Cisco APIC Layer 3 Networking Configuration Guide, Release 6.2(x)

Multi-Pod fabric setup

Updated: April 17, 2026

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Describes how to configure multi-pod between two physical pods by using the APIC GUI wizard.

Multi-pod fabric setup prepares an existing physical pod for communication over the interpod network (IPN) with a new pod and adds the new pod to the multi-pod fabric.

Prepares an existing physical pod to communicate with a new pod over the interpod network (IPN).
Adds the new physical pod to create the multi-pod fabric.
Supports configuration through the Cisco APIC GUI wizard beginning with Release 4.0(1).

Configuration methods

Beginning with Cisco APIC Release 4.0(1), a GUI wizard simplifies multi-pod configuration. To configure multi-pod by using the GUI, follow the procedures in this section.

You can also configure multi-pod by using the NX-OS-style CLI and REST API. For instructions, see Setting Up Multi-Pod Fabric Using the NX-OS CLI and Setting Up Multi-Pod Fabric Using the REST API.

Prepare the pod for IPN connectivity

This task establishes interpod network connectivity to enable communication between pods in a multi-pod fabric configuration.

Before you create a new pod, you first must ensure that the existing physical pod can communicate with the new pod.

Follow these steps to prepare the pod for IPN connectivity:

Procedure

Log in to the Cisco APIC.
Navigate to Fabric > Inventory.
Expand Quick Start and click Add Pod.
In the work pane, click Add Pod.
In the Configure Interpod Connectivity STEP 1 > Overview panel, review the tasks that are required to configure interpod network (IPN) connectivity, and then click Get Started.
In the Configure Interpod Connectivity STEP 2 > IP Connectivity dialog box, complete these steps:
1. If you see a Name field in an L3 Outside Configuration area, choose an existing fabric external routing profile from the Name drop-down list.
2. Using the Spine ID selector, choose the spine.
  
  Click the + (plus) icon to add the IDs of more spines.
3. In the Interfaces area, in the Interface field, enter the spine switch interface (slot and port) used to connect to the IPN.
  
  Click the + (plus) icon to add more interfaces.
4. In the IPV4 Address field, enter the IPv4 gateway address and network mask for the interface.
5. From the MTU (bytes) drop-down list, choose a value for the maximum transmit unit of the external network.
  
  The range is 1500 to 9216.
6. Click Next.
In the Configure Interpod Connectivity STEP 3 > Routing Protocols dialog box, you configure the underlay protocol to peer between the physical spines and the IPN. In releases before Cisco APIC Release 5.2(3), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is the only supported underlay. For those earlier releases, or in a later release if you choose OSPF AS the Underlay, complete these substeps in the OSPF area:
1. Leave the Use Defaults checked or uncheck it.
  
  When the Use Defaults check box is checked, the GUI conceals the optional fields for configuring OSPF. When it is unchecked, it displays all the fields. The check box is checked by default.
2. In the Area ID field, enter the OSPF area ID.
3. In the Area Type area, choose an OSPF area type.
  
  You can choose NSSA area or Regular area. Stub area is not supported.
4. (Optional) With the Area Cost selector, choose an appropriate OSPF area cost value. This field appears only when the Use Defaults checkbox is unchecked.
5. From the Interface Policy drop-down list, choose or configure an OSPF interface policy.
  
  You can choose an existing policy, or you can create one with the Create OSPF Interface Policy dialog box.
Beginning with Cisco APIC Release 5.2(3), the underlay protocol can be either OSPF or BGP. For releases before Cisco APIC Release 5.2(3), or if you chose OSPF AS the Underlay in the preceding STEP, skip this STEP. If you choose BGP AS the Underlay in the Configure Interpod Connectivity STEP 3 > Routing Protocols dialog box, complete these substeps in the BGP area to configure the BGP underlay:

In the MP-BGP area, leave the Use Defaults check box checked. The GUI conceals the fields for configuring Multiprotocol Border Gateway Protocol (MP-BGP).
1. Note the nonconfigurable values in the Spine ID, Interface, and IPv4 Address fields.
2. In the Peer Address field, enter the IP address of the BGP neighbor.
3. In the Remote AS field, enter the Autonomous System (AS) number of the BGP neighbor.
4. Click Next.
In the Configure Interpod Connectivity STEP 4 > External TEP dialog box, complete these steps:
1. Leave the Use Defaults checked or uncheck it.
  
  When the Use Defaults check box is checked, the GUI conceals the optional fields for configuring the external TEP pool. When it is unchecked, it displays all the fields. The check box is checked by default.
2. Note the nonconfigurable values in the Pod and Internal TEP Pool fields.
3. In the External TEP Pool field, enter the external TEP pool for the physical pod.
  The external TEP pool must not overlap the internal TEP pool or external TEP pools belonging to other pods.
4. In the Data Plane TEP IP field enter the address that is used to route traffic between pods. This address must have a /32 subnet mask.
  
  You can accept the default address that is generated when you configure the External TEP Pool. Alternatively, you can enter another address, but it must be outside of the external TEP pool.
5. In the Router ID field, enter the IPN router IP address.
6. (Optional) In the Loopback Address field, enter the IPN router loopback IP address.
  
  If you uncheck the Use Defaults, the Cisco APIC displays the nonconfigurable Unicast TEP IP and Spine ID fields.
7. Click Finish.
  The Summary panel appears, displaying details of the IPN configuration. You can also click View JSON to view the REST API for the configuration. You can save the REST API for later use.

The interpod connectivity configuration is complete, establishing the necessary network infrastructure for pod-to-pod communication.

What to do next

Take one of these actions:

You can proceed directly with adding a pod, continuing with the procedure Add a pod to create a multi-pod fabric in this guide.
Close the Configure Interpod Connectivity dialog box and add the pod later, returning to the procedure Add a pod to create a multi-pod fabric in this guide.

Add a pod to create a multi-pod fabric

This task enables you to set up a Multi-Pod environment by defining a new physical pod ID and tunnel endpoint (TEP) pool, configuring the new pod network settings, and setting up subinterfaces for the physical spines.

The Add Physical Pod dialog enables you to set up a Multi-Pod environment. You define a new physical pod ID and tunnel endpoint (TEP) pool. You also configure the new pod network settings and the subinterfaces for the physical spines.

Before you begin

You have performed the following tasks:

Created the node group and L3Out policies.
Configured the interpod network (IPN). For a sample configuration, see Sample IPN configurations for multi-Pod for nexus 9000 series switches in this guide.
Prepared an existing pod to communicate with the new pod over the IPN. See the procedure Prepare the pod for IPN connectivity in this guide.
Made sure that the spine switch that connects to the IPN also connects to at least one leaf switch in the pod.
Created a tunnel endpoint (TEP) pool. See the procedure Prepare the pod for IPN connectivity in this guide.

Follow these steps to add a pod to create a multi-pod fabric:

Procedure

Log in to Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC).
Take one of the following actions:
- If you completed the procedure Prepare the pod for IPN connectivity and have not closed the Configure Interpod Connectivity dialog box, skip STEP 3 through STEP 5, and resume this procedure at STEP 6.
- If you have completed the procedure Prepare the pod for IPN connectivity and have closed the Configure Interpod Connectivity dialog box, proceed to STEP 3 in this procedure.
Choose Fabric > Inventory.
Click Quick Start and click Add Pod.
In the work pane, click Add Pod.
In the Add Physical Pod STEP 2 > Pod Fabric dialog box, complete these steps:
1. In the Pod ID field, choose the pod ID.
  
  The pod ID can be any positive integer; however, it must be unique in the Cisco ACI fabric.
2. In the Pod TEP Pool field, enter the pool address and subnet.
  
  The pod TEP pool represents a range of traffic encapsulation identifiers and is a shared resource and can be consumed by multiple domains.
3. With the Spine ID selector, choose the spine ID.
  
  Choose more spine IDs by clicking the + (plus) icon.
4. In the Interfaces area, in the Interface field, enter the spine switch interface (slot and port) that is used to connect to the interpod network (IPN).
5. In the IPv4 Address field, enter the IPv4 gateway address and network mask for the interface.
6. In the MTU (bytes) field, choose a value for the maximum transmit unit (MTU) of the external network.
  
  You can configure another interface by clicking the + (plus) icon.
In the Add Physical Pod STEP 3 > External TEP dialog box, complete these steps:
1. Leave the Use Defaults check box checked or uncheck it to display the optional fields to configure an external TEP pool.
2. Note the values in the Pod and Internal TEP Pool fields, which are already configured.
3. In the External TEP Pool field, enter the external TEP pool for the physical pod.
  
  The external TEP pool must not overlap the internal TEP pool.
4. In the Dataplane TEP IP field, enter the address that is used to route traffic between pods.
5. (Optional) In the Unicast TEP IP field, enter the unicast TEP IP address.
  
  automatically configures the unicast TEP IP address when you enter the data plane TEP IP address.
6. (Optional) Note the value in the nonconfigurable Node field.
7. (Optional) In the Router ID field, enter the IPN router IP address.
  
  Cisco APIC automatically configures the router IP address when you enter the data plane TEP address.
8. In the Loopback Address field, enter the router loopback IP address.
  
  Leave the Loopback Address blank if you use a router IP address.
9. Click Finish.

The new pod is added to the Multi-Pod fabric and can communicate with other pods through the configured interpod network.

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