Cisco has been at the forefront of developing a suite of standalone tools for data center networking, collectively known as the Day 2 Operations Suite. Recently, Cisco has initiated the integration of these tools into a unified interface called NEXUS Dashboard, providing a consolidated view and shared data repositories for enhanced application correlation. This Learning path is designed specifically for those administrators that need to perform and manage the day to day upkeep of the NEXUS Dashboard product. The learning path will include videos, article and a hands on lab going over what a typical admin would need to setup on NEXUS Dashboard. We will cover whats new with NEXUS Dashboard 3.2, creating routes for the management and data networks, creating syslog server, remote NFS and SFTP storage, creating backups, and upgrading the version. We will also go through remote authentication with radius, creating users and roles, and Intersight configuration. Finally we will bring up 2 ACI simulators and onboard the ACI fabrics to the NEXUS Dashboard platform.

The NEXUS Dashboard Insights service is a powerful tool that revolutionizes network telemetry utilization. Transforming raw data into actionable insights significantly reduces downtime and enhances overall network performance. This service leverages advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to provide visibility for real-time network operations. This means that IT administrators can see what's happening in the network as it happens, allowing them to address issues before they escalate. One key benefit of NEXUS Dashboard Insights is its ability to resolve issues proactively. Instead of waiting for problems to occur and then reacting, the tool identifies potential issues early on and provides recommendations for resolution. This proactive approach not only minimizes disruptions but also ensures that the network runs smoothly and efficiently. Moreover, NEXUS Dashboard Insights offers a comprehensive understanding of the network. It analyzes various aspects of the network, from performance metrics to security threats, and presents this information in an easy-to-understand format. This holistic view enables IT administrators to make informed decisions and optimize network performance. By empowering IT administrators with these capabilities, NEXUS Dashboard Insights ensures that networks are managed efficiently. The tool's real-time visibility, proactive issue resolution, and comprehensive network understanding contribute to optimal performance and reduced disruptions, making it an invaluable asset for any organization.

Cisco has been at the forefront of developing a suite of standalone tools for data center networking, collectively known as the Day 2 Operations Suite. Recently, Cisco has initiated the integration of these tools into a unified interface called NEXUS Dashboard, providing a consolidated view and shared data repositories for enhanced application correlation. This Learning path is designed specifically for those new to networking or new to the NEXUS Dashboard product. Future learning paths will go into more detail about operating and implementing the NEXUS Dashboard platform.

Cisco ACI is a policy-driven CLOS or Spine/Leaf based switching fabric utilizing layer 3 ECMP routing in the underlay and VXLAN encapsulation in the overlay to transport layer two and layer three traffic East/West across the fabric and North/South in and out of the fabric. ACI consists of the Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC), a centralized controller that manages all aspects of the ACI fabric. The leaf switches are ToR switches that provide connectivity between servers and external networks, and the spine switches are Layer 3 switches that provide ECMP high-bandwidth connectivity between leaf switches. An ACI fabric can be expanded East/West by adding leafs, cabling to the spines, and registering them. ACI was designed to operate as "One Big Switch" (like a chassis-based NEXUS 7K) with the controllers acting like the Supervisors, the spines as fabric modules, and leafs acting as blades. This approach allows us to decouple these elements from the chassis and place them anywhere in the data center. The leafs (blades) can be placed anywhere in the data center, so you are not limited to a chassis. We can take this decoupling one step further and put a leaf in a remote data center (remote leaf), place a spine and leaf fabric extension into a second data center (multi-pod), or a new spine-leaf fabric in a data center (multi-site). Using the NEXUS Dashboard Orchestrator (NDO), we can treat multiple fabrics as one entity from a policy standpoint and manage and perform day two operations from a single pane of glass. The power of ACI allows us to stretch layer two and layer three across multiple fabrics and use a single policy for forwarding traffic in the data center. This Learning Module will guide you through basics and implementation skills.