APIC clusters

This topic explains the integration and management of Cisco SD-WAN with Cisco ACI, detailing the processes for mapping and unmapping ACI sites, attaching and detaching devices, and managing controllers to ensure seamless policy application and network control.

Cisco Fabric Controller cluster expansion

This topic explains the process of expanding the Cisco Fabric Controller cluster to accommodate network growth, maintain redundancy, and improve performance by automatically adding controllers within approved size limits once the operator sets the desired administrative cluster size and connects the appropriate controllers.

Cisco APIC cluster contractions

This topic explains the cluster contraction procedure, which involves reducing a cluster's size by removing nodes sequentially, increasing the load on remaining nodes, and making decommissioned slots unavailable until re-enabled by operator input.

Best practices for cluster management

This topic explains best practices for cluster management, focusing on maintaining controller health, ensuring firmware consistency, and safeguarding data integrity during configuration, maintenance, and scaling operations to prevent data loss and cluster instability.

Expand the Fabric Controller cluster using the GUI

Use this procedure to add new APICs to an existing Fabric Controller cluster using the GUI for software releases prior to Cisco APIC release 6.0(2). Ensure the cluster is Fully Fit before expanding, and verify all APICs are operational and healthy after addition.

Expand the APIC cluster using the add node option

Learn how to expand an existing Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) cluster using the Add Node option introduced in Cisco APIC release 6.0(2), ensuring the node is clean or factory-reset for seamless integration.

Contract the APIC Cluster using the GUI

Use this procedure to ensure the cluster health state is Fully Fit and identify which controllers should remain in the cluster for releases prior to Cisco APIC release 6.0(2). Follow the steps to contract the Fabric Controller cluster, verify the health state, and decommission controllers in the correct order.

Contract APIC nodes using the delete node option

Use this procedure to contract a Cisco APIC cluster by removing nodes using the Delete Node option, introduced in Cisco APIC release 6.0(2). Ensure the cluster maintains a minimum of three nodes, as a two-node cluster is not supported.

Commission a Cisco APIC in the cluster using the GUI

Use this procedure to commission a Cisco APIC in the cluster using the GUI. This process is applicable to Cisco APIC releases before 6.0(2) and involves verifying the cluster's health state, commissioning the controller, and ensuring it reaches a 'Fully Fit' operational state.

Commission a Cisco APIC in the cluster

Use this procedure to commission a Cisco APIC in an existing controller cluster running release 6.0(2) or later, whether for normal provisioning or as part of an RMA workflow. Follow the steps to ensure the APIC is operational and fully integrated into the cluster.

Decommission a Cisco APIC in the cluster using the GUI

Learn how to decommission a Cisco APIC controller from a cluster using the GUI for APIC releases prior to version 6.0(2), ensuring the controller is unregistered and removed from service.

Decommission a Cisco APIC in the cluster

Use this procedure to safely remove a Cisco APIC controller from the cluster while ensuring data integrity for Cisco APIC release 6.0(2) and later versions. Note that any log record objects held solely on the decommissioned controller are lost permanently after this operation.

Shut down all APICs in a cluster

Use this procedure to safely shut down all APICs in a cluster for maintenance or operational needs. Ensure the cluster is healthy and avoid configuration changes during the shutdown process.

Bring back the APICs in a cluster

Use this procedure to ensure all APICs in a cluster are powered on and ready for configuration changes by confirming hardware checks, accessing Cisco IMC, and verifying the fully fit state of each APIC before proceeding with any modifications.

Cold standby clusters

Learn how to configure a Cisco APIC cluster with active and standby controllers to ensure resilience, allowing standby controllers to quickly take over during failures and enabling manual switchovers to maintain network stability and reduce downtime.

Guidelines for standby Cisco APICs

Learn how to effectively manage standby Cisco APICs in a cluster, ensuring seamless integration and switchover by adhering to guidelines on form factor compatibility, firmware version alignment, and IP address configuration for optimal connectivity and functionality.

Verify cold standby status using the GUI

Use this procedure to view and validate the status of standby controllers in your system

Switch over an active APIC with a standby APIC

Use this procedure to switch over an active APIC with a standby APIC, ensuring you have the necessary access rights and verifying the cluster's health status. Follow the steps to replace the active controller, monitor the switch over progress, and confirm the out-of-band management configuration if controllers are replaced between different pods.

Warm standby for a Cisco APIC cluster

This topic explains the disaster recovery solution using a Warm Standby APIC for Cisco APIC clusters, which continuously synchronizes data from active nodes, enabling efficient restoration and rebuilding of the cluster even when database shards are lost.

Guidelines for using Warm Standby Cisco APICs

This topic explains the guidelines and limitations for configuring and managing Warm Standby Cisco APICs, highlighting the support for both physical and virtual APIC clusters, the deprecation of cold standby controllers, and the maximum limit of three Warm Standby APIC nodes per cluster.

Change the standby APIC type using the GUI

Use this procedure to change the standby APIC type using the Cisco APIC GUI.

Add a standby APIC

Learn how to add a standby APIC to your cluster, ensuring continuous management of your fabric by following these steps: confirm network policies, gather credentials, and configure connectivity and network details to seamlessly integrate the standby APIC as a backup controller.

Delete a standby from the cluster

Use this procedure to delete a standby node from the cluster, preparing it for future reuse or decommissioning. Follow the steps to shut down, delete, and physically disconnect the node, ensuring it is ready for a factory reset if needed later.

Recover the APIC cluster using Warm Standby and the GUI

Use this procedure to recover a Cisco APIC cluster after a disaster by promoting a Warm Standby APIC node to APIC 1, restoring the fabric, and synchronizing data across newly initialized APIC nodes.

APIC migration types

This topic explains the process of migrating APIC clusters, including transitions between physical and virtual clusters, support for mixed cluster types, and the migration of standby nodes, with details on supported scenarios and platform specifics.

Manage APIC cluster at boot using the GUI

Learn how to build a new cluster, add a node to an existing cluster, or replace a node in an existing cluster using the APIC GUI, ensuring seamless integration and management of your network infrastructure.

Nexus dashboard cluster from APIC GUI

This topic explains the direct navigation feature from the APIC GUI to a registered Nexus Dashboard cluster, available from APIC Release 6.1.4, requiring both systems to meet specific version requirements and granting super admin privileges to remote users with admin-write access.