Infrastructure Library: A set of best practices

for systems management that has been widely used in the IT industry.

It is managed by the government of Great Britain. www.itil-officialsite.

com.

TMN ITU-T Telecommunications Management Network: Created by the ITU-T’s

Study Group 4, this ongoing effort defines system management practices

from the ITU. Originally based on FCAPS. www.itu.int.

Cisco

Lifecycle

Services

Cisco Quoting the Cisco website: “The Cisco Lifecycle Services approach

defines the activities needed to help you successfully deploy and operate

Cisco technologies and optimize their performance throughout the

lifecycle of your network.”

PPDIOO Cisco Prepare, Plan, Design, Implement, Operate, Optimize: The popular

acronym for the steps defined by Cisco Lifestyle Services.

Typical Verification Plan Components

A typical verification plan is much smaller than the implementation plan. The verification

plan often focuses on a specific change made on a specific day, or on a type a change

made repeatedly at different sites over a longer migration period. The following list outlines

the more common items in a verification plan:

■

The specific show and debug commands to be used

■

The specific facts in the output that must be confirmed

■

not working

Explanations of why a particular command’s output confirms that a feature is or is

■

Sample command output■ Any data that should be gathered when the output is not correct