Cisco ACI

The application programmable infrastructure controller (APIC) is the main architectural component of the Cisco ACI solution. It is the unified point of automation and management for the Cisco ACI fabric, policy enforcement and health monitoring.

The APIC appliance is a centralised, clustered controller that optimizes performance and unifies the operation of physical and virtual environments. The controller manages and operates a scalable multi-tenant Cisco ACI fabric.

ACI utilises Cisco’s intent-based networking Model. This captures higher-level business and user intent in the form of a policy and converts this into the network constructs, provisioning the network, security and infrastructure services dynamically.

It uses a holistic systems-based approach, with tight integration between hardware and software and physical and virtual elements. This unique approach uses a common policy-based operating model across the network, drastically reducing the cost and complexity of a traditional network.

Companies must enable IT agility allowing for speed and security at scale. IT must also standardize on an open platform, reducing the risk of vendor lock-in and integrate a comprehensive ecosystem of partners supported by a flexible common policy framework.

Cisco ACI offers open REST APIs that enable an ecosystem of partners to enhance the flexibility and security of the datacentre fabric. This allows IT to both protect existing investments and better balance its offering the business