Use ACI fabrics to drive unprecedented value from your data center environment With the Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) software-defined networking platform, you can achieve dramatic improvements in data center performance, redundancy, security, visibility, efficiency, and agility. In Deploying ACI, three leading Cisco experts introduce this breakthrough platform, and walk network professionals through all facets of design, deployment, and operation. The authors demonstrate how ACI changes data center networking, security, and management; and offer multiple field-proven configurations. Deploying ACI is organized to follow the key decision points associated with implementing data center network fabrics. After a practical introduction to ACI concepts and design, the authors show how to bring your fabric online, integrate virtualization and external connections, and efficiently manage your ACI network. You’ll master new techniques for improving visibility, control, and availability; managing multitenancy; and seamlessly inserting service devices into application data flows. The authors conclude with expert advice for troubleshooting and automation, helping you deliver data center services with unprecedented efficiency. Understand the problems ACI solves,and how it solves them Design your ACI fabric, build it, and interface with devices to bring it to life Integrate virtualization technologieswith your ACI fabric Perform networking within an ACI fabric (and understand how ACI changes data center networking) Connect external networks and devices at Layer 2/Layer 3 levels Coherently manage unified ACI networks with tenants and application policies Migrate to granular policies based on applications and their functions Establish multitenancy, and evolve networking, security, and services to support it Integrate L4–7 services: device types, design scenarios, and implementation Use multisite designs to meet rigorous requirements for redundancy and business continuity Troubleshoot and monitor ACI fabrics Improve operational efficiency through automation and programmability

ACI Advanced Monitoring and Troubleshooting provides a solid conceptual foundation and in-depth technical knowledge for monitoring and troubleshooting virtually any problem encountered during testing, deployment, or operation of Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) infrastructure. Authored by leading ACI support experts at Cisco, it covers all you'll need to keep your ACI deployment working optimally. Coverage includes: Core ACI concepts and components, including Nexus 9000 Series platforms, APIC controllers, and protocols In-depth insight into ACI's policy model ACI fabric design options: single and multiple data centers, stretched vs. multiple fabrics, and multi-pod/multi-site Automation, orchestration, and the cloud in ACI environments ACI topology and hardware/software specifications End host and network connectivity VMM integration Network management configuration, including SNMP, AAA, and SPAN Monitoring ACI fabrics and health Getting immediate results through the NX-OS command line interface Troubleshooting use cases: fabric discovery, APIC, management access, contracts, external connectivity, leaf/spine connectivity, end-host connectivity, VMM problems, ACI multi-pod/multi-site problems, and more

Use policies and Cisco® ACI to make data centers more flexible and configurable--and deliver far more business value Using the policy driven data center approach, networking professionals can accelerate and simplify changes to the data center, construction of cloud infrastructure, and delivery of new applications. As you improve data center flexibility, agility, and portability, you can deliver far more business value, far more rapidly. In this guide, Cisco data center experts Lucien Avramov and Maurizio Portolani show how to achieve all these benefits with Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) and technologies such as python, REST, and OpenStack. The authors explain the advantages, architecture, theory, concepts, and methodology of the policy driven data center. Next, they demonstrate the use of python scripts and REST to automate network management and simplify customization in ACI environments. Drawing on experience deploying ACI in enterprise data centers, the authors review design considerations and implementation methodologies. You will find design considerations for virtualized datacenters, high performance computing, ultra-low latency environments, and large-scale data centers. The authors walk through building multi-hypervisor and bare-metal infrastructures, demonstrate service integration, and introduce advanced telemetry capabilities for troubleshooting. Leverage the architectural and management innovations built into Cisco® Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Understand the policy driven data center model Use policies to meet the network performance and design requirements of modern data center and cloud environments Quickly map hardware and software capabilities to application deployments using graphical tools--or programmatically, via the Cisco APIC API Increase application velocity: reduce the time needed to move applications into production Define workload connectivity instead of (or along with) subnets, VLAN stitching, and ACLs Use Python scripts and REST to automate policy changes, parsing, customization, and self-service Design policy-driven data centers that support hypervisors Integrate OpenStack via the Cisco ACI APIC OpenStack driver architecture Master all facets of building and operating multipurpose cloud architectures with ACI Configure ACI fabric topology as an infrastructure or tenant administrator Insert Layer 4-Layer 7 functions using service graphs Leverage centralized telemetry to optimize performance; find and resolve problems Understand and familiarize yourself with the paradigms of programmable policy driven networks

Implement flexible, efficient LISP-based overlays for cloud, data center, and enterprise The LISP overlay network helps organizations provide seamless connectivity to devices and workloads wherever they move, enabling open and highly scalable networks with unprecedented flexibility and agility. LISP Network Deployment and Troubleshooting is the definitive resource for all network engineers who want to understand, configure, and troubleshoot LISP on Cisco IOS-XE, IOS-XR and NX-OS platforms. It brings together comprehensive coverage of how LISP works, how it integrates with leading Cisco platforms, how to configure it for maximum efficiency, and how to address key issues such as scalability and convergence. Focusing on design and deployment in real production environments, three leading Cisco LISP engineers present authoritative coverage of deploying LISP, verifying its operation, and optimizing its performance in widely diverse environments. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience supporting LISP deployments, they share detailed configuration examples, templates, and best practices designed to help you succeed with LISP no matter how you intend to use it. This book is the Cisco authoritative guide to LISP protocol and is intended for network architects, engineers, and consultants responsible for implementing and troubleshooting LISP network infrastructures. It includes extensive configuration examples with troubleshooting tips for network engineers who want to improve optimization, performance, reliability, and scalability. This book covers all applications of LISP across various environments including DC, Enterprise, and SP. Review the problems LISP solves, its current use cases, and powerful emerging applications Gain in-depth knowledge of LISP’s core architecture and components, including xTRs, PxTRs, MR/MS, ALT, and control plane message exchange Understand LISP software architecture on Cisco platforms Master LISP IPv4 unicast routing, LISP IPv6 routing, and the fundamentals of LISP multicast routing Implement LISP mobility in traditional data center fabrics, and LISP IP mobility in modern data center fabrics Plan for and deliver LISP network virtualization and support multitenancy Explore LISP in the Enterprise multihome Internet/WAN edge solutions Systematically secure LISP environments Troubleshoot LISP performance, reliability, and scalability

Over 90 recipes to maximize automated solutions and policy-drive application profiles using Cisco ACI About This Book Confidently provision your virtual and physical infrastructure for application deployment Integrate Cisco ACI with hypervisors and other third party devices Packed with powerful recipes to automate your IT operations Who This Book Is For If you are a network administrator, system administrator, or engineer and are aware of the basics of Cisco ACI but want to start using it to automate your tasks, then this book is for you What You Will Learn Master the Cisco ACI architecture Discover the ACI fabric with easy-to-follow steps Set up quality of service within ACI Configure external networks with Cisco ACI Integrate with VMware and track VMware virtual machines Configure apply and verify access policies Extend or migrate a VMware virtual-machine LAN inside the ACI fabric Monitor ACI with third party tools and troubleshoot issues In Detail Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) is a tough architecture that automates IT tasks and accelerates data-center application deployments. This book focuses on practical recipes to help you quickly build, manage, and customize hybrid environment for your organization using Cisco ACI. You will begin by understanding the Cisco ACI architecture and its major components. You will then configure Cisco ACI policies and tenants. Next you will connect to hypervisors and other third-party devices. Moving on, you will configure routing to external networks and within ACI tenants and also learn to secure ACI through RBAC. Furthermore, you will understand how to set up quality of service and network programming with REST, XML, Python and so on. Finally you will learn to monitor and troubleshoot ACI in the event of any issues that arise. By the end of the book, you will gain have mastered automating your IT tasks and accelerating the deployment of your applications. Style and approach A set of exciting recipes to automate your IT operations related to datacenters, the Cloud, and networking tasks

Trust the best-selling Official Cert Guide series from Cisco Press to help you learn, prepare, and practice for exam success. They are built with the objective of providing assessment, review, and practice to help ensure you are fully prepared for your certification exam. * Master CCNP Data Center Application Centric Infrastructure DCACI 300-620 exam topics * Assess your knowledge with chapter-opening quizzes * Review key concepts with exam preparation tasks This is the eBook edition of the CCNP Data Center Application Centric Infrastructure DCACI 300-620 Official Cert Guide. This eBook does not include access to the companion website with practice exam that comes with the print edition. CCNP Data Center Application Centric Infrastructure DCACI 300-620 Official Cert Guide presents you with an organized test-preparation routine through the use of proven series elements and techniques. “Do I Know This Already?” quizzes open each chapter and enable you to decide how much time you need to spend on each section. Exam topic lists make referencing easy. Chapter-ending Exam Preparation Tasks help you drill on key concepts you must know thoroughly. CCNP Data Center Application Centric Infrastructure DCACI 300-620 Official Cert Guide focuses specifically on the objectives for the CCNP Data Center DCACI exam. Leading Cisco data center technology expert Ammar Ahmadi shares preparation hints and test-taking tips, helping you identify areas of weakness and improve both your conceptual knowledge and hands-on skills. Material is presented in a concise manner, focusing on increasing your understanding and retention of exam topics. Well regarded for its level of detail, assessment features, comprehensive design scenarios, and challenging review questions and exercises, this official study guide helps you master the concepts and techniques that will enable you to succeed on the exam the first time. This official study guide helps you master all the topics on the CCNP Data Center Application Centric Infrastructure DCACI 300-620 exam. It tests your knowledge of Cisco switches in ACI mode, including • ACI fabric infrastructure • ACI packet forwarding • External network connectivity • Integrations • ACI management • ACI Anywhere CCNP Data Center Application Centric Infrastructure DCACI 300-620 Official Cert Guide is part of a recommended learning path from Cisco that includes simulation and hands-on training from authorized Cisco Learning Partners and self-study products from Cisco Press. To find out more about instructor-led training, e-learning, and hands-on instruction offered by authorized Cisco Learning Partners worldwide, please visit http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/index.html

Advanced real-world Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) monitoring and troubleshooting Forewords written by Yusuf Bhaiji, Director of Certifications, Cisco Systems; and Ronak Desai, VP of Engineering for the Data Center Networking Business Unit, Cisco Systems. This expert guide and reference will help you confidently deploy, support, monitor, and troubleshoot ACI fabrics and components. It is also designed to help you prepare for your Cisco DCACIA (300-630) exam, earning Cisco Certified Specialist–ACI Advanced Implementation certification and credit toward CCNP Data Center certification if you choose. Authored by three leading Cisco ACI experts, it combines a solid conceptual foundation, in-depth technical knowledge, and practical techniques. It also contains proven features to help exam candidates prepare, including review questions in most chapters, and Key Topic icons highlighting concepts covered on the exam. The authors thoroughly introduce ACI functions, components, policies, command-line interfaces, connectivity, fabric design, virtualization and service integration, automation, orchestration, and more. Next, they introduce best practices for monitoring and management, including the use of faults, health scores, tools, the REST API, in-band and out-of-band management techniques, and monitoring protocols. Proven configurations are provided, with steps for verification. Finally, they present advanced forwarding and troubleshooting techniques for maximizing ACI performance and value. ACI Advanced Monitoring and Troubleshooting is an indispensable resource for every data center architect, engineer, developer, network or virtualization administrator, and operations team member working in ACI environments. Understand Cisco ACI core functions, components, and protocols Apply the ACI Policy-Based Object Model to develop overall application frameworks Use command-line interfaces to manage and monitor Cisco ACI systems Master proven options for ACI physical and logical fabric design Establish connectivity for compute, storage, and service devices, switches, and routers Gain visibility into virtualization layers through VMM, and integrate hypervisors from multiple vendors Seamlessly integrate Layer 4 to Layer 7 services such as load balancing and firewalling Automate and orchestrate for fast deployment with the REST API, scripting, and Ansible Minimize downtime and maximize ROI through more effective monitoring and configuration Thoroughly master concepts and techniques for advanced ACI and VXLAN forwarding Build deep practical expertise for quickly troubleshooting critical events Gain quick visibility into traffic flows and streamline problem isolation with the ACI Visibility & Troubleshooting Tool Walk through multiple real-world troubleshooting scenarios step-by-step This book is part of the Networking Technology Series from Cisco Press, which offers networking professionals valuable information for constructing efficient networks, understanding new technologies, and building successful careers.