Cisco Aci Anywhere Whitepaper

In December 2015, Cisco launched ACI Anywhere, the industry’s first policy-based hybrid cloud solution. ACI Anywhere enables customers to extend the application-aware policy model and network automation of Cisco’s ACI fabric across data centers, both within the enterprise and to multiple public clouds. This hybrid solution gives customers the flexibility to choose the best location for each application workload, while still maintaining a consistent policy model and operational experience.

The ACI Anywhere solution consists of three main components:

1. The ACI Anywhere Controller – A centrally-located controller that manages the ACI policy model and automates application deployment across the hybrid cloud.

2. The ACI Anywhere Intercloud Fabric – A high-performance, low-latency network fabric that connects data center, cloud, and branch locations.

3. The ACI Anywhere Cloud Gateway – A secure, high-performance gateway that connects the ACI Anywhere Intercloud Fabric to public clouds.

The ACI Anywhere Controller is the heart of the solution, providing a single point of control for the entire hybrid cloud. The controller manages the ACI policy model and automates the deployment of applications across the hybrid cloud. The controller also provides visibility into all application workloads, regardless of location, and enables customers to monitor and troubleshoot applications in real time.

The ACI Anywhere Intercloud Fabric is a high-performance, low-latency network fabric that connects data center, cloud, and branch locations. The Intercloud Fabric is built on the industry-leading Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches and uses the same Application Centric Infrastructure policy model as the data center. This ensures a consistent policy model and operational experience across the hybrid cloud.

The ACI Anywhere Cloud Gateway is a secure, high-performance gateway that connects the ACI Anywhere Intercloud Fabric to public clouds. The Cloud Gateway provides a secure connection between the Intercloud Fabric and public clouds, allowing customers to extend the ACI policy model and network automation to the cloud. The Cloud Gateway also provides visibility into cloud-based application workloads, enabling customers to monitor and troubleshoot applications in real time.

The ACI Anywhere solution is the industry’s first policy-based hybrid cloud solution. ACI Anywhere enables customers to extend the application-aware policy model and network automation of Cisco’s ACI fabric across data centers, both within the enterprise and to multiple public clouds. This hybrid solution gives customers the flexibility to choose the best location for each application workload, while still maintaining a consistent policy model and operational experience.