Connect Layers 2 and 3
Configure Layer 2 technologies, routing protocols and multicast across the data center.
Partners and press
Overview
A fabric looks simple on a whiteboard. The lab asks you to build the real one.
The Expert data center credential: the DCCOR qualifying exam, then an eight-hour closed-book lab, with no prerequisites listed. The lab has you plan, design, deploy, operate and optimize data center networks, with Layer 2 and Layer 3 at 20%. You must pass the lab within three years of the core exam, and the credential is valid for three years.
14Modules
8Hours
3Years valid
7Roles
What it tests
Learn all the way down.
Learn all the way down.
Perform when it matters.
Build the ACI fabric
Set up ACI and overlay policies, external and inter-fabric connectivity, virtual networking and fabric monitoring.
Manage compute and storage
Manage compute resources, connectivity and management, then configure FC, FCoE and RoCE v2 over IP networks.
Secure and script it
Apply security features, RBAC and service insertion, and automate with Python, Ansible and Terraform.
Course outline
From switch ports and storage zones
From switch ports and storage zones
to a fabric that runs as code.
We design this course ourselves. Cisco runs the exam and issues the credential, and LUNARTECH is independent of Cisco.
Data center Layer 2 has to be loop-free, redundant and fast. You tune spanning tree, run port channels and vPC with its failure modes, and read Layer 2 state to find faults that look like application problems.
- VLANs and trunking in the data center
- Spanning tree behavior and protection
- LACP port channels
- vPC design, consistency and failure handling
- Layer 2 loops and storm behavior
- Verifying Layer 2 forwarding state
You build A dual-attached Layer 2 design with vPC and a tested failure of each component.
Routing carries the fabric and the exits from it. You configure OSPF and BGP, build VRFs, tune convergence with BFD, and use policy to control where traffic enters and leaves.
- OSPF and BGP as data center IGP and EGP
- VRFs and route leaking
- Route maps and policy
- BFD and fast convergence
- First-hop redundancy and anycast gateways
- Verifying and troubleshooting adjacencies
You build A routed data center segment with VRFs, BGP policy and BFD, verified by failure tests.
Multicast supports market data, storage replication and the overlays themselves. You configure PIM with several rendezvous point designs, snoop at Layer 2, and trace multicast state across the fabric.
- IGMP and snooping on the access layer
- PIM sparse mode and rendezvous points
- Anycast RP and redundancy
- Bidirectional PIM
- Multicast and vPC interaction
- Troubleshooting missing or duplicate traffic
You build A multicast design with redundant rendezvous points and a verified stream across vPC.
VXLAN EVPN is the open standard for fabrics, and its details decide stability. You build a fabric from underlay to tenants, connect it to external networks, and link fabrics together with multi-site designs.
- Underlay options and requirements
- BGP EVPN control plane and route types
- Layer 2 and Layer 3 VNIs, symmetric routing
- Anycast gateway and host mobility
- External connectivity at the border
- Multi-site design and inter-fabric links
- Troubleshooting overlay faults
You build Two VXLAN EVPN fabrics joined by a multi-site link, with a tenant reaching both.
ACI starts with the physical fabric and the policy that attaches things to it. You bring up the controller and fabric, then build the access policy chain from pools and domains to interface policy groups.
- Controller cluster and fabric discovery
- Physical fabric components and roles
- VLAN pools, domains and attachable entity profiles
- Interface policies and policy groups
- Port channels and vPC in ACI
- Faults caused by incorrect access policy
You build A discovered fabric with access policies connecting a vPC server and a router.
Tenant policy is where application intent becomes forwarding. You design tenants, VRFs, bridge domains and endpoint groups, write contracts and filters, and understand exactly what traffic each one permits.
- Tenants, VRFs and bridge domains
- Endpoint groups and endpoint learning
- Contracts, subjects and filters
- Preferred groups, vzAny and policy shortcuts
- Micro-segmentation with attribute-based groups
- Verifying policy enforcement
You build A tenant with three tiers, contracts between them and a record of what each permits.
A fabric has to reach the world and other fabrics. You build routed and bridged external connections, import and export routes with control, and extend policy across pods and sites.
- Routed outside connections and external endpoint groups
- Route control, import and export
- Layer 2 external connectivity
- Multi-pod architecture
- Multi-site architecture and policy extension
- Troubleshooting external reachability
You build An ACI tenant with a routed external connection and a stretched policy across two sites.
Workloads live on hypervisors, and faults hide in the gap between virtual and physical. You integrate virtual machine managers into the fabric, and monitor with faults, health, mirroring and telemetry.
- Virtual machine manager integration
- Virtual switches and port groups
- Policy for virtual workloads
- Faults, events and health scores
- Traffic mirroring and capture in the fabric
- Streaming telemetry and fabric analytics
You build A virtualized workload attached to the fabric by policy, with monitoring that shows its health.
Servers must match the network they join. You manage compute with pools, policies and profiles, plan LAN and SAN connectivity to the fabric, and control firmware and management access.
- Compute domain architecture
- Pools, policies and service profiles
- LAN connectivity and uplink design
- SAN connectivity and boot from SAN
- Management access and out-of-band design
- Firmware and lifecycle management
- Troubleshooting a server that will not associate
You build A compute domain with templated profiles that boot from SAN over redundant paths.
Block storage networks reward precision and punish error. You build fabrics with VSANs, zoning and trunking, run FCoE over converged links, and troubleshoot logins and zoning faults.
- Fibre Channel addressing and logins
- VSANs and inter-VSAN routing
- Zoning, smart zoning and zone sets
- Port channels and trunking
- NPV and NPIV
- FCoE and lossless Ethernet
- Troubleshooting login and zoning faults
You build A redundant SAN fabric with zoning and an FCoE segment, verified end to end.
RDMA brings storage and AI traffic onto Ethernet, if the network is lossless. You configure priority flow control, congestion notification and traffic classes, and verify behavior under load.
- RDMA and the case for RoCE v2
- Priority flow control
- Explicit congestion notification
- Traffic classes and bandwidth allocation
- Fabric design for lossless traffic
- Verifying RoCE behavior under load
You build A lossless RoCE v2 configuration across a leaf-and-spine pair, tested under congestion.
Security in the data center is policy, access and traffic steering. You apply device security and role-based access, insert firewalls and load balancers into traffic paths, and manage traffic with redirection.
- Control plane and device protection
- AAA and role-based access
- Role-based access in the controller
- Service graphs and policy-based redirect
- Firewall and load balancer insertion
- Traffic management and rate limiting
You build A tenant with a firewall inserted in the path by policy, with role-limited administration.
A fabric of this size is configured by code. You write Python against device and controller APIs, build Ansible playbooks, define infrastructure in Terraform, and join them in an orchestrated workflow.
- Python with NX-OS and controller APIs
- Ansible for switches and the controller
- Terraform for fabric and tenant objects
- Orchestrating a multi-step provisioning workflow
- Idempotence and verification of automated change
- Choosing a tool for each task
You build An automated tenant build that creates and verifies its objects through code.
Combine network, fabric, compute, storage, security and automation in one environment. You build it, automate it, then diagnose faults that cross domain boundaries.
- Planning the build across domains
- Building fabric, compute and storage
- Adding security, services and automation
- Diagnosing cross-domain faults
- Documenting the final state
You build A complete data center lab with automation and a log of planted faults, causes and fixes.
Issued by
Certifying body · Independent of LUNARTECH
Cisco
Cisco designs and sells much of the networking equipment the internet runs on. It runs this program itself and publishes the topics for every exam. Professional and Expert credentials last three years. LUNARTECH is independent of Cisco.
How you get there
Top-tier roles go to people who can do the work.
Top-tier roles go to people who can do the work.
Here’s how you get there.
Know where you start.
Cisco lists no prerequisites for DCCOR or for the lab, and states no recommended experience.
Work through the course.
Fourteen modules, designed by LUNARTECH, at your own pace.
Sit it with Cisco.
Cisco runs the exam and issues the credential, so you register and book directly with them.
Support
Support at every stage.
Support at every stage.
You won’t be working through this alone.
Before you start
Try it first.
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While you learn
Mentors within reach.
Stuck on a concept? Reach out to a mentor whenever you need help.
While you learn
One-on-one sessions.
On the yearly plan, one-on-one sessions give you dedicated support.
Any time
A team behind you.
Write to info@lunartech.ai at any point, from your trial onwards. If your employer is funding you, we’ll set it up with them directly.
All the way through
A schedule that fits around your life.
Your own paceFrom anywhereAt any hour
After the last lesson
Stay in the network.
Your alumni network stays with you: ongoing support, opportunities and industry insight.
Career support
Career support, past the last lesson. Coaching, a sharper resume, real interview preparation and the people to know.
Career direction
Tailored coaching helps you decide where to aim and how to get there.
Strong portfolio
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Personalized refinement, so what you send says what you can actually do.
Interview preparation
Preparation for the questions that decide it, so you walk in ready.
Network and search
Connections with industry leaders, and an alumni network that stays with you.
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Built around how you actually learn.
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Industry-aligned curriculum
We keep courses current with the tools, techniques and skills the field asks for.
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Certificate of completion
Finish the course and earn a certificate that shows what you have learned.
Focus on your success
Personalized learning plans and support structures carry you through the hard parts.
Lifetime alumni network
Stay connected after you finish, with ongoing support, opportunities and industry insight.
Your certificate
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Finish a LUNARTECH course and its certificate is issued in your name, under our signature. Cisco’s credential comes from Cisco, when you pass its exam.
Certificate of completion
Your Name
CCIE Data Center course
LUNARTECH RISE Academy
Pricing
This course comes with the membership.
This course comes with the membership.
So does everything else.
One membership opens every course, certification, workshop and masterclass in the Academy. Every plan starts with a 3-day free trial. You register and book the exam directly with Cisco.
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Included in every plan
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In practice
Seven roles.
Seven roles.
One credential across them all.
No single job owns it. Here’s where each role leans hardest, and where its work ends up.
- 01L2/L3
- 02Fabric
- 03Connectivity
- 04Compute
- 05Storage
- 06Security, services
- 07Automation
-
Fabric faults hide between overlay and underlay. The lab tests both views.
L2/L3, Fabric, Connectivity
Enterprise data centers, Cloud and colocation
-
RoCE v2 turns Ethernet into a storage fabric. Compute and network meet here.
Compute, Storage, Automation
AI and GPU clusters, Enterprise data centers
-
Lossless storage traffic punishes a sloppy fabric. Zoning and queue policy keep storage traffic whole.
Storage, Connectivity
Enterprise data centers, Financial services
-
A rack plan fixes cabling, power and growth for years. The lab tests whether the design holds together.
Fabric, Compute, Storage
Enterprise data centers, Cloud and colocation
-
Colocation rows hide the same fabric as your own. Automation keeps it consistent across sites.
Compute, Automation
Cloud and colocation
-
East-west traffic needs rules the perimeter never sees. Services and security sit inside the fabric.
Security, services
Enterprise data centers, Financial services
-
Hypervisors expect the network to stay out of the way. Compute policy has to match the fabric under it.
Compute, Security, services
Enterprise data centers
- Enterprise data centers
- Cloud and colocation
- Financial services
- AI and GPU clusters
Network Engineer
Fabric faults hide between overlay and underlay. The lab tests both views.
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Open roles: Built In, Greenhouse, LinkedIn.
Typical salaries: Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, Payscale, Indeed, Ravio, JobRise, U.S. BLS. Military: 2026 U.S. basic pay, drone officers with aviation incentive pay.
Updated November 2026.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Need help? These answers cover most of what people ask before they start.
No. Cisco issues it. LUNARTECH is independent of Cisco, and its names and marks belong to it. When you finish a course of ours, you earn a LUNARTECH certificate of completion for that course.
No. We design this course ourselves, around what the exam covers. Cisco has no part in it, and you still register and book the exam directly with Cisco.
8 hours, core exam, then lab.
Cisco lists no prerequisites for DCCOR or for the lab, and states no recommended experience.
3 years. Earn Continuing Education credits or retake exams before they expire.
Cisco says you must pass the lab within three years of passing the core exam, so the two parts need to sit inside one three-year window.
We last reviewed it on 5 November 2026, from Cisco’s own pages. Details change, so check the official page before you book.
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The course
Build the skills behind CCIE Data Center.
Show you can build and fix a data center fabric in eight hours. Start with a free trial, or enroll in a plan and work through the course at your own pace. Cisco runs the exam and issues the credential.
LUNARTECH is independent of the vendors and certifying bodies listed here. Their names, exam titles and marks belong to them, exams are run by them, and credentials are issued by them. Reviewed 5 November 2026. Catalogues change often, so confirm the details on the official page before you book.
