Validate your ability to install, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Dell PowerSwitch Data Center networking — covering FHRP, VLT link redundancy, OSPF/BGP routing, ACL security, QoS, multicast, VRF, and Smart Fabric network automation.
VLTVRRPOSPFBGPPBRACLsAAAVRFQoSMulticastNTP/PTPSmartFabricOMNIOS10UFDData Centre Networking
Master Dell PowerSwitch Data Centre networking — from topology fundamentals and FHRP redundancy through VLT link aggregation, advanced IP routing, security hardening, DC technologies, and full network automation with SmartFabric.
Module 01
Network Overview
›Data Centre portfolio — identify the main switch families in the Dell PowerSwitch Data Centre portfolio (S-Series, Z-Series) and their positioning (ToR, aggregation, core)
›Common DC topologies — three-tier (core/aggregation/access), leaf-spine (Clos fabric), and collapsed-core designs; trade-offs in scale, redundancy, and east-west traffic efficiency
›VRRP election — priority value (0–255, default 100), preemption behaviour (preempt enabled vs disabled), and tracking objects (interface state changes triggering priority decrement)
›VRRP configuration on OS10 — enabling VRRP under a VLAN interface, setting virtual-address, priority, preempt, and advertisement-interval; verifying with show vrrp detail
›VRRP version differences — VRRPv2 (IPv4 only, multicast 224.0.0.18) vs VRRPv3 (IPv4 + IPv6, owner priority 255 behaviour)
›Verification and troubleshooting — interpreting show vrrp, diagnosing failover latency, confirming Master/Backup transitions, and resolving split-brain scenarios
Module 03
Link Redundancy — VLT & UFD
›VLT architecture — Virtual Link Trunking components: VLT peer nodes, VLT interconnect (VLTi heartbeat + backup link), VLT domain ID, and peer-routing for asymmetric forwarding
›VLT configuration — configuring VLT domain (backup destination, system-mac, unit-id), VLTi port channel, and VLT port channel (downlink LAG to access switches)
›VLT verification — show vlt detail (domain state, peer status), show vlt mismatch (configuration consistency check), and diagnosing VLTi failure scenarios
›UFD configuration on OS10 — defining UFD group (uplink interfaces, downlink interfaces), configuring delay-restore timer, and verifying with show uplink-state-group
Module 04
IP Routing — OSPF, BGP & PBR
›OSPF in OS10 — OSPF process, router-id, network statements vs interface-level enabling, area types (backbone area 0, stub, NSSA), and DR/BDR election on broadcast segments
›OSPF single-area configuration — enabling OSPF on interfaces, passive-interface for host-facing ports, redistribution of connected/static routes, and verifying with show ip ospf neighbor, show ip route ospf
›BGP fundamentals — iBGP vs eBGP, AS numbers, BGP path attributes (NEXT_HOP, LOCAL_PREF, MED, AS_PATH), and BGP best-path selection algorithm
›BGP configuration on OS10 — defining BGP process (router bgp), neighbor statements (remote-as, update-source), route advertisement (network command), and verifying with show bgp summary, show bgp neighbors
›Policy-Based Routing — PBR purpose (route traffic based on source/destination criteria beyond destination prefix), route-map configuration (match ip address, set ip next-hop), applying via ip policy route-map on ingress interface, and verification
Module 05
Security — ACLs & AAA
›ACL fundamentals — standard vs extended IPv4 ACLs, permit/deny logic, implicit deny at end, and sequence numbering for rule insertion/reordering
›ACL configuration on OS10 — defining IP access-list (extended), match criteria (source/destination IP, protocol, port), applying to interface (ip access-group in/out), and verifying with show ip access-lists
›ACL use cases — traffic filtering on L3 interfaces, control-plane ACLs (protecting OS10 management plane from DoS), and VLAN ACLs (VACLs) for intra-VLAN traffic control
›AAA overview — Authentication (who are you), Authorisation (what can you do), Accounting (what did you do); RADIUS vs TACACS+ protocol differences (UDP vs TCP, encryption scope, per-command authorisation)
›AAA configuration on OS10 — configuring RADIUS/TACACS+ server group, aaa authentication login, aaa authorisation commands, aaa accounting, and fallback to local for server-unreachable scenarios; verifying with show aaa
Module 06
Data Centre Technologies
›VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) — VRF purpose (traffic isolation between tenants/departments on shared hardware), creating VRFs, assigning interfaces to VRFs, per-VRF routing table, and inter-VRF route leaking
›VRF configuration on OS10 — ip vrf definition, interface assignment (ip vrf forwarding), and verifying with show ip vrf, show ip route vrf
›QoS — traffic identification (DSCP/CoS marking), queuing mechanisms (DWRR, strict priority), congestion avoidance (WRED), shaping vs policing, and Data Centre QoS requirements (lossless Ethernet for storage traffic)
›QoS configuration on OS10 — class-map (match dscp/cos), policy-map (set/police/queue), service-policy applied to interface; verifying with show qos interface
›IP Multicast — PIM Sparse Mode operation (rendezvous point, (*,G) and (S,G) entries), IGMP snooping (prevent multicast flooding to non-member ports), PIM configuration (ip pim sparse-mode on interfaces, ip pim rp-address), verifying with show ip mroute
›Network Timing — NTP (stratum hierarchy, client/server/peer modes), PTP (IEEE 1588 hardware timestamping, boundary clock vs transparent clock), and SyncE (physical layer frequency synchronisation); configuration and verification in OS10
Module 07
Network Automation
›Automation rationale — reducing configuration drift, accelerating deployment, enabling intent-based operations, and aligning with DevOps/NetOps practices in hyperscale Data Centres
›Smart Fabric Services (SFS) — SFS architecture (embedded fabric manager on lead switch), automated fabric discovery, zero-touch provisioning for leaf-spine fabrics, and topology visualisation
›SFS configuration — enabling SFS on lead switch, defining fabric profile (IP allocation, MTU, routing protocol), adding member switches, and verifying with show smartfabric topology
›OpenManage Network Integration (OMNI) — OMNI purpose (integration of network management into VMware vCenter and Microsoft SCVMM), visibility of VM-to-port mapping, and automated port profile provisioning on VM migration
›OMNI configuration — installing OMNI plugin, registering PowerSwitch devices, creating port profiles, and verifying automated VLAN provisioning when VMs move between hosts
›REST API and Ansible — OS10 REST API basics (GET/PUT/PATCH for configuration, authentication via token), using Dell-provided Ansible modules (dellemc.os10 collection) for idempotent switch configuration; practical automation workflow
Technologies You Will Master
OS10 CLI
VRRP
VLT
UFD
OSPF
BGP
PBR
ACLs
AAA/RADIUS
TACACS+
VRF
QoS / DSCP
PIM Sparse
IGMP Snooping
NTP / PTP
SmartFabric
OMNI
REST API
Ansible
OS10 CLI
VRRP
VLT
UFD
OSPF
BGP
PBR
ACLs
AAA/RADIUS
TACACS+
VRF
QoS / DSCP
PIM Sparse
IGMP Snooping
NTP / PTP
SmartFabric
OMNI
REST API
Ansible
Full Curriculum
7-Module D-PDC-DY-23 Programme
Complete PowerSwitch Data Centre deployment curriculum — from topology fundamentals and FHRP redundancy through VLT, advanced routing, security, DC technologies, and SmartFabric automation.
›Identify the main components within the Dell PowerSwitch Data Centre portfolio — S-Series (S5200, S5248), Z-Series (Z9264, Z9332) — and their deployment role (ToR, aggregation, spine/core)
›Review common Data Centre networking topologies — three-tier (core/aggregation/access), leaf-spine (Clos fabric for east-west scale), and when to choose each based on traffic patterns
›OS10 CLI and management — configure mode navigation, interface configuration, management VRF, Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP), ONIE-based OS upgrade, and config backup/restore
›Physical connectivity basics — breakout mode configuration (100GbE→4×25G, 40GbE→4×10G), DAC vs optical cabling trade-offs, and auto-negotiation settings in OS10
›Identify VRRP components — VRID, virtual IP, virtual MAC (00-00-5e-00-01-XX), Master/Backup roles, preemption, and advertisement intervals
›Outline VRRP operation — Master election based on priority (highest wins, tie-break via highest IP), Master advertisement (default 1 s), Backup takeover on advertisement timeout (3× interval)
›Configure and verify the operation of VRRP in OS10 — interface vrrp-group, virtual-address, priority, preempt, track interface; verify with show vrrp detail and show vrrp brief
›VRRPv2 vs VRRPv3 — version differences (VRRPv3 supports IPv6, uses multicast FF02::12), owner priority (255 = IP owner, non-preemptable), and mixed-version interoperability considerations
›Troubleshoot VRRP — resolving split-brain (duplicate Master), diagnosing preemption not triggering, identifying misconfigured tracking objects, and validating failover time
›Describe the components that make up a VLT configuration — VLT peer nodes, Virtual Link Trunking interconnect (VLTi: heartbeat + backup), VLT domain ID, system-mac, unit-id, and VLT port-channel (downlink LAG)
›Configure and verify the operation of VLT in OS10 — vlt-domain block (backup destination, peer-routing, system-mac, unit-id), vlt-port-channel assignment, and VLTi port-channel; verify with show vlt detail, show vlt mismatch
›VLT failure scenarios — VLTi link failure (peer-routing maintains forwarding), backup link failure (no failover impact, monitoring only), and VLT peer node failure (orphan port handling)
›Outline the components of UFD — uplink state group, uplink (track) interfaces, downlink (react) interfaces, and delay-restore timer to prevent flapping on upstream recovery
›Configure and verify the operation of UFD in OS10 — uplink-state-group definition, assigning upstream interfaces as upstream, downstream interfaces as downstream; verify with show uplink-state-group detail
›Describe the components of OSPF — router-id, areas (backbone 0, stub, NSSA), link-state database (LSDB), SPF algorithm, DR/BDR election on multi-access segments, and hello/dead timers
›Review OSPF operation and behaviour — adjacency formation (Init→2-Way→ExStart→Exchange→Loading→Full), LSA types (Type 1 Router, Type 2 Network, Type 3 Summary, Type 5 AS External)
›Configure and verify a single area OSPF topology in OS10 — router ospf process-id, router-id, network area (or interface-level ip ospf area), passive-interface, redistribution; verify with show ip ospf neighbor, show ip ospf database, show ip route ospf
›Outline the main components of BGP — AS numbers (private 64512–65534), iBGP vs eBGP, BGP attributes (NEXT_HOP, LOCAL_PREF, MED, WEIGHT, AS_PATH, ORIGIN), and best-path selection (weight→local-pref→originated→AS_PATH→origin→MED)
›Configure and verify BGP in OS10 — router bgp asn, neighbor remote-as, neighbor update-source, network advertisement, route-map for attribute manipulation; verify with show bgp summary, show bgp neighbors, show ip route bgp
›Describe PBR basic operations — matching traffic by ACL and setting a different next-hop than the routing table; configure route-map (match ip address, set ip next-hop) and apply via ip policy route-map on ingress L3 interface; verify with show ip policy
›Configure and verify ACLs in OS10 — standard ACL (match source only), extended ACL (match src/dst IP, protocol, port), sequence numbers, implicit deny, applying to interface (ip access-group in/out); verify with show ip access-lists, show ip interface (access-group)
›ACL best practices — placing extended ACLs close to source, minimising ACL size with object-groups, logging (log keyword) for security audits, and control-plane ACLs to protect OS10 management services
›Outline the components of AAA security — Authentication (login), Authorisation (per-command privilege), Accounting (command and exec session logging); RADIUS (UDP 1812/1813, encrypts password only) vs TACACS+ (TCP 49, encrypts entire payload, per-command authorisation)
›Configure and verify AAA Security in OS10 — aaa authentication login (method-list: radius/tacacs+/local), aaa authorisation commands (privilege-level based), aaa accounting exec/commands; configuring server-group with server IPs and keys; verify with show aaa servers, test aaa
›Describe VRF operation and use case — traffic isolation between tenants on shared hardware, per-VRF routing table, management VRF (default on OS10), and inter-VRF route leaking via import/export route-targets
›Configure and verify VRF in OS10 — ip vrf name, interface ip vrf forwarding, per-VRF static/dynamic routing; verify with show ip vrf interfaces, show ip route vrf name
›Outline basic operation of QoS — ingress classification (DSCP/CoS marking), scheduling (DWRR with strict-priority queue for latency-sensitive traffic), policing (rate-limiting with CIR/CBS), and Data Centre requirement for lossless Ethernet (PFC, DCBx)
›Review traffic identification, marking, and prioritisation — class-map (match dscp, match cos), policy-map (set dscp, police rate), service-policy applied inbound/outbound; verify with show qos interface, show qos policy
›Configure and verify QoS in OS10 — class-map/policy-map/service-policy workflow; verifying queue statistics and drop counters
›Outline basic operation of IP Multicast — PIM Sparse Mode (RP role, (*,G) shared tree vs (S,G) source tree, register/join messages), IGMP v2/v3 (host group membership), and IGMP snooping (OS10 default enabled, prevents multicast flooding to non-member ports)
›Configure and verify IGMP and PIM in OS10 — ip pim sparse-mode on routed interfaces, ip pim rp-address (static RP), ip igmp version; verify with show ip mroute, show ip igmp groups, show ip pim neighbor
›Outline NTP, PTP, and SyncE operation — NTP stratum hierarchy (client/server/peer, stratum 1–15), PTP IEEE 1588 (hardware timestamping, boundary clock, Grandmaster), SyncE (Synchronous Ethernet, physical-layer frequency lock); configure and verify Network Timing in OS10
›Describe the rationale for network automation — reducing manual configuration errors, accelerating provisioning, enabling consistent policy enforcement, and supporting CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure
›Examine the components within Smart Fabric Services (SFS) — SFS fabric manager embedded in lead switch, automated leaf-spine fabric discovery, zero-touch fabric provisioning (ZTFP), IP address allocation, and topology visualisation in OME
›Configure and verify SFS in OS10 — enabling SmartFabric on lead switch, defining fabric design profile (leaf-spine, MTU, routing protocol selection), adding member nodes, and monitoring fabric health with show smartfabric topology, show smartfabric nodes
›Examine OpenManage Network Integration (OMNI) — OMNI plugin for VMware vCenter (or Microsoft SCVMM), VM-to-switch-port visibility, automatic VLAN port-profile provisioning triggered by vMotion/VM deployment
›Configure and verify OMNI — installing OMNI plugin, registering PowerSwitch credentials, creating network port profiles (VLAN/QoS settings), and validating that VM migrations trigger automated port-profile changes on the connected switch port
›REST API and Ansible automation — OS10 REST API (token auth, GET /restconf/data for config read, PUT/PATCH for config push), using dellemc.os10 Ansible collection (os10_vlan, os10_interface, os10_bgp modules) for idempotent playbook-driven switch configuration
Earn the D-PDC-DY-23 Dell Proven Professional certification and validate your expertise in configuring and deploying Dell PowerSwitch Data Centre networks — from VLT redundancy and OSPF/BGP routing to QoS, VRF, and SmartFabric automation.