Cisco ISE Foundations Lab
Deploy, configure, and operate Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) from the ground up - architecture and personas, identity sources, authorization and profiling policy, guest access, posture assessment, TrustSec, pxGrid, and day-to-day monitoring and troubleshooting. This course gives you hands-on practice equivalent to the Cisco SISE (300-715) exam. Designed for CCNP Security candidates and working security/network engineers who need real ISE build and policy experience beyond slides and simulators.
The launch will be soonCourse Highlights
ISE Architecture & Administration
Build Cisco ISE from the ground up, including personas, distributed versus standalone deployments, licensing, administration, certificates, backup, and restore.
Identity & Authentication
Integrate internal identities, Microsoft Active Directory, LDAP, and OAuth/SAML identity providers, then build authentication policies and identity source sequences.
Authorization & Profiling
Design policy sets, authorization rules, dACLs, VLAN assignments, SGTs, endpoint profiling probes, and custom profiling policies.
Guest Access & Posture
Configure self-registered, sponsored, and hotspot guest portals together with posture requirements, remediation, and client provisioning.
TrustSec & pxGrid
Work with Security Group Tagging, SGACLs, inline versus Ethernet Type propagation, pxGrid architecture, and integrations with SIEM, firewall, and EDR platforms.
Monitoring & Troubleshooting
Use Live Logs, Live Sessions, alarms, RADIUS debugs, TCP dumps, and scheduled operational and compliance reporting to troubleshoot day-to-day ISE issues.
Hands-On Cisco ISE Expertise
Deploy, configure, and operate Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) from the ground up, progressing from architecture and identity sources through policy enforcement, guest access, posture, TrustSec, pxGrid, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
Designed for CCNP Security candidates and working security/network engineers who need real ISE build and policy experience beyond slides and simulators.
- Fresh Deployment Workflow: Start with ISE architecture, initial setup, administration, licensing, certificates, and network device onboarding.
- Policy-to-Operations Coverage: Build identity, authentication, authorization, profiling, guest, posture, and TrustSec policies, then validate them in day-to-day operations.
- Certification-Relevant Scope: Hands-on practice equivalent to the Cisco SISE (300-715) exam and aligned with the CCNP Security certification track.
Technologies Covered
- ✓Cisco ISE architecture and personas
- ✓Policy Administration, Policy Service, Monitoring, and pxGrid Nodes
- ✓Standalone and distributed deployments
- ✓Licensing, CLI/GUI administration, backup and restore
- ✓RBAC, Active Directory, LDAP, OAuth/SAML, and certificates
- ✓Network Access Devices (NADs), Named Device Groups, and IPsec
- ✓Authentication policies and identity source sequences
- ✓Password policies and guest account lifecycle management
- ✓Authorization policies, dACLs, VLANs, and SGTs
- ✓Endpoint profiling probes and custom profiling policies
- ✓Self-registered, sponsored, and hotspot guest portals
- ✓Posture agents, requirements, remediation, and client provisioning
- ✓TrustSec, SGACLs, and SGT propagation
- ✓pxGrid, APIs, SIEM, firewall, and EDR integrations
- ✓Live Logs, Live Sessions, alarms, RADIUS debugs, and TCP dumps
- ✓Compliance and operational reporting
Modules & Topics
- Overview of Cisco ISE and Network Access Control (NAC)
- ISE architecture and persona roles (Policy Administration Node, Policy Service Node, Monitoring Node, pxGrid Node)
- Distributed vs. standalone deployments
- Licensing models (Base, Plus, Apex)
- Basic CLI navigation, backup, and restore procedures
- Initial Setup Wizard and CLI/GUI configuration
- Configuring administrator access, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), and external admin authentication (Active Directory/LDAP)
- Certificate management (internal CA vs. external third-party certificates)
- Working with network devices: adding Network Access Devices (NADs), Named Device Groups, and IPsec configuration with NADs
- Identity sources: internal users/endpoints, Microsoft Active Directory, LDAP, and OAuth/SAML identity providers
- Joining Active Directory, troubleshooting trust relationships, and attribute retrieval
- Authentication policies (authentication rules, identity stores, and identity source sequences)
- Password policies, guest account creation, and lifecycle management
- Authorization policies (authorization rules, conditions, and results)
- Downloadable ACLs (dACLs), VLAN assignments, and Security Group Tags (SGTs)
- Endpoint profiling architecture (DHCP, SNMP, HTTP, and NetFlow probes)
- Custom profiling policies and managing unknown endpoints
- Policy Sets structure and logic
- Guest access architecture and portals (self-registered, sponsored, and hotspot portals)
- Configuring guest sponsors, customized portal branding, and Terms of Use (ToU)
- Guest lifecycle workflows: creation, expiration, and purging
- Cisco Secure Client (AnyConnect) posture module overview
- Posture agents (agent-less, temporal, and permanent agents)
- Defining posture requirements (conditions, checks, and remediation)
- Client provisioning portals and automatic software downloads
- Cisco TrustSec fundamentals (Security Group Tagging and Security Group ACLs / SGACLs)
- Inline tagging vs. Ethernet Type (SGT propagation)
- Cisco Platform Exchange Grid (pxGrid) architecture and use cases
- Integrating ISE with SIEM, firewall, and EDR solutions via pxGrid and APIs
- Monitoring and Troubleshooting persona features
- Live Logs, Live Sessions, and alarm management
- Common authentication and authorization failure scenarios (RADIUS debugs, TCP dumps)
- Generating and scheduling compliance and operational reports
Start Your Lab Experience
Lab Hours Booking
Reserve access to a dedicated, pre-wired lab environment and use your purchased lab hours whenever it suits you.
- Direct access via browser and internet connection
- Dedicated Catalyst Center and ISE controllers
- Full control over single fabric site & underlay
- Zero hardware required on your side
- Schedule your lab session for any available date and time