What is Cisco ACI? Simplified.
What is Cisco ACI? Simplified.
π It is Application Centric Infrastructure.
π ACI is an SDN solution designed for data centers.
π ACI simplifies network infrastructure management by using unified network policies instead of configuring each network device individually.
π ACI makes the network infrastructure as one fabric.
π ACI controls and configures the whole fabric from GUI instead of logging into each device from CLI.
π ACI uses common brain which is ACI Fabric OS that is installed on all the network devices and managed by APIC. This shared OS makes it possible for the various switches within the ACI network to translate policies into infrastructure designs.
π Application Centric Infrastructure Controller or APIC is a software control center to configure and run this infrastructure. It creates the policies that define the data centerβs network infrastructure.
π ACI fabric topology includes APIC, Spine switches and Leaf switches.
π Think of ACI Spine switch as traditional distribution/core switch and ACI Leaf switch as access switch. But there are differences!
π Unlike traditional 3 layer model of access, distribution and core, ACI implements two layer hierarchy with L3 links between Leaf and Spine switches.
π And Leaf switches perform more than one function like Service Leaf and Border Leaf!
π ACI uses a dedicated new line of hardware and not all existing switches like N5K or N7K support it.
π ACI uses Nexus 9000 series switches running ACI Fabric OS as Spine or Leaf switches.
π Key Features and Benefits of ACI
Cisco ACI enables organizations to easily create a software-defined data center, which provides several benefits, including:
β‘οΈ Flexibility: The whole infrastructure is managed as a single device/fabric, and it is easy to configure and maintain.
β‘οΈ Consistent Infrastructure: Cisco ACI abstracts away the details of the underlying infrastructure. This makes it easier to design and configure network environments.
β‘οΈ Automation and Orchestration: Cisco ACI makes heavy use of automation to develop network infrastructure based on network policies. This makes changes easy to make and increases scalability.
β‘οΈ Support for Hybrid Environments: Cisco ACI supports both on-prem and cloud-based infrastructure, making it possible to deploy ACI environments across multiple different environments.
ACI is a huge topic, but I tried to put together all the conceptual points related to ACI. Would love to simplify other ACI topics in future posts!
I hope this will be helpful. Thank you!
