ABC of Cisco ACI Fundamentals

Explore the ACI object model, where every element is a managed object, and learn how logical, resolve, and concrete models, APIs, and CLI configure tenants, EPGs, bridge domains, and subnets.

Explore ACI object programming options from interfaces to APIs and database-enabled configuration, using the management information model reference and API docs to query tenants and health.

Explore ACI object programming options, review API documentation, and examine policies, easy table classes, and the relational object model; practice database queries and CLI lookups for tenants and health status.

Explore how fabric access policies govern leaf-spine data center fabrics in Cisco ACI, detailing underlay and overlay networks, virtual networks, tenants, application profiles, endpoint groups, contracts, and template-based configuration.

Explore how Cisco ACI constructs tenants, virtual networks, bridge domains, and subnets with gateways to build the underlay and overlay, and how contracts and filters govern EPG communication.

Explore bare metal lab concepts, contrasting traditional nexus connectivity with ACA configurations, and learn to implement interface policy, interface policy group, and domain in ACA to connect endpoints.

Create an application profile with a web EPG, bridge domain, and subnet configuration to bridge physical and logical networks, map static ports, and deploy in minutes.

Bare metal lab part 03 demonstrates creating endpoint groups in a shared subnet, establishing a contract between app and web EPGs using filters to enable service communication.

Define endpoints in Cisco ACI and how ACA learns them, then contrast local and remote endpoints with MAC and IP mappings and cache timers.

Learn local and remote endpoint learning in Cisco ACI, including mac and ip address learning, bridge domain and vrf packet behavior, and how moves update coop database entries.

Discover how the ACI data plane uses VXLAN encapsulation to carry inner and outer headers over a leaf-spine fabric, enabling automated, scalable east-to-west traffic and network virtualization.

Explore vxlan within the Cisco ACI fundamentals, detailing underlay and overlay networks, virtual networks, and how multi-tenancy separates customer traffic.

Explain vxlan encapsulation in Cisco ACI, showing how a frame is wrapped with vxlan, udp, and ip headers, plus outer macs, using a 24-bit vxlan id and udp port 4789.

Explore how a source leaf reaches a destination leaf in Cisco ACI when the destination is known, using IP encapsulation, inner and outer headers, spine forwarding, and EPG contracts.

Explain how ACI floods unknown destination traffic inside a bridge domain using multicast, with a group multicast IP per bridge domain and traffic encapsulated as multicast toward a forwarding tree.

Explore the aci forwarding component, including endpoints and epgs, and how local, global, and lpm tables drive l2/l3 forwarding, encapsulation, and endpoint verification via the application epg.

Examine how VLAN maps to bridge domains in ACI, and how endpoints learn locally or remotely, with MAC and IP verification and endpoint mapping details.

Learn how forwarding scope in a bridge domain switches traffic locally and routes it across subnets, moving lookups from bridge domain to vrf level and applying ip routing.

Explore the five bridge-domain forwarding modes, including unique cost routing, unknown unicast and unknown multicast handling, hardware proxy, flagging, flood, and encapsulation options that shape L2 and L3 behavior.

Explore forwarding software architecture and ASIC generation, detailing leaf and line-card hardware, EPG contracts, and policy-driven config flow. Compare first- and second-generation hardware, including GST and Alaska lookups.

Follow how an icmp packet traverses an ACI fabric, from endpoint learning and arp exchanges to coop lookups and proxy routing across leaves and spine in a bridge domain.

Explore hypervisor integration in Cisco ACI, using the flex open extensible policy to deliver policy across physical and virtual domains, enabling unified security, visibility, and automation.

Learn terms used in the VMM, compare policy instantiation options, and build interface policy, policy group, and profile to enable EPG isolation and micro segmentation across hypervisors.

Explore VMware integration options with Cisco ACI, including distributed virtual switch, vCenter plus NSX, and Cisco Nexus 1000V, plus how APIC discovers hypervisors and maps VM domains to EPGs.

Explore VM integration with APIC 4.1, configuring vCenter connections, uplinks, port groups, and the virtual switch topology in the Cisco ACI environment.