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What is Cisco ACI?

 Valter Popeskic  Data Center with Cisco , Software De�ned
Datacenters  No Comments ▪ Index
▪ Fundamentals
HELLO WORLD
▪ Troubleshooting
This is an overview of what I think Cisco ACI actually is. It uses
▪ Con�guration
some examples from the lab environment to show you how the
things look like when you start to work with ACI. There are other ▪ Software De�ned
articles in the works which will be online soon and which will go Datacenters
in details through the real con�guration of ACI and best practices ▪ Data Centers with
while doing it. VMware
▪ Data Centers with
WHAT IS THIS CISCO ACI FABRIC? Cisco
Cisco ACI is a datacenter network Fabric. It actually means that it ▪ Routing
is a networking system of more networking L3 switches that have
▪ Switching
a modi�ed, next-generation OS which enables them to be 

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centrally provisioned and con�gured through APIC controller to ▪ Security

work as one device from access port perspective. ▪ IPv6
▪ Protocols
▪ Voice
▪ Devices
▪ Networking Tips & Tricks
▪ About this project
▪ About the author
▪ Books

The view at Cisco ACI APIC GUI where we see complete ACI Search the site
Fabric Topology
Search

APIC CONTROLLER
APIC controller is a centralized point for provisioning and
con�guration where we manage complete Fabric con�guration. In
the picture above we are connected to Web GUI of APIC RELATED POSTS
controller cluster and we see lab environment build with two
Cisco ACI – API Calls vs
Leafs and Two Spines (minimal con�guration) with two APIC
JSON POST
controllers in a cluster (production environment would have 3 or
5 of controllers in a cluster). ACI MultiPod and how to
build MultiDatacenter with
The way it works is this: You connect your Nexus 9K switches in
Cisco ACI
Leaf-Spine CLOS topology and connect APIC controller to two of
the Spines (for redundancy). You power on the switches and the VMware NSX-T Install Tips
controller and go through the �rst-time wizard on the APIC & Tricks
controller which will ask you for a /16 infrastructure IP address
pool and some other stu� like the number of APIC controllers in Cisco ACI – Con�guring by
the controller cluster and Fabric and APIC name. POSTing JSON

How to Advertise a Route

from ACI Layer2 BD
Outside …

Software-de�ned data
center and what’s the way
to do it

ACI MultiPod – Enable

Standby APIC


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VMware TKGI –
Deployment of Harbor
Container Registry fails
with …

New ACI deployment?

Watch out when
connecting APICs to Leafs

Setting up Cisco ACI From

Scratch

APIC Setup Con�g. This is a lab example where everything

was left by default.

BUILDING ACI FABRIC BY USING LLDP

DISCOVERY FROM APIC
You get through the wizards and then the APIC is ready for you to
connect to him with https. When connected, you go to Fabric tab
and under Fabric membership, you will see that APIC (using
LLDP) did �nd the �rst Leaf to which he is directly connected. You
click on register the Leaf to the Fabric and give the Leaf a
number (Leaf are usually numbered from 101-… and Spines are
from 201-…).

When you register your �rst Leaf the APIC will automatically
con�gure it as the �rst member of the Fabric. It will give him a
hostname, con�gure in-band mgmt loopback and also it will give
him another loopback which will later be used in IS-IS routing
protocol which is used to route overlays for your data plane. IS-IS
has also con�gured automatically in this �rst time Leaf
con�guration and you do not need to see all those things.

After the Leaf is con�gured, he will further use LLDP to �nd both
Spine switches to which he is directly connected (each Leaf is
connected to both Spines in CLOS topology). You continue to
register the Spines as you did with the Leaf taking care that the
numbering is in order with your rack switch positioning (you
should take note of all serial numbers on the switches when
putting them in the racks). When the Spines are provisioned by
APIC they will �nd all other Leafs to which they are connected (all
the Leafs). When you register all the Leafs on the APIC you
actually build your ACI Fabric.


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ACI APIC Fabric Members. Leaf and Spines after you registered RollerAds -
them to the Fabric and they were automatically con�gured by Global Ad Reach
APIC controller and joined to the Fabric.

NOW YOU HAVE A BIG SWITCH

At this point, the Fabric is up and running. The whole fabric is
working as one big switch with all Leaf ports being access ports Enjoy Popunder Ad Tra�c
on that huge switch system. It is like a chassis switch with With In-House Anti-Fraud
multiple line cards, but here each line card is represented by one System. Easy Account Top-
Leaf switch. This has several advantages: There are no chassis Up.
backplane issues and each Leaf is running his own OS and with
that a separate control plane (which is good for robustness,
resilience, and stability when something goes to hell on one of
the devices).

Now you are able to use APIC GUI or to APIC SSH terminal
connection to con�gure ACI through centralized CLI. It is time to
create VxLANs (bridge domains that represent L2 domains) aka
overlay VLANs, communication (routing) between VxLANs and
other security stu� that ACI enables you to do. BLOGROLL

And it is time to make this big L3 switch work and do some ▪ IPSpace.net Ivan
bridging and routing. Pepelnjak’s great
networking blog
  ▪ Networkingwith�sh.com
Denise “Fish” Fishburne
READ MORE ABOUT CISCO ACI: will give you large
amounts of networking
▪ Switch vSphere Enterprise Plus license to vSphere
knowledge there
Standard on a NSX-T enabled cluster
▪ NSX-T Edge Transport Node Packet Capture ▪ Welchlabs math video
▪ VMware NSX-T Install Tips & Tricks blog Super interesting
▪ VMware TKGI – Deployment of Harbor Container Registry thing to get through
fails with error ▪ Khanacademy.org If your
▪ Software-de�ned data center and what’s the way to do it math is good as mine,
▪ What is Cisco ACI? this is the right plase to
▪ CLOS Topology visit :) 

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What is Cisco ACI? https://howdoesinternetwork.com/2019/what-is-cisco-aci

▪ Setting up Cisco ACI From Scratch ▪ CiscoLive365 If you want

▪ New ACI deployment? Watch out when connecting APICs to enjoy huge amount of
to Leafs info from Cisco
▪ ACI MultiPod and how to build MultiDatacenter with Cisco conferences from your
ACI couch
▪ Cisco ACI – API Calls vs JSON POST ▪ YVETA ANNA
▪ Cisco ACI – Con�guring by POSTing JSON KROUPOVA i l l u s t r a t i
▪ How to Advertise a Route from ACI Layer2 BD Outside the o n s Check out Yvette’s
Fabric? great artworks
▪ ACI MultiPod – Enable Standby APIC
▪ Blog Webernetz.net
Great blog about all
RELATED POSTS: things networking and
New ACI deployment? Watch out when connecting APICs beyond
to Leafs ▪ The mountain echo If
you want to hike and
Data Centers with Cisco leave all those networks
far behind
Software-de�ned data center and what's the way to do it
▪ Jooble.org It’s a
Data Centers with VMware networking job search
platform where you can
Cisco ACI – Con�guring by POSTing JSON look at Cisco jobs and
many other
Cisco ACI - API Calls vs JSON POST
▪ blog.zuthof.nl Great
networking and tech
resource from my fellow
networker Daniel

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