Users Guide

8 Dell EMC PowerEdge MX SmartFabric Configuration Guide with Cisco ACI
1.1 Dell EMC SmartFabric OS10
The networking market is transitioning from a closed, proprietary stack to open hardware supporting various
operating systems. Dell EMC SmartFabric OS10 is designed to allow multi-layered disaggregation of the
network functionality. While OS10 contributions to Open Source provide users freedom and flexibility to pick
their own third-party networking, monitoring, management and orchestration applications, SmartFabric OS10
bundles industry hardened networking stack featuring standard L2 and L3 protocols over a standard and well
accepted CLI interface. The MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine (FSE) and MX5108n switches in this guide
use the Dell EMC SmartFabric OS10 network operating system.
Dell EMC SmartFabric OS10 High-Level Architecture
Note: For detailed information about Dell EMC SmartFabric OS10, see Dell EMC SmartFabric OS10 User
Guide.
1.2 Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI)
Cisco ACI is an application focused, software-defined networking solution that utilizes both software and
traditional switching hardware. The solution is an overlay on Cisco’s high-performance switches, operating in
an ACI mode managed by a controller. The Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) is a
central management appliance that handles policy, visibility, security, and overall network control for the ACI
environment.
Cisco ACI provides the following features within the ACI domain:
• Multi-tenant security
• Microsegmentation
• Application-specific policy management
• Network availability and QoS
• Network automation