Cisco APIC Installation and ACI Upgrade and Downgrade Guide

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Cisco APIC Installation and ACI Upgrade and Downgrade Guide

Perform a clean initialization of the ACI fabric

Updated: July 12, 2026

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Resets the ACI fabric to a clean state by removing all existing configurations from the APIC and switch nodes. This procedure enables administrators to reconfigure the fabric from scratch or restore it from a configuration backup.

Perform a clean reboot of the fabric when bringing up the fabric for the first time, or when the fabric is unhealthy and a clean reboot is the only option to restore functionality. This process removes all configurations from the Cisco APIC and switch nodes.

Procedure

1.

Log in to each Cisco APIC through the out-of-band management to stop the Cisco APIC DME applications.

Example:


						acidiag stop mgmt
2.

Log in to each switch through the out-of-band management or console, and perform a clean reboot using one of the following command sets:

Example:


						leaf101# 
						setup-clean-config.sh
						In progress
						In progress
						Done
						leaf101# 
						reload
						This command will reload the chassis, Proceed (y/n)? [n]: 
						y

Or:


						leaf101# 
						acidiag touch clean
						This command will wipe out this device, Proceed? [y/N] 
						y
						leaf101# 
						reload
						This command will reload the chassis, Proceed (y/n)? [n]: y
3.

Log in to each Cisco APIC and clean reboot the Cisco APIC .

Example:


						acidiag touch clean
						acidiag reboot

Alternatively, to re-configure the initial setup parameters, include the acidiag touch setup command: 


						acidiag touch clean
						acidiag touch setup
						acidiag reboot
Note

Ignore this error: acidiag: error: curl: (52) Empty reply from server.

The fabric is clean rebooted, but the nodes are not discovered. You can now post node policies, register the switches using the UI, or import a configuration backup.