Cisco ACI Foundations: On-Demand Lab

Build and operate a Cisco ACI fabric from the ground up - access and fabric policies, multi-tenancy, security contracts, fabric monitoring, virtual networking, external L3Out connectivity, Multi-Pod and Multi-Site inter-fabric design, and automation through the APIC REST API and Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator. Designed for CCNP/CCIE Data Center candidates and working data center engineers who need real ACI build experience beyond slides and simulators.

The launch will be soon

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Course Highlights

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Access & Fabric Policies

Discover leaf/spine switches, create switch/interface profiles, configure VLAN pools, AAEP, and vPC interface policy groups.

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Multi-Tenancy & Overlay

Implement logical isolation with Tenants and VRFs, configure Bridge Domains, subnets, EPGs, and Endpoint Security Groups (ESGs).

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ACI Security Contracts

Control inter-EPG traffic using filters and contracts, implement vzAny policies, and enable inter-tenant contract sharing.

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Fabric Monitoring

Interpret APIC GUI faults, evaluate health scores at tenant/fabric levels, and track configuration changes using audit logs.

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L3Out External Connectivity

Build external L3Out connectivity using OSPF and BGP, configure VRF-Lite handoffs, and manage transit routing between L3Outs.

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Inter-Fabric & Automation

Deploy Multi-Pod, Multi-Site (NDO), and Remote Leaf, while automating object provisioning via APIC REST API and Visore.

Build Real Cisco ACI Fabric Expertise

Designed for CCNP/CCIE Data Center candidates and active network engineers who need hands-on Cisco ACI building and operational experience beyond slides and simulators.

Gain comprehensive practice provisioning access policies, tenant isolation, L3Out external routing, and inter-fabric orchestration from a fresh APIC deployment.

Fabric Discovery & Policies: Provision leaf and spine switches, AAEP, vPC policy groups, and fabric-wide pod/TEP settings.
Logical Overlay & Security: Create Tenants, VRFs, Bridge Domains, EPGs/ESGs, and enforce security via contracts and vzAny.
Multi-Site & Automation: Connect multi-fabric deployments using NDO and interact programmatically via APIC REST APIs.

[Insert Cisco ACI Fabric Topology Diagram]

Exam & Certification Alignment

This course prepares you for the Cisco DCACI (300-620) - Implementing Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure — exam, and aligns with the ACI portions of the CCIE Data Center lab blueprint. Refer to the official Cisco DCACI and CCIE Data Center exam topics on cisco.com for the full certification blueprint.

Cisco DCACI (300-620)

Master ACI fabric discovery, policy model configuration, external L3Out networks, VMM integration, and management APIs.

CCIE Data Center Lab

Develop practical blueprint-aligned skills for complex ACI topologies, Multi-Pod/Multi-Site deployments, and fabric operations.

Data Center Engineers

Gain real-world ACI build, troubleshooting, and automation experience on live APIC controllers and Nexus hardware.

Technologies Covered

✓ Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC)
✓ ACI Fabric Discovery (Leaf & Spine Switches)
✓ Access Policies (Profiles, Policy Groups, AAEP, VLAN Pools)
✓ ACI Multi-Tenancy (Tenants, VRFs, Bridge Domains)
✓ Endpoint Groups (EPG) & Endpoint Security Groups (ESG)
✓ Security Contracts, Filters & vzAny Tenant Policies

✓ VMware vSphere Integration (VMM & Distributed Virtual Switch)
✓ External L3Out Routing (OSPF, BGP, VRF-Lite Handoff)
✓ Transit Routing between L3Out Networks
✓ ACI Inter-Fabric Architecture (Multi-Pod, Multi-Site, Remote Leaf)
✓ Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator (NDO)
✓ APIC REST API, Postman & Managed Object Browser (Visore)

Modules & Topics

Perform ACI fabric discovery of leaf and spine switches
Build interface policies, interface/switch profiles, and policy groups
Configure VLAN pools, domains, and AAEP (Attachable Access Entity Profiles)
Configure a vPC domain and vPC interface policy groups between leaf pairs
Configure fabric policies (NTP, fabric-wide pod/TEP policies)

Create Tenants and VRFs for logical isolation
Build Bridge Domains and configure subnet/gateway settings
Create Application Profiles and Endpoint Groups (EPGs)
Configure Endpoint Security Groups (ESGs) as an EPG alternative

Build filters and contracts to control inter-EPG traffic
Configure vzAny for tenant-wide contract application
Configure inter-tenant contracts using exported/consumed contract interfaces

Review and interpret ACI faults in the APIC GUI
Review event records generated by fabric changes
Interpret health scores/indicators at tenant and fabric level
Review audit logs for configuration change tracking

Integrate APIC with VMware vSphere using a Distributed Virtual Switch (VDS)
Configure VMM integration and compare it with a non-VMM VDS deployment

Configure VRF-Lite handoff on an ACI border leaf
Configure an L3Out using OSPF (authentication, adjacencies, area types, redistribution)
Configure an L3Out using BGP (AS manipulation, peering, route reflectors, redistribution)
Configure transit routing between two L3Outs

Deploy ACI Multi-Pod across two pods with a shared APIC cluster
Deploy ACI Multi-Site across separate APIC domains
Configure ACI Remote Leaf for a remote-site extension of the fabric

Deploy Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator (NDO) to manage an ACI Multi-Site deployment
Use Postman/REST API calls to create and modify ACI managed objects
Use the Managed Object Browser (Visore) to inspect the ACI object model

Start Your Lab Experience

Lab Hours Booking

Reserve access to a dedicated, pre-wired lab environment and use your purchased lab hours whenever it suits you.

Flexible Lab Access

Direct access via browser and internet connection
Dedicated APIC cluster and Leaf/Spine fabric switches
Full control over multi-tenant and inter-fabric topologies
Zero hardware required on your side
Schedule your lab session for any available date and time

The launch will be soon

Frequently Asked Questions

Basic data center networking knowledge is recommended. No prior ACI experience is required — the course starts with fabric discovery and access policies from a fresh APIC deployment.

Yes. Module 7 covers both: Multi-Pod (a single APIC cluster spanning multiple pods) and Multi-Site (separate APIC domains connected via Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator), plus Remote Leaf for extending the fabric to a remote location.

Yes. Module 6 covers L3Out with both OSPF and BGP, VRF-Lite handoff, and transit routing between two L3Outs.

Yes. Module 8 covers using Postman and the APIC REST API to manage ACI objects, plus using Visore to inspect the underlying ACI object model.

Lab hours are booked from your account balance. See the Book Hours / Buy Hours options above for current packages and pricing.