CCIE Quest

Skype for SIP Service (or SkypeConnect) is a service which allows you to use your SIP Based PBX (e.g CUCME / CUCM) & integrate it into Skype Service. By Using Online Number & Business User feature , you can receive calls not only from traditonal PSTN e.g landlines/cellphones but also from millions of Skype contacts/users all over the world.Skype Connect provides connectivity between your business and the Skype community. Refer to a previous blog post for more information.You can register for SkypeConnect service here. If you want to register for another SIP Voip Service provider & test interoperability with SkypeConnect Service, here’s the link

This tutorial is detailed in nature & covers mainly following aspects:

Setting up Calling Channels, CallerID , Online Number , Business account , SIP Profile under SkypeConnect using Skype Manager

• Configuring CUCME for IP Phone Registration
• Configuring CUCME using SIP Register for integration to SkypeConnect
• Testing Outgoing Calls using Skype Test numbers & E164 Format International Numbers
• Testing Incoming Calls using Online Number Feature from PSTN/Cellular network & as well as from Skype Users
• Detailed Verification and troubleshooting for 3 all Call Legs
• Routing Calls to Auto Attendant/ Pilot Numbers using voice translation profiles.

Read more about Cisco Unified CME Integration to SkypeConnect (Skype for SIP) Service »

If you are studying for CCIE Security or any Cisco Related Certification, you need to work on IPS. In this detailed tutorial, i will show you how you can emulate Cisco Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) 6 using Qemu & GNS3. I will be emulating IPS 4235 v 6.0.6(E3) in this tutorial. You can run upto 4 virtual sensors starting IPS-4235u v 6.0 . In a future blog post, i will show you also how to run virtual sensors , configure IPS for sensing interfaces using interface pair , inline vlan pair etc & connecting to IPS6 using ASDM . In this guide, i will setup sensor for 5 1000Mbps interfaces with Management0/0 being used for Command & Control ( C&C ) & rest of 4 interfaces (GigabitEthernet 0/0 – GigabitEthernet 0/3) as Sensing interfaces.

First & foremost, install the latest version of GNS3 i.e GNS v 0.7.3 if you haven’t already done so. Next, Cisco IPS Recovery CD will be required. You should be able to get one from you CCO account on Cisco.com.

Disclaimer: This tutorial is for learning purposes only. You can download Cisco IPS Recovery image from CCO directly.Otherwise,it shouldn’t be hard to get one from internet using some googling skills I will NOT provide any images so, please refrain from asking me as i won’t entertain any such requests/emails.

Cisco Secure ACS 5.X Deployment Guide E-Book

Now, lets get started. I will be breaking it down into several steps.

Software Version Used in this tutorial:

• -> Platform : Windows 7 64bit edition (Tutorial will work on any OS )
• -> GNS3 Version : v0.7.3
• -> IPS Sensor Version : IPS 4235 v 6.0.6(E3)
• -> Qemu Version : 0.11.0
• -> Reference : http://inetpro.org/wiki/Using_qemu_to_run_Cisco_IPS

NOTE: Screenshots might get cropped on blog post so click on thumbnail to view full image.If you want to download tutorial , see end of this tutorial for GNS3 configuration file & PDF version of this tutorial. Read more about How to emulate Cisco IPS »

If you are a CLI junkie/lover like me , you should use Qemu Host (Microcore) & follow my previous tutorial. However, If you want to ease-up the setup & configuration using Graphical User Interface (GUI), then it should be no-brainer.

This write-up will explain Qemu Image use in GNS3 . Qemu Host image can be either CLI ( Microcore ) or GUI (Tinycore).Its basically a small linux image which can be used for performing some basic connectivity tasks e.g telnet, ssh, iptables, route, tcpdump and IPv6 support.

This tutorial will walk you through step by step Read more about GNS3: Add GUI Qemu Host (tinycore) »

If you haven’t downloaded latest GNS3 Version, do it now.There are quite a number of features incorporated into this new release & its the best version out yet! Major enhancements include PCAP capture support for Qemu based devices,Ability to use multiple images for Qemu hosts, JunOS, PIX, ASA and IDS and to configure the number of interfaces on each device , Autosave feature for your topology , Ability to use a default base config (baseconfig.txt) & many more

Here is the feature detail : Read more about GNS3 v 0.7.3 Update : Enhanced Features »

This write-up will explain Qemu Image use in GNS3 . Qemu Host image can be either CLI ( Microcore ) or GUI (Tinycore).Its basically a small linux image which can be used for performing some basic connectivity tasks e.g telnet, ssh, iptables, route, tcpdump and IPv6 support.

This tutorial will walk you through step by step for setting up Qemu Host image in GNS3

MicroCore Setup Instructions:

Read more about GNS3: Add Qemu Host (MicroCore) »

If you haven’t already downloaded latest version of GNS3 i.e GNS3 7.0.2 , grab it now. New release includes mouthful of features & bug fixes .Most interesting feature is the addition of  Qemu Image of Microcore Linux 2.10 which will help you simulate PCs/Workstations/Computers right within GNS3 interface. Support for SSH, iptables, iproute , tcpdump , IPv6 has been included to test connectivity & routing features. Also, we are awaiting Release of next version of Read more about New Features added to GNS3 »