CCNP SWITCH: LAB Setup for VLAN, VTP, STP, HSRP, VRRP, GLBP

The above diagram will be used for studying all switching concepts in the CCNP SWITCH 642-813 curriculum.
This topology simulates an enterprise network with the three layers recommended by Cisco.

Graphical Network Simulator (GNS3 0.8.3) has been used to build this topology. All routers are Cisco 3660 series with NM-16ESW EtherSwitch cards.
You can download this entire GNS3 CCNP SWITCH lab (including the topology and initial configuration files for all routers) from HERE.

All the switches and hosts in the topology are actually routers with their symbols changed to better illustrate the network layers.
All lab exercises will be based on the default configurations, with a general reloading process after each excercise, so the settings made in one lab will not interact with those made in the next one.

Note 1: Loopback interfaces (if any configured) are by default advertised with a /32 mask. You can advertise them as usual networks by configuring each interface as a point-to-point link.

Note 2: Do not forget to recalculate the IdlePC value for the routers once you start this lab in GNS3!

Note 3: Do not forget to edit the topology file (using a text editor) and modify the IOS path or other parameters according to your operating system and file locations!

Note 4: This topology and its related configuration can be improved in many ways, but since it is 100% functional and all the theoretical concepts are applied within the exercises with the expected results, it may be considered a good practice for the CCNP SWITCH exam.

Note 5: For any GNS3 errors when opening/using the topology please refer to http://forum.gns3.net/.

Note 6: If you see the below error when loading the GNS3 topology, check the project's "config" folder to see if the router config files have the .cfg extension, and not .cfg.txt or any other extension.
Local configuration configs\Rx.cfg cannot be found for router Rx, use default base config instead.

Most of the theory in the following labs comes from CCNP SWITCH 642-813 Official Certification Guide, David Hucaby, Cisco Press, which is a great source of information for the SWITCH exam.

The initial configurations of the routers are the default ones.