Implementing the Catalyst 6500 ACE Service Module

Course description
ACESM is a 4-day, instructor-led, lecture/lab course that teaches you how to design, deploy, and optimize intelligent network services using the Cisco Application Control Engine (ACE) Service Module for Catalyst 6500 switches.

This course covers all of the key features of the ACE 2.0 software, including resource virtualization and management, server load balancing (Layer 2-4 and Layer 7), SSL termination and offload, and security features like application-layer inspection and fixups.


Learning objectives
After you complete this course, you will be able to:

• Describe IP application delivery with the ACE module
• Describe the structure and function of the Modular Policy CLI statements used to configure ACE features
• Describe the capabilities the ACE module used to load balance IP-based applications
• Identify the layer 7 processing options used to provide advanced application networking
• Create new contexts and resource classes
• Create class maps and serverfarms
• Configure an ACE context load balance traffic flows
• Configure an ACE context to monitor real servers
• Implement fixups and inspection
• Describe the ACE features that provide IP application security
• Implement SSL termination
• Configure network address translations
• Describe the high availability features of the ACE module
• Configure an ACE context to perform a variety functions in an integrated environment
• Troubleshoot common SLB configuration errors

Who should attend
This course is designed for systems engineers and network architects who need to design or deploy server load-balancing solutions using the Cisco ACE module.


Recommended prerequisites

• Familiarity with TCP/IP protocol suite
• Knowledge of HTTP and SSL protocols
• Basic understanding of N-tier application architecture
• Basic understanding of server load-balancing concepts

Course outline
Lesson 1: Introducing ACE

• IP Protocol Stack Review
• IP Application Review
• Introducing ACE

Lesson 2: Deploying ACE

• Connecting ACE to the Network
• Network Topologies
• Virtualization
• Resource Management
• Authorizing Management Users
• Configuring Interfaces

Lesson 3: Modular Policy CLI

• Class Maps
• Policy Maps
• Applying Policy Maps

Lesson 4: Managing the ACE Module

• Permitting Management Traffic
• SNMP Manageability
• ANM

Lesson 5: Security Features

• IP Access Control Lists
• ACL object groups
• SYN Cookies
• TCP/IP Fragmentation/Reassembly
• TCP/IP Normalization
• Network Address Translation

Lesson 6: Layer 4 Load Balancing

• Load Balancing Concepts
• Load Balancing Algorithms
• Configuring Layer 4 Load Balancing
• Traffic Rate Limiting

Lesson 7: Health Monitoring

• Health Monitoring Overview
• Active Health Probes
• HTTP Error Code Monitoring
• Using TCL Scripting
• Route Health Injection
• Backup Servers/Server Farms
• KAL-AP Integration

Lesson 8: Layer 7 Protocol Processing

• HTTP Layer 7 Load Balancing
• Persistent/Pipelined HTTP Extensions
• HTTP Modifications
• Session Persistence
• HTTP Inspection
• FTP Protocol Processing
• RDP Protocol Processing
• Radius Protocol Processing
• RTSP Protocol Processing
• SIP Protocol Processing
• Generic Protocol Parsing
• Inspected Protocols

Lesson 9: Processing Secure Connections

• Digital Encryption Technologies
• SSL Service Options
• Configuring a Public-Key Infrastructure
• Configuring SSL Proxy Services

Lesson 10: High Availability

• Redundancy
• Object Tracking
• Failover
• State Replication
• Displaying Fault Tolerance Information

Lesson 11: Integrating Multiple Features

• Analyzing Network Requirements
• Designing ACE Contexts
• Designing ACE features
• Configuring Multiple Integrated Features

Course labs
Lab 1: Implementing Virtualization
Lab 2: Using Network Address Translation
Lab 3: Configuring Server Load Balancing
Lab 4: Implementing Health Monitoring
Lab 5: Configuring Layer 7 Load Balancing
Lab 6: Enabling Sticky Connections
Lab 7: Enabling Protocol Inspection
Lab 8: Configuring SSL Termination
Lab 9: Integrating Multiple Features
Lab 10: Troubleshooting Case Study 1: Common SLB Configuration Errors
Lab 11: Troubleshooting Case Study 2: Layer 7 SLB Configuration Errors