Ok, so what does Windows 95 have to do with Cisco Live?  Well, if you remember the one Easter Egg that came with Windows 95, you might remember this video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kemivUKb4f4]
Yup, the CAE band will be Weezer! As CiscoLive has said “You voted…. We Listened….. Weezer will be our headliner”.  Taking from the Weezer website at Weezer.Com

The inevitable TAC call and the request for a Show Tech to help with the support. Normally this is not a big problem on most systems, but if you ever try this on somehting like a Nexus 7000 – it takes a loooooong time and pulls well over 100 megs of information in that file. Capturing this output to a terminal is a test of patience (lets not mention console), or even if you redirect it to the bootflash it can still take some time. Then, there is getting a 100+ meg file copied from the bootflash to your computer, etc etc etc. I did do a quick post some time ago about using GZip to compress the file – you can find that post here.
But that is not what this post is about, this post is about a command called TAC-PAC. TAC-PAC seems to be a little known command to most people who have never run into a problem and had to pull a show tech of a N7K, of for that matter any NX-OS platform. I was able to confirm this command on Nexus 7000, 5000, and 1000 as well as the SAN MDS.
So, what is TAC-PAC? It is a single command that redirects the output of show tech-support details to a file, and then automatically compresses it for you. One command – nice and simple. The only thing that you will still have to do is pull the file via FTP or so.

Last year I did a post on Why you should go ( you can read it read here ), but since that was for 2011 – I figured I would update it for 2012 as well. I won’t go into as much detail as I did last year, just figure I would refresh some points, provided some 2012 San Diego information, and bullet point some reasons to attend.

So, What’s New for 2012

Well, first off the location – this year it is in San Diego, CA. The event tends to move around the country, primarily between a location on the east coast and west coast. For example, next year the event will be in Orlando, FL from June 24-27 (if I recall correctly) – and the year after that I think we are then back to San Francisco in May. By having the event move around it helps to keep things exciting and different, granted Vegas is nice but it does tend to get old quick.
Another thing that will be new for 2012 is the guest speakers. Last year William Shatner showed us his Vulcan hand symbol as part of the closing keynote, this year we will have Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage as our closing speakers (you can read more here). I am really looking forward to see what they present and say – to be honest, I have no idea what to expect other then a great time during the closing keynote.

 
Time to continue the IOS XR information, now configuring interfaces. Yes, this is somewhat basic stuff – but I think that it is good just to see it. If you are afraid of it, seeing stuff that is easy can help someone become comfortable with new things.
 
First, let’s take a look at what interfaces we have and review them quickly. We can use the same command we are already familiar with – show ip interface brief
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#sh ip int br
Thu Mar 29 18:12:04.883 UTC
Interface IP-Address Status Protocol
MgmtEth0/7/CPU0/0 unassigned Shutdown Down
MgmtEth0/7/CPU0/1 unassigned Shutdown Down
MgmtEth0/7/CPU0/2 unassigned Shutdown Down
GigabitEthernet0/3/0/0 unassigned Down Down
GigabitEthernet0/3/0/1 unassigned Down Down
GigabitEthernet0/3/0/2 unassigned Up Up
GigabitEthernet0/3/0/3 unassigned Up Up
MgmtEth0/6/CPU0/0 unassigned Shutdown Down
MgmtEth0/6/CPU0/1 unassigned Shutdown Down
MgmtEth0/6/CPU0/2 unassigned Shutdown Down
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#
Here you can see that we have an RP in Slot 6 and 7 (Mgmt) and a 4-port Gig card in Slot 3. For this lab, interfaces G0/3/0/2 and G0/3/0/3 are pre-cabled to another router and are currently UP/UP right now.

Ok, we have seen the basic COMMIT option – but what other options do we have for configuration mode? Well, we have a few to choose from.
First, what if I am making changes and decide I don’t want them? You have a few options. First you could just exit all the way out.

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#exit
Uncommitted changes found, commit them before exiting(yes/no/cancel)? [cancel]: no

And once you exit out, all your changes are lost.

Ok, that is one option. Another is clear. To demonstrate, lets create loopback 666
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#conf t
Sun Apr 1 22:18:52.956 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#int loop 666
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#ip add 6.6.6.6/32
Ok, let’s check the candidate configuration:
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#show config
Sun Apr 1 22:19:03.438 UTC
Building configuration…
!! IOS XR Configuration 4.1.1
interface Loopback666
ipv4 address 6.6.6.6 255.255.255.255
!
end
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#

Yeah, I am deviating again from the technology norm for a post. Every now and then I just feel that I need to share some of the tools that I have found that might be able to help others. In this post, I will be sharing some of the debt reduction and budget planning information I have found over time, as well as some other financial forms that come in handy.
First of all – I will admit I am a fan of Dave Ramsey, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Suze Orman, and other financial gurus. Most of what each of them speak of come down to a single thing – common sense. Not much of what they say is new or amazing, it is just want Grandma and Grandpa (or great Grandma and Grandpa for some of you) use to do and say. Perhaps that is the problem, we have a generation growing up that only really knows plastic – they don’t know the value of cash and savings.
I am not here to talk on cause and effect, but to share information I have been able to gather over time.

This is going to be the first post in a series of blog posts on IOS XR code. This post might be simple, but it is a good to start with the basics so that poeple can get familiar with how XR works.
Lets cover the prompt real quick as that is a bit different then what people are used to.
Lets look at the standard IOS prompt vs the IOS XR prompt.
IOS: Router#
IOS-XR: RP/0/7/CPU0:ios#
As you can see the prompt is a bit different. In standard IOS you have the hostname, but in IOS XR you get a bit more information. It breaks down as follows:
Prompt Syntax:
Type – type of interface card (Usually RP for Route Processor)
Rack – What Rack number this is installed in in a multi-shelf system, typically if standalone
Slot – Slot the RP is installed in (7)
Module – What execute the user commands or port interface. Usually CPU0 or CPU1
Name – Hostname of the router, default here is IOS
->  RP/0/7/CPU0:ios#
**

Ok, time to get re-familiar with IOS XR code – been some time, worked on IOS for many many years – time to get my hands dirty again.  So based on that, time to share!
 
Let’s start with the basic difference between Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XR code, the Operating System.
In Cisco IOS, the kernel is monolithic, meaning everything in installed in a single image and all processes share the same address space. There is no memory protection between processes, so if one crashes it can impact all other processes on the box – thus forcing or causing a reload. The other thing with monolithic code is that it has a run to completion scheduler, so the kernel will not preempt a process that is running, the process must make a kernel call before another process has a chance to execute.

That picture about describes the cost of the new CCIE Data Center Hardware. Keep in mind, that this is list price – and my best uneducated guess at what we will see on the lab in the terms of hardware and quantity.  Regardless, I think I will nickname this new certification – The Million Dollar CCIE!

Recently Cisco officially announces the CCIE Data Center on their The Cisco Learning Network website – LINK. This certification track has been long rumored – probably for about 1-2 years now some of us have been waiting for the announcement.
A complete list of the written exam topics in PDF format can be found here – LINK. The Beta exam of the written will be available at Cisco Live San Diego this year if you are interested in taking it during the event, if not – you can take the beta beginning May 1 through June 14 at a cost of $50. If you pass the beta, you will recertify your existing CCIE (like any CCIE level written will) and you will be qualified to take the lab (same deal). My advice on this would be to not take it at Live, you get a free test – use the coupon wisely. If you want to take this test at Cisco Live, invest the $50. If you would rather wait for the go-live of the exam, that will be September 3, 2012.