Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller, Release 1.3(1), Release Notes

 

This document describes the features, caveats, and limitations for the Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) software.

Note: Use this document in combination with the Cisco NX-OS Release 11.3(1) Release Notes for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series ACI-Mode Switches, which you can view at the following location:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/nexus-9000-series-switches/products-release-notes-list.html

Additional product documentation is listed in the “Related Documentation” section.

Release notes are sometimes updated with new information about restrictions and caveats. See the following website for the most recent version of this document:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/cloud-systems-management/application-policy-infrastructure-controller-apic/tsd-products-support-series-home.html

Table 1 shows the online change history for this document.

Table 1 Online History Change

 

 

Contents

This document includes the following sections:

■        Introduction

■        Compatibility Information

■        Usage Guidelines

■        Verified Scalability Limits

■        New and Changed Information

■        Caveats

■        Related Documentation

Introduction

The Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) is an architecture that allows the application to define the networking requirements in a programmatic way. This architecture simplifies, optimizes, and accelerates the entire application deployment life cycle.

The Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure Fundamentals guide provides complete details about the ACI, including a glossary of terms that are used in the ACI.

Compatibility Information

■        This release supports the hardware and software listed on the ACI Ecosystem Compatibility List document and the software listed as follows:

—      Cisco NX-OS Release 11.3(1)

—      Cisco AVS, Release 5.2(1)SV3(1.20)

You can use same the Cisco AVS VIB, Microsoft Hyper-V packages from the 1.3(1g) release.

For more information about the supported AVS releases, see the AVS software compatibility information in the Cisco Application Virtual Switch Release Notes at the following URL:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/application-virtual-switch/products-release-notes-list.html

—      Cisco UCS Manager software release 2.2(1c) or later is required for the Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnect and other components, including the BIOS, CIMC, and the adapter

See the ACI Ecosystem Compatibility List document at the following URL:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/data-center-virtualization/application-centric-infrastructure/solution-overview-listing.html

■        The breakout of 40G ports to 4x10G on the N9332PQ switch is not supported in ACI-Mode.

■        To connect the N2348UPQ to ACI leaf switches, the following options are available:

—      Directly connect the 40G FEX ports on the N2348UPQ to the 40G switch ports on the N9332PQ switch

—      Break out the 40G FEX ports on the N2348UPQ to 4x10G ports and connect to the N9396PX or N9372PX switches

■        Connecting the APIC (the controller cluster) to the ACI fabric requires a 10G interface on the ACI leaf. You cannot connect the APIC directly to the N9332PQ ACI Leaf.

■        This release supports the following firmware:

—      1.5(4e) CIMC HUU iso

—      2.0(3i) CIMC HUU iso (recommended)

■        Beginning with Cisco Application Virtual Switch (AVS) release 5.2(1)SV3(1.10), you can connect service virtual machines that are part of Layer 4 to Layer 7 service graphs to AVS. Layer 4 to Layer 7 service graphs for Cisco AVS can be configured for service virtual machines that are in VLAN mode. By using two AVS VMM domains (one with VLAN and one with VXLAN), you can have a virtual machine in VXLAN mode that is protected by service graphs that are using the service virtual machine in VLAN mode.

■        This release supports VMM Integration and VMware Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) 6.x. For more information about guidelines for upgrading VMware DVS from 5.x to 6.x and VMM integration, see the Cisco ACI Virtualization Guide, Release 1.3(1g) at the following URL:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/cloud-systems-management/application-policy-infrastructure-controller-apic/tsd-products-support-series-home.html

■        This release supports the Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) Update Rollup 9 release and the Microsoft Windows Azure Pack Update Rollup 9 release.

■        This release supports the partner packages specified in the L4-L7 Compatibility List Solution Overview document at the following URL:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/data-center-virtualization/application-centric-infrastructure/solution-overview-listing.html

■        This release supports Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) device package version 1.2.5.5 or later.

■        If you are running a Cisco Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance (ASAv) version that is prior to version 9.3(2), you must configure SSL encryption as follows:

(config)# ssl encryption aes128-sha1

■        A known issue exists with the Safari browser and unsigned certificates, which applies when connecting to the APIC GUI. For more information, see the Cisco APIC Getting Started Guide.

■        For information about APIC compatibility with UCS Director, see the appropriate Cisco UCS Director Compatibility Matrix document at the following URL:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/servers-unified-computing/ucs-director/products-device-support-tables-list.html

Usage Guidelines

This section lists usage guidelines for the APIC software.

■        The APIC GUI includes an online version of the Quick Start guide that includes video demonstrations.

■        The infrastructure IP address range must not overlap with other IP addresses used in the fabric for in-band and out-of-band networks.

■        The APIC does not provide IPAM services for tenant workloads.

■        To reach the APIC CLI from the GUI: select System > Controllers, highlight a controller, right-click and select "launch SSH". To get the list of commands, press the escape key twice.

■        In some of the 5-minute statistics data, the count of ten-second samples is 29 instead of 30.

■        For the following services, use a DNS-based host name with out-of-band management connectivity. IP addresses can be used with both in-band and out-of-band management connectivity.

—      Syslog server

—      Call Home SMTP server

—      Tech support export server

—      Configuration export server

—      Statistics export server

■        Both leaf and spine switches can be managed from any host that has IP connectivity to the fabric.

■        When configuring an atomic counter policy between two endpoints, and an IP is learned on one of the two endpoints, it is recommended to use an IP-based policy and not a client endpoint-based policy.

■        When configuring two Layer 3 external networks on the same node, the loopbacks need to be configured separately for both Layer 3 networks.

■        All endpoint groups (EPGs), including application EPGs and Layer 3 external EPGs, require a domain. Interface policy groups must also be associated with an Attach Entity Profile (AEP), and the AEP must be associated with domains. Based on the association of EPGs to domains and of the interface policy groups to domains, the ports and VLANs that the EPG uses are validated. This applies to all EPGs including bridged Layer 2 outside and routed Layer 3 outside EPGs. For more information, see the Cisco Fundamentals Guide and the KB: Creating Domains, Attach Entity Profiles, and VLANs to Deploy an EPG on a Specific Port article.

Note: In the 1.0(4x) and earlier releases, when creating static paths for application EPGs or Layer 2/Layer 3 outside EPGs, the physical domain was not required. In this release, it is required. Upgrading without the physical domain will raise a fault on the EPG stating “invalid path configuration.”

■        An EPG can only associate with a contract interface in its own tenant.

■        User passwords must meet the following criteria:

—      Minimum length is 8 characters

—      Maximum length is 64 characters

—      Fewer than three consecutive repeated characters

—      At least three of the following character types: lowercase, uppercase, digit, symbol

—      Cannot be easily guessed

—      Cannot be the username or the reverse of the username

—      Cannot be any variation of “cisco”, “isco”, or any permutation of these characters or variants obtained by changing the capitalization of letters therein

■        The power consumption statistics are not shown on leaf node slot 1.

■        For Layer 3 external networks created through the API or Advanced GUI and updated through the CLI, protocols need to be enabled globally on the external network through the API or Advanced GUI, and the node profile for all the participating nodes needs to be added through the API or Advanced GUI before doing any further updates through the CLI.

■        For Layer 3 external networks created through the CLI, you should not to update them through the API. These external networks are identified by names starting with “__ui_”.

■        The output from "show" commands issued in the NX-OS-style CLI are subject to change in future software releases. Cisco does not recommend using the output from the show commands for automation.

■        In this software version, the CLI is supported only for users with administrative login privileges.

■        Do not separate virtual private cloud (vPC) member nodes into different configuration zones. If the nodes are in different configuration zones, then the vPCs’ modes become mismatched if the interface policies are modified and deployed to only one of the vPC member nodes.

■        If you defined multiple login domains, you can choose the login domain that you want to use when logging in to an APIC. By default, the domain drop-down list is empty, and if you do not choose a domain, the DefaultAuth domain is used for authentication. This can result in login failure if the username is not in the DefaultAuth login domain. As such, you must enter the credentials based on the chosen login domain.

■        A firmware maintenance group should contain max of 80 nodes.

■        When contracts are not associated with an endpoint group, DSCP marking is not supported for a VRF with a vzAny contract. DSCP is sent to a leaf along with the actrl rule, but a vzAny contract does not have an actrl rule. Therefore, the DSCP value cannot be sent.

■        ACI does not support a class E address as a VTEP address.

■        If the communication between the APIC and vCenter is impaired, some functionality is adversely affected. The APIC relies on the pulling of inventory information, updating vDS configuration, and receiving event notifications from the vCenter for performing certain operations.

Verified Scalability Limits

Table 2 shows the CLI scalability limits.

Table 2 CLI Scalability Limits

 

For additional verified scalability limits, see the Verified Scalability Guide for this release:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/cloud-systems-management/application-policy-infrastructure-controller-apic/tsd-products-support-series-home.html

 

New and Changed Information

This section lists the new and changed features in this release and includes the following topics:

■       New Software Features

■       New Hardware Features

New Software Features

Table 3 lists the new software features in this release:

Table 3 New Software Features, Guidelines, and Restrictions

New Hardware Features

For new hardware features, see the Cisco NX-OS Release 11.3(1) Release Notes for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series ACI-Mode Switches at the following location:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/nexus-9000-series-switches/products-release-notes-list.html

Changes in Behavior

This section lists changes in behavior in this release.

■        Starting with the 1.2(3) release, AVS uses site-specific certifications. Prior to the 1.2(3) release, AVS used image-based certifications. Because of the change in certifications, if you upgrade from a release prior to the 1.2(3) release, you must use an alternate upgrade procedure. For the upgrade procedure, see the Cisco AVS Installation Guide at the following website:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/switches/application-virtual-switch/products-installation-guides-list.html

 

Caveats

This section contains lists of open and resolved caveats and known behaviors.

■        Open Caveats

■        Resolved Caveats

■        Known Behaviors

Open Caveats

This section lists the open caveats. Click the bug ID to access the Bug Search tool and see additional information about the bug. If a caveat is fixed in a patch of this release, the “Fixed In” column of the tables specifies the release.

Open Caveats in the 1.3(1g) Release

Table 4 lists the open caveats in the 1.3(1g) release.

Table 4 Open Caveats in the 1.3(1g) Release

Open Caveats in the 1.3(1h) Release

There are no new open caveats in the 1.3(1h) release.

Open Caveats in the 1.3(1i) Release

There are no new open caveats in the 1.3(1i) release.

Resolved Caveats

This section lists the resolved caveats. Click the bug ID to access the Bug Search tool and see additional information about the bug.

Resolved Caveats in the 1.3(1g) Release

Table 5 lists the resolved caveats in the 1.3(1g) release.

Table 5 Resolved Caveats in the 1.3(1g) Release

Resolved Caveats in the 1.3(1h) Release

Table 6 lists the resolved caveats in the 1.3(1h) release.

Table 6 Resolved Caveats in the 1.3(1h) Release

Resolved Caveats in the 1.3(1i) Release

There are no new resolved caveats in the 1.3(1i) release.

Known Behaviors

This section lists caveats that describe known behaviors. Click the Bug ID to access the Bug Search Tool and see additional information about the bug.

Known Behaviors in the 1.3(1g) Release

Table 7 lists caveats that describe known behaviors in the 1.3(1g) release.

Table 7 Known Behaviors in the 1.3(1g) Release

Known Behaviors in the 1.3(1h) Release

There are no new known behaviors in the 1.3(1h) release.

Known Behaviors in the 1.3(1i) Release

There are no new known behaviors in the 1.3(1i) release.

 

Related Documentation

The Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) documentation can be accessed from the following website:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/cloud-systems-management/application-policy-infrastructure-controller-apic/tsd-products-support-series-home.html

The documentation includes installation, upgrade, configuration, programming, and troubleshooting guides, technical references, release notes, and knowledge base (KB) articles, as well as other documentation. KB articles provide information about a specific use case or a specific topic.

By using the “Choose a topic” and “Choose a document type” fields of the APIC documentation website, you can narrow down the displayed documentation list to make it easier to find the desired document.

The following tables describe the core APIC documentation.

Note: Not every document has a new version for each release. Unless specified otherwise, the latest document version applies if the document was not revised for a specific release.

Table 8 Installation, Upgrade, and Configuration Documentation

Table 9 Interface Documentation

Table 10 Reference Documentation

Table 11 Layer 4 to Layer 7 Documentation

Table 12 Virtualization Documentation

Table 13 ACI with OpenStack Documentation

Table 14 Troubleshooting Documentation

New Documentation

This section lists the new Cisco APIC product documents for this release.

■        Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) Installation Guide

■        Cisco APIC Controller and Switch Upgrade and Downgrade Guide

Note: This document replaces the Cisco APIC Firmware Management Guide.

■        Cisco ACI Basic Configuration Guide

 

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Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.

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