cisco aci architecture

Short overview about Cisco Aci Architecture and what's good to know about.

Cisco ACI is a data center networking solution that unites physical, virtual, and cloud resources into a single, policy-driven platform. ACI is designed to increase agility while reducing costs and complexity.

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The Cisco ACI architecture is based on a unified, centralized policy model that gives you complete visibility and control over your entire network. All ACI-enabled devices share a common configuration, eliminating the need for manual device-by-device configuration.

ACI uses a unique, modular approach to data center networking that allows you to start small and scale as needed. The ACI fabric is made up of modular leaf and spine switches that can be deployed in any topology.

Leaf switches connect directly to servers, storage, and other devices in the data center. Spine switches provide high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity between leaf switches.

ACI also includes a controller, which is a central point of management and policy enforcement. The controller uses a northbound API to communicate with external systems such as orchestration, provisioning, and monitoring tools.

The Cisco ACI fabric is designed to be highly resilient. All traffic is automatically load-balanced across multiple links to prevent single points of failure.

The Cisco ACI architecture offers many benefits, including:

Simplified network management: ACI uses a centralized policy model to simplify network management. All devices in the ACI fabric share a common configuration, eliminating the need for manual device-by-device configuration.

Increased agility: The modular design of the Cisco ACI fabric allows you to start small and scale as needed. The Cisco ACI controller also provides a northbound API that can be used to integrate with external orchestration, provisioning, and monitoring tools.

Improved security: ACI includes built-in security features such as role-based access control and application whitelisting. The Cisco ACI fabric is also designed to be highly resilient, with all traffic automatically load-balanced across multiple links to prevent single points of failure.

Reduced costs: The Cisco ACI architecture can help you reduce costs by simplifying network management and increasing agility. The modular design of the ACI fabric also allows you to pay for only the capacity you need.

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