20 Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure Interview Questions and Answers

Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) is a software-defined networking solution that helps simplify data center network management. ACI uses a centralized policy model to enable application agility and flexibility, while also reducing operational costs. If you’re interviewing for a position that involves Cisco ACI, it’s important to be prepared to answer questions about your experience and knowledge of the platform. In this article, we’ll review some common Cisco ACI interview questions and provide guidance on how to answer them.

Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure Interview Questions and Answers

Here are 20 commonly asked Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure interview questions and answers to prepare you for your interview:

1. What is Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI)?

Cisco ACI is a data center networking solution that offers a centralized, policy-based approach to managing network resources. It is designed to simplify network administration and improve network performance. ACI uses a software-defined networking (SDN) approach to networking, which allows network administrators to centrally configure and manage network resources using a single platform.

2. Why do you think ACI is a better option than traditional networking infrastructure?

ACI is a better option than traditional networking infrastructure for a number of reasons. First, ACI is designed to be more scalable and flexible than traditional networking infrastructure. This means that it can more easily accommodate changes in network traffic patterns and demands. Second, ACI is designed to be more efficient in terms of both cost and energy consumption. This is because ACI uses a centralized controller to manage network traffic, which reduces the need for multiple devices to communicate with each other. Finally, ACI is designed to be more secure than traditional networking infrastructure, as it uses features such as micro-segmentation to isolate different parts of the network from each other.

3. Can you explain the main components of Cisco ACI?

The main components of Cisco ACI are the Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC), the leaf switches, and the spine switches. The APIC is the brains of the operation, and it is responsible for configuring and managing the network. The leaf switches are the workhorses of the network, and they provide connectivity between the devices on the network. The spine switches provide high-speed connectivity between the leaf switches.

4. How does Cisco APIC work?

Cisco APIC provides an application-centric infrastructure that helps simplify network operations and increase agility. It does this by providing a centralized point of control and management for network devices, applications, and services. Cisco APIC also helps to automate many common network tasks, making it easier and faster to deploy new applications and services.

5. Can you explain what an application profile is in context with Cisco ACI?

An application profile is a set of configuration settings that can be applied to a group of objects within Cisco ACI to provide a consistent configuration and policy enforcement for a particular application.

6. What is your understanding of endpoint groups and contracts?

Endpoint groups are a logical grouping of endpoints within a network that can communicate with each other. Contracts are the rules that govern communication between endpoint groups.

7. What are some common use cases for Cisco ACI?

Cisco ACI is often used in data center networking, as it offers a high degree of flexibility and scalability. Additionally, Cisco ACI can be used in campus networking and branch office networking.

8. Do you know how to build a Cisco ACI fabric? If yes, can you describe it?

Yes, I am familiar with how to build a Cisco ACI fabric. The process involves creating a Tenant, an Application Profile, and a Bridge Domain. The Tenant defines the logical isolation between different groups of users or applications, while the Application Profile contains the configuration settings for the applications that will be running on the ACI fabric. The Bridge Domain provides the layer 2 connectivity between the different components of the ACI fabric.

9. What do you understand about leaf nodes and spine switches in context with Cisco ACI?

Cisco ACI uses a leaf-spine topology, which means that there is a central spine switch that all of the leaf switches are connected to. The leaf switches are where the actual applications and devices are connected, and the spine switch is responsible for routing traffic between the leaf switches.

10. What’s the difference between a VLAN pool and a BD?

A VLAN pool is a collection of VLANs that can be used to segment traffic on a network. A BD is a bridge domain, which is a logical segment of a network that is used to forward traffic between devices.

11. How is policy-based automation achieved using Cisco ACI?

Policy-based automation is a key feature of Cisco ACI that allows the network to automatically configure itself based on predefined policies. This allows the network to be more responsive to changes and to automatically adapt to new conditions.

12. What are the steps required to create a tenant on the Cisco ACI server?

The first step is to create a tenant object. This is done by going to the “Tenants” tab, clicking the “Create Tenant” button, and filling out the required information. Next, you need to create an application profile. This is done by going to the “Application Profiles” tab, clicking the “Create Application Profile” button, and again filling out the required information. Finally, you need to create a bridge domain. This is done by going to the “Bridge Domains” tab, clicking the “Create Bridge Domain” button, and filling out the required information.

13. Can you give me some examples of applications that have used Cisco ACI successfully?

Yes. Some examples of applications that have used Cisco ACI successfully include data center virtualization, cloud computing, big data, and enterprise applications.

14. What are the different types of endpoints supported by Cisco ACI?

The three types of endpoints supported by Cisco ACI are physical, virtual, and logical. Physical endpoints are actual devices that are connected to the network, such as servers or switches. Virtual endpoints are software-based and can be things like virtual machines or containers. Logical endpoints are abstractions that represent a group of physical or virtual endpoints, such as an application or a service.

15. What is the maximum number of routes allowed per VRF table in Cisco ACI?

The maximum number of routes allowed per VRF table in Cisco ACI is 65,535.

16. What are some ways to achieve high availability when implementing Cisco ACI?

There are a few ways to achieve high availability when implementing Cisco ACI. One way is to use the built-in redundancy features of the Cisco ACI fabric. Another way is to use Cisco ACI Multi-Site to create a redundant, geographically dispersed ACI fabric.

17. Can you explain what L4-L7 services are? When would you recommend using them?

L4-L7 services are a type of network service that provides functionality at the application layer of the network stack. These services can include things like load balancing, content filtering, and application-level firewalls. They are often used in enterprise networks in order to improve performance and security.

18. What is the difference between Layer 3 routing mode and intersite layer 3 connectivity mode?

Layer 3 routing mode is used when you want to route traffic between different subnets that are located on different sites. Intersite layer 3 connectivity mode is used when you want to connect two or more sites together using a layer 3 VPN.

19. What are the limitations of using Cisco ACI?

The main limitation of using Cisco ACI is that it is a proprietary solution, which means that it can be more expensive and difficult to implement than other options. Additionally, Cisco ACI can be complex to configure and manage, and it may not be compatible with all existing network infrastructure.

20. Is it possible to integrate Cisco ACI with AWS or Azure cloud platforms? If so, how would you go about doing that?

Yes, it is possible to integrate Cisco ACI with both AWS and Azure cloud platforms. In order to do so, you would need to use the Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) to provision and manage the ACI fabric. The APIC provides a REST API that can be used to interface with both AWS and Azure.