Cluster Management Guidelines
The APIC cluster is comprised of multiple APIC controllers that provide operators a unified real time monitoring, diagnostic, and configuration management capability for the ACI fabric. To assure optimal system performance, follow the guidelines below for making changes to the APIC cluster.
![]() Note |
Prior to initiating a change to the cluster, always verify its health. When performing planned changes to the cluster, all controllers in the cluster should be healthy. If one or more of the APIC controllers' health status in the cluster is not "fully fit", remedy that situation before proceeding. Also, assure that cluster controllers added to the APIC are running the same version of firmware as the other controllers in the APIC cluster. |
Follow these general guidelines when managing clusters:
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Cisco recommends that you have at least 3 active APICs in a cluster, along with additional standby APICs. A cluster size of 3, 5, or 7 APICs is recommended. A cluster size of 4 or 6 APICs is not recommended.
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Disregard cluster information from APICs that are not currently in the cluster; they do not provide accurate cluster information.
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Cluster slots contain an APIC
ChassisID
. Once you configure a slot, it remains unavailable until you decommission the APIC with the assignedChassisID
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If an APIC firmware upgrade is in progress, wait for it to complete and the cluster to be fully fit before proceeding with any other changes to the cluster.
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When moving an APIC, first ensure that you have a healthy cluster. After verifying the health of the APIC Cluster, choose the APIC you intend to shut down. After the APIC has shutdown, move the APIC, re-connect it, and then turn it back on. From the GUI, verify that the all controllers in the cluster return to a fully fit state.
Note
Only move one APIC at a time.
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When an APIC cluster is split into two or more groups, the ID of a node is changed and the changes are not synchronized across all APICs. This can cause inconsistency in the node IDs between APICs and also the affected leaf nodes may not appear in the inventory in the APIC GUI. When you split an APIC cluster, decommission the affected leaf nodes from APIC and register them again, so that the inconsistency in the node IDs is resolved and the health status of the APICs in a cluster are in a fully fit state.
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Before configuring the APIC cluster, ensure that all the APICs are running the same firmware version. Initial clustering of APICs running differing versions is an unsupported operation and may cause problems within the cluster.
This section contains the following topics: