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Why is Cisco ACI replacing traditional networks_

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Muhoza Aime lionel
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10 views

Why is Cisco ACI replacing traditional networks_

Uploaded by

Muhoza Aime lionel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Why is Cisco ACI replacing traditional networks? Explained.

More and more companies are migrating their traditional networks to SDN based
networks. Cisco ACI is the best SDN solution that most companies are adopting.

But what is it that makes ACI so powerful?

I will try to simplify the answer by highlighting the top 10 benefits and features provided
by ACI compared to traditional networks.

Ease of Management

ACI converts many switches into one fabric. For example, if you need to configure 100
switches, it can be done in a few clicks from APIC. If you need to add a new switch, just
connect the switch to the fabric and it will take all the policies and configuration from
APIC automatically. Done in seconds!

No more logging into CLI to configure each switch. No more copy and paste huge texts
into CLI!

Mohammed Mohsin
CCIE#35485
Access Control and Security

With ACI you have consistent access policies across the domain even for remote sites
and cloud services. Micro segmentation for same subnet traffic even when it is stretched
between two datacenters.

Automation and Programmability

ACI has full native support for programmability using a REST API that provides access to
all features. ACI also supports automation through Ansible. Automation takes care of
common repetitive changes without you having to login to APIC.

Integration with Security devices

Cisco ACI allows adding a firewall or an IPS between EPGs as a Layer 4 to Layer 7 service.
The security device secures the east-west traffic between the application tiers within
those EPGs or north-south traffic between users and the applications.

Integration with Virtual Environment

Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) integration enables the ACI fabric to extend network
policies into the virtualization switching layer on end hosts. ACI supports integration
with VMware, Microsoft, OpenStack, Kubernetes and OpenShift.

Recovering from Network Configuration failure

In case of failure due to network configuration, ACI changes can be roll backed in
seconds. With traditional network, it is not always so easy as you might be logging into
multiple devices to roll back the changes manually.

Software Upgrade

Download the image to APIC. Push to the fabric. You will not upgrade the full fabric in
one go but doing upgrades from APIC saves a lot of time and removes chances for
inconsistencies.

Mohammed Mohsin
CCIE#35485
Scalability

ACI is highly scalable. To have more fabric bandwidth, add spine switches. To have more
end point bandwidth, add leaf switches. They will automatically integrate by taking the
configuration from APIC.

Visibility

With APIC you get visibility into the full network from a single pane of glass. It is not just
interface counters and show commands but detailed in depth end to end visibility with
inbuilt dedicated tools.

Cost Effective

Finally, the ROI on ACI is huge. With most Nexus switches like N5K and N7K going end
of sale, it is time to upgrade!

Hope that helps. Thank you!

Mohammed Mohsin
CCIE#35485

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