Last Updated on August 2, 2021 by Admin 2
How does each APIC server in the Cisco ACI communicate with ACI nodes and other APIC servers during the APIC cluster discovery process?
- by using LLDP
- by using MAC addresses
- by using public IP addresses
- by using private IP addresses
Each Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) server in the Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) communicates with ACI nodes and other APIC servers during the APIC cluster discovery process by using private Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Private IP addresses are not routable over the Internet. When an ACI fabric is booted, an internal private IP addressing scheme is used to enable the APIC to communicate with other nodes and controllers.
APIC controllers do not use Link-Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) to communicate with ACI nodes and other APIC servers during the APIC cluster discovery process. However, LLDP is used by APIC controllers to discover the private IP addresses and other information assigned to other APIC controllers in the cluster. LLDP is a standard protocol that detects neighboring devices of any type. An ACI fabric also uses LLDP along with Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to discover switch nodes and to assign IP addresses to virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN) tunnel endpoints (VTEPs). LLDP is also used by APIC to detect virtual switches, although it is also possible to use Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) for that purpose.
APIC controllers do not use public IP addresses to communicate with ACI nodes and other APIC servers during the APIC discovery process. Unlike private IP addresses, public IP addresses are routable over the Internet.
APIC controllers do not use Media Access Control (MAC) addresses to communicate with ACI nodes and other APIC servers during the APIC cluster discovery process. However, an ACI fabric does use destination MAC addresses to perform Layer 2 switching.