Introduction

Working as an information technology professional for many years, I have pursued a considerable number of certifications. However, I have always reserved a special place in my heart for my first one: Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA).

Back in 1999, I was thrilled to discover that having obtained this certification was going to radically change my career for the better. Undoubtedly, I was being recognized by the market as a tested network professional, and better job opportunities immediately started to appear.

What surprised me the most was that the CCNA certification did not dwell too much on products. Instead, it focused on foundational networking concepts, which I still use today on a daily basis. Smartly, Cisco had already realized that technologies may quickly change, but concepts remain consistent throughout the years, like genes that are passed through uncountable generations of life forms.

Fast forwarding 17 years, the world has turned its attention to cloud computing and all the promises it holds to make IT easy and flexible. But contrarily to the late 1990s, the explosion of information and opinions that currently floods on the Internet causes more confusion than enlightenment in professionals interested in understanding any IT related topic with reasonable depth.

Bringing method and objectivity to such potential chaos, Cisco has launched a brand-new, associate-level certification: CCNA Cloud. And fortunately, the invitation to write this book has given me not only the opportunity to systematically explore cloud computing, but also the personal satisfaction of positively contributing to my favorite certification.

With the intention of giving you a holistic view of cloud computing and a more rewarding learning experience, the order in which I present the material is designed to provide a logical progression of explanations from basic concepts to complex architectures. Notwithstanding, if you are interested in covering specific gaps in your preparation for the exam, you can also read the chapters out of the proposed sequence.

Each chapter roughly follows this structure:

A description of the business and technological context of the explained technology, approach, or architecture.

An explanation of the challenges addressed by such technology, approach, or architecture.

A detailed analysis that immerses the reader in the main topic of the chapter, including its characteristics, possibilities, results, and consequences.

A thorough explanation of how this technology, approach, or architecture is applicable to real-world cloud computing environments.

A section called “Around the Corner” that points out related topics, trends, and technologies that you are not specifically required to know for the CCNA Cloud CLDFND 210-451 exam, but are very important for your knowledge as a cloud computing professional.

Answer the “Do I Know This Already?” quiz questions to assess your expertise in the chapter topic.

Check the results in Appendix A, “Answers to the Pre-Assessments and Quizzes.”

Based on your results, read the Foundation Topics sections, giving special attention to the sections corresponding to the questions you have not answered correctly.

After the first reading, try to complete the memory tables and define the key terms from the chapter, and verify the results in the appendices. If you make a mistake in a table entry or the definition of a key term, review the related section.

Remember: discovering gaps in your preparation for the exam is as important as addressing them.

Additionally, you can use Appendix D, “Study Planner,” to control the pace of your study during the first reading of this certification guide as whole. In this appendix, you can establish goal dates to read the contents of each chapter and reserve time to test what you have learned through practice tests generated from the Pearson Cert Practice Test engine.

For such purpose, Chapters 1 through 15 cover the following topics:

Chapter 1, “What Is Cloud Computing?”—Unfortunately, massive hype surrounding cloud computing in the past several years has resulted in more distraction than certainty for the majority of IT professionals. With lots of different vendors claiming that cloud environments can only exist via their products, many fundamental aspects of cloud computing have been simply glossed over or, even worse, undiscovered.

Peeling away these marketing layers, this chapter focuses on the history of cloud computing, from its humble beginnings to its widespread adoption during this decade. As a theoretical foundation, it explores NIST’s definition of cloud computing and the essential common characteristics of cloud computing environments.

Chapter 2, “Cloud Shapes: Service Models”—Besides using services from established cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, IT departments are becoming true cloud service providers within their own organizations. This chapter examines the implications of this responsibility, analyzing the well-known cloud service models (Infrastructure as a Service [IaaS], Platform as a Service [PaaS], and Software as a Service [SaaS]). To put such concepts into practice, all service models are explained through illustrative real-world examples.

Chapter 3, “Cloud Heights: Deployment Models”—An organization may choose to build a cloud environment for its own exclusive use or choose to share another cloud environment with one or many other companies. This chapter describes the main characteristics of private, community, public, and hybrid clouds while also discussing the reasons for choosing each of these deployment models. Additionally, it dedicates special focus to the benefits of the Cisco Intercloud strategy, and presents the main characteristics of the Cisco Intercloud Fabric solution.

Chapter 4, “Behind the Curtain”—Building on the conceptual basis provided in the previous three chapters, this chapter introduces you to the most important implementation and operation challenges of a cloud computing environment. The chapter presents the main software and hardware components of a cloud project, the data center journey into a cloud-based architecture, and essential requirements such as application programming interfaces (APIs).

After reading this chapter, you will be fully prepared to clearly understand how each of the technologies explained in the subsequent chapters fit into cloud computing deployments.

Chapter 5, “Server Virtualization”—The exploration of cloud computing infrastructure begins in earnest with this chapter, which analyzes server virtualization as a major enabling technology of cloud computing environments. After quickly addressing the origins and main features of server virtualization, the chapter explains how it differs from cloud computing and, most importantly, what must be done to adapt server virtualization environments to the automation required by cloud computing environments.

Chapter 6, “Infrastructure Virtualization”—Data exchange is essential to any application, regardless of whether it belongs to a server virtualization environment. Nevertheless, connectivity presents particular challenges when virtual machines must communicate with each other and with the outside world. On the other hand, cloud networking faces additional constraints because standardization and automation have become required design factors in such projects. This chapter presents the main principles of and new technologies for virtual and cloud networking through practical examples and clear explanations.

Chapter 7, “Virtual Networking Services and Application Containers”—As virtual and cloud networking have evolved, networking services that used to be deployed only as physical appliances can now be ported into virtual machines. These virtual networking services leverage the advantages of server virtualization environments to offer benefits that were unimaginable with their physical counterparts. Besides exploring these services using real-world examples, this chapter also addresses the concept of application containers, which can be used to secure tenants within a cloud computing environment.

Chapter 8, “Block Storage Technologies”—Data processing, transmission, and storage technologies have always been intertwined in computer science: any change to one technology will always produce effects on the other two. Consequently, storage technologies have evolved to keep pace with the liberal use of virtual servers and virtual networks in cloud computing.

This chapter explores block storage provisioning concepts and the most widely used technologies within such context, such as SAN and disk arrays.

Chapter 9, “File Storage Technologies”—Files are arguably the most popular method of data storage due to their simplicity and scale. This chapter explores concepts and technologies that support file systems for cloud computing, such as NAS and file sharing protocols.

Chapter 10, “Network Architectures for the Data Center: Unified Fabric”—In the late 2000s, Cisco introduced numerous innovations to data center networking through its Unified Fabric architecture. This chapter focuses on the most impactful of these modernizations, including device virtualization (VDCs and their relationship to VLANs and VRF instances), virtual PortChannels, Fabric Extenders, Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV), and Layer 2 Multipathing with FabricPath.

Chapter 11, “Network Architectures for the Data Center: SDN and ACI”—Cloud networking requires a robust physical infrastructure with intrinsic support for dynamic and scalable designs. This chapter explains two cutting-edge architectures for data center networks: Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI).

Chapter 12: “Unified Computing”—Although many IT professionals may view servers as self-sufficient devices within a data center, Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) encompasses technologies that closely interact with all architectures presented in the previous chapters. This chapter introduces the main components of Cisco UCS and explains why this solution was designed from the ground up to be the best server architecture for cloud computing environments.

Chapter 13, “Cisco Cloud Infrastructure Portfolio”—This chapter briefly describes the Cisco products that are used to build optimal cloud computing infrastructures. It is designed to provide a quick reference guide of the ever-evolving family of Cisco products and to materialize the theoretical concepts explained in the previous chapters.

Chapter 14: “Integrated Infrastructures”—Cloud computing environments require levels of speed and elasticity that have challenged how data centers are designed and expanded. Using the concept of pool of devices (POD), multiple companies have formed alliances to provide standardized integrated platforms that include server, networking, storage, and virtualization software as a predictable cloud module. This chapter explains the advantages of such an approach and explores the main similarities and differences between FlexPod (Cisco and NetApp), Vblock (VCE), VSPEX (EMC), and UCSO (Cisco and Red Hat).

Chapter 15: “Final Preparation”—Considering you have learned the content explained in the certification guide, this chapter includes guidelines and tips that are intended to support your study until you take your exam.

Table I-1 lists each exam topic in the blueprint along with a reference to the book chapter that covers the topic.

Table I-1 CLDFND Exam 210-451 Topics and Chapter References

The CCNA Cloud CLDFND 210-451 exam can have topics that emphasize different functions or features, and some topics can be rather broad and generalized. The goal of this book is to provide the most comprehensive coverage to ensure that you are well prepared for the exam. Although some chapters might not address specific exam topics, they provide a foundation that is necessary for a clear understanding of important topics. Your short-term goal might be to pass this exam, but your long-term goal should be to become a qualified cloud professional.

It is also important to understand that this book is a “static” reference, whereas the exam topics are dynamic. Cisco can and does change the topics covered on certification exams often.

This exam guide should not be your only reference when preparing for the certification exam. You can find a wealth of information available at Cisco.com that covers each topic in great detail. If you think that you need more detailed information on a specific topic, read the Cisco documentation that focuses on that topic.

The best place to find out about the latest available Cisco training and certifications is under the Training & Events section at Cisco.com.

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