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Extreme Data Center (VOSS/VSP) study materials
Extreme Data Center (VOSS/VSP) study resources

Extreme Data Center (VOSS/VSP): VOSS/VSP Installation, Initial Configuration, and Management Access

Extreme Data Center (VOSS/VSP) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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VOSS/VSP Installation, Initial Configuration, and Management Access

Questions here test the first hour of a VSP's life: console access, boot behaviour, management addressing, credentials, and making configuration survive a reload.

Access and boot

  • Console: 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, no flow control. You land in User mode; enable takes you to Privileged mode.
  • VOSS boots from a chosen configuration file, and primary and backup config files are selectable in the boot configuration, so a bad change can be recovered by booting the backup.
  • A reboot alone does not erase configuration. Returning to defaults requires replacing or clearing the stored config file (the documented factory-default procedure), not simply reset.

Management access

  • The dedicated management port is out-of-band. Give it a static address with ip address mgmt-port 10.10.10.20/24 and a gateway with ip route mgmt-port 0.0.0.0/0 10.10.10.1.
  • In-band management is possible by putting an IP interface on a service VLAN, but then fabric or VLAN mistakes can lock you out - keep the management port reachable as a back door.
  • Local users carry access levels: ro (read-only), rw (read-write), rwa (read-write-all, includes user administration). Create them with the username command and strong passwords; prefer SSH and disable clear-text protocols such as Telnet and FTP where policy requires.
  • Configure syslog hosts and SNMP during installation, not during the first incident.

Persistence

show running-config shows the active configuration, show config shows what is stored in NVRAM, and save config copies running to stored. A change that works but is not saved disappears at the next reload - the classic 'it worked yesterday' ticket.

Worked example

A new VSP 8404 is racked with only console access. The engineer runs enable, then configure terminal, sets ip address mgmt-port 10.10.10.20/24 and the management default route, creates an rwa user, confirms reachability with a ping from the management workstation, and runs save config. During a later power test the switch reloads and the management address returns, because it lived in NVRAM rather than only in RAM.

Traps

Leaving without save config; changing the in-band management VLAN and cutting your own SSH session; mismatched console settings producing garbage characters; restoring another platform's configuration file; and assuming the management port is routed into the fabric by default (it needs its own route).