Cisco ACI Reviews

We want to automate some of the operational tasks of our team. We have many configurations and switches. In the future, we want to deploy a solution where we can configure all our switches in one place. This is why we are looking to use Cisco ACI in the future.

• A lot of our tasks in cloud projects are now done faster than before. 
• We can implement customer requirements more quickly. 
• Our quality has improved because we have faster visibility into when faults occurs in the network.

The valuable feature is its configuration policy. We can configure it because the policy is used for all the switches. We do not have to implement all the configuration on every switch. 

Also, it fully integrates with most of our other tools, like Infoblox or vCenter, as its very powerful.

In the new version of 4.0, the management groups for updating the software is not the best way to do it. It was better in 3.2. There was a better overview of all the management groups with integrated switches. 

It is stable. The updates for Cisco ACI have been consistent with no failures.

Scalability is another point for our cloud project. We use Cisco ACI, because when we expand the network another 10 to 20 switches more, the switches are easier to implement now. We  connect the new switches to the spine infrastructure, then they are the switches are ready to configure.

Cisco technical support has been great over the last five to six years that I have worked with them. We have two open cases with them now. All issues are solved in a timely fashion. 

We were previously using the Nexus 7000. We upgraded from the Catalyst environment to the Nexus environment. Now, we want to use ACI for automation and integration of third-party hardware.

We switched to Cisco ACI because of it improvements to our operations and integrations with third-parties.

At the beginning, the initial setup was complex because it was another way of networking. After the first installation, the second and third installation with ACI Fabric was a bit easier to configure.

To install the complete ACI Fabric with all 10 to 12 switches, it takes one to two days, then it's finished. Once you configure the application, it runs. 

We deployed it in-house.

We have seen time improvement using the product.

We did not consider any other vendors. Because in the network environment, we can only buy Cisco or Juniper. However, Juniper does not have a solution for us.

The primary use case is using the automation for deploying new applications in our data center.

It is now easier than before we had ACI to configure any new changes into our data center.

The centralized configuration is its most valuable feature.

The only drawback that we are seeing is the user interface is still a little complex and difficult to use. It needs a more user-friendly interface. I do not use it daily. Every time that I have to go back and configure something, it is very difficult and confusing to remember how to do it and where the menu are located.

The stability is good.

The scalability is good.

I have never had to open a technical support ticket.

The initial setup was complex, but that was not an issue for us. The complexity was around such a big change in architecture, as there were a lot of new topics to learn.

We used Cisco for the initial deployment. Our experience with them was very good. We have had someone on site regularly, which has been really helpful.

Cisco is the only company that we seriously considered.

Do not be afraid of the change that Cisco ACI requires. It takes some time to get used to it. However, in the end, it is worth it as the solution is simpler and more efficient.

• Qatar Rail: network and data center infrastructure
• Msheireb Downtown: smart city project including infrastructure for Big Data
• Ministry of Interior: network design based on Qatar Rail's passive infrastructure.

ACI provides network ability to deploy and respond to the needs of applications, both in the data center and in the cloud.

The ACI fabric supports more than 64,000 dedicated tenant networks. A single fabric can support more than one million IPv4/IPv6 endpoints, more than 64,000 tenants, and more than 200,000 10G ports. 

The ACI fabric enables any service (physical or virtual) anywhere with no need for additional software or hardware gateways to connect between the physical and virtual services and normalizes encapsulations for virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN)/VLAN/network virtualization using generic routing encapsulation (NVGRE).

• Security and isolation based on the type of traffic

• High level of resiliency.

We deploy Cisco ACI within our customer's data centers, providing them with the capability to configure the software-defined network as per their defined requirements. This solution empowers customers to centrally monitor and control the network without the need for individual edge management. Moreover, it offers scalability, allowing for easy expansion in the future.

The flexibility of adding new components with minimal impact on existing services running in the data center is a key benefit of this ACI-based solution. Customers appreciate the unified control and management provided by ACI, allowing them to oversee the entire data center centrally. This solution facilitates seamless communication between various services and ensures future scalability with minimal configurations and operational effort. The cost savings for customers are notable, particularly in instances where adding ports or making operational adjustments is a straightforward process, requiring minimal resources. ACI stands out as a state-of-the-art, high-performance, and highly scalable solution.

Its scalability and reliability capabilities should be enhanced.

We have been working with it for approximately eight years.

Occasionally, we encounter the need to reset certain programs due to bugs within one of the implemented data features. This requires performing upgrades approximately every six months to address and resolve these issues. I would rate its stability capability eight out of ten.

While I acknowledge that the solution is scalable, there are occasional bugs and the need for upgrades or adjustments approximately every five years. We operate on multiple levels, with small, medium, and high scalability organizations. Typically, we opt for the highest scalable level during our implementations. I would rate its scalability at seven out of ten.

I would rate its customer service and support nine out of ten.

Positive

Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

We help customers obtain, renew, and upgrade. This is a multi-cloud software-defined data center. If a customer is in banking, we can separate and secure data centers for multiple sites.

I really like the usage of the application. It offers a good focus on applications and has a driven policy model. It is capable of automation and application-driven. Customers can focus on the applications, and this benefits the end customers.

We really like the GUI and the visibility we get in on the dashboards. You get real-time details on performance. 

The DevOps teams can integrate their own software in ACI. 

We can monitor which areas are working well. 

It can be used with Kubernetes.

We get a full holistic view of the ecosystem. 

Ideally, if it could be more aligned as a unit, it would be useful.

Compared to VMware, it needs more virtualization technologies. It cannot match that right now based on the hardware boxes that we use. It could be more virtualized. There is less flexibility as they have less virtualization.

The contract management could be better.

It needs to include log files.

The GUI could be better. The solution be more user-friendly.

We've seen a lot of trends in companies moving towards AI and cloud capabilities. If it could really focus on this area, it would continue to be a very good product. It would improve the cost-benefit of the product in the long run. They need to integrate with multiple cloud platforms. Better integration and compatibility across the board, in fact, would make it a better product.

I've used the solution for four to five years. The customers I work with use ACI.

I have found the stability to be good. I'd rate it nine out of ten. 

The scalability is pretty good. You should have two of the spines altogether. Then the leaves can expand when you want to have more bandwidth or more throughput requirement.

If you need more computing power or networking power in the data center, then you have to add the leaves. Of course, if you need more throughput power, it's a bit different. For example, if one spine has the power of 4GBs, the two spines, which are combined, give the power of 8GBs, if you want more throughput, for example, 50GBs, you just go and add a couple of spines to it to commit to that sort of power. 

We tend to work with medium to large organizations.

I'd rate the scalability seven out of ten.

Technical support has been good.

Positive

I haven't worked much with other solutions. I have worked with VMware NSX. It's similar, however, it is more flexible and is faster to set up.

The initial setup isn't too complex, depending on the user's background. If a person is comfortable with Cisco products, it won't be too hard. You do have to use the command line, which makes it a tedious task. That said, you have more advantages with configuration capabilities. 

I'd rate the process eight or nine out of ten in terms of ease of setup. For the most part, it takes five to six steps.

It doesn't take too long to set up the entire product. It's easier than the other areas of the Cisco portfolio. Cisco is also making deployments easier to handle in general. It might take a few days since it is software-defined. 

On a high level, if the customer has a lot of devices, it might take two to three hours, and then you need to integrate everything. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes after that to deploy and get the devices integrated. It's just working on it and reviewing tasks, which takes some time. It's an ongoing process.

Cisco solutions are pretty pricy as you have to buy the AP controllers, leaves, spines, and hardware. I'd rate the pricing six out of ten in terms of affordability.

We are resellers and consultants. We provide insights to clients regarding this product. We don't use the solution ourselves; we help the customer use it and realize its value. We're Cisco partners. 

We don't use a specific version of the product. Typically, we use the latest when it comes out.

I'd recommend the solution for users that have a traditional setup and need a dashboard. Many banks have complex data centers. They'd benefit from moving to this solution.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten.

The pricing factor is an issue. It's also not as good as VMware as it is not as virtualized. However, the Cisco portfolio is quite strong.

Cisco ACI is primarily used for automation of the data center networking environment.

Cisco ACI's best features include its network-centric approach and micro-segmentation.

Cisco ACI would be improved by providing a cloud offering; otherwise, it risks becoming a niche product.

I've been working with Cisco ACI since 2017.

Cisco ACI has matured and is a very stable product.

Cisco ACI is scalable.

Cisco's technical support is very responsive and quick to resolve issues.

Positive

The setup can be complex if you take an application-centric approach, but a network-centric approach is relatively straightforward.

Cisco's pricing is very expensive.

I'd give Cisco ACI a rating of eight out of ten.

We have two clusters, the first one of which I upgraded last week to version 4.6, with the main cluster being, at the moment, 4.2. 

We are talking about simple things with which we use the solution, such as employing Cisco firewalls for protecting or managing some of the data. 

I actually managed a huge and very complicated corporate network, it being separated in many locations. We have i1 solutions and outstations which are all connected to our network. My primary focus nowadays is on our communication, on the head office network. 

We have a perimeter firewall when it comes to the hub, which is responsible for outbound and inbound traffic, in respect of the public services for outbound customers and outbound internet traffic for the internal RJ customers.

Our current H firewall is Fortinet, being the 3000 D series. 

There is a separation into five Vdoms, or virtual domains, which themselves are separated into a data center, firewall, VBN, publishing services, and proxy as a proxy firewall.

Routing mythology comes into play. At the moment, we have our AS number and BGP configuration with many service providers for the purpose of maintaining high availability and redundancy. So too, the Fortinet firewall is working in high availability mode.

When it comes to security, we recently switched to Fortinet, as we feel it to be more customizable for our use case in RJ than the solution. We moved because Cisco scored lower than Fortinet. 

While we have seen a return on our investment in certain cases, we have, of late, faced issues on the Call Manager, which we have. 

We have an on-premises, resistant license which we invested in. Out of nowhere, Cisco changed the licensing module to that of smart licensing, a perpetual license state, without offering any compensation to the customers. 

This made the license worthless and forced us to subscribe for smart licensing. This is the only way to continue receiving active support and upgrades from Cisco, not that anyone would say anything otherwise. 

Cisco is much more expensive than other vendors, especially when it comes to the licensing. For half the cost, I can obtain the same service with another product. 

It would be great if ACI would include the next generation firewall feature. 

I rate the solution as an eight out of ten, owing to the issue of the price and the complexity involved in its maintenance. 

I have been working with Cisco ACI for around five years. I have definitely worked with it in the past 12 months. 

The solution is definitely stable. 

The scalability is okay. 

Cisco technical support is great. 

In the past, I used Fortinet, Cisco ASA and Meraki. Currently, I use Cisco ASA and Fortinet. 

When it comes to security, we recently switched to Fortinet, as we feel it to be more customizable for our use case in RJ than the solution. We moved because Cisco scored lower than Fortinet.

When it comes to the installation, it is important to keep in mind that we are a corporate enterprise, which means that the complexity and customization are there. Many locations must be connected with each other. There is a need to apply many routing protocols, including EIGRB, static, and BGP. We have many protected areas in the backbone. 

In the middle are data center firewalls, which lie between the user and core switches. We also manage the wireless access. There is also Cisco Identity Service Engine, which manages access to the internet using authentication and posturing, based on the configured policies.

Much staff is needed for maintenance. This varies with the work payload. 

While we have seen a return on our investment in certain cases, we have, of late, faced issues on the Call Manager, which we have.

We have an on-premises, resistant license which we invested in. Out of nowhere, Cisco changed the licensing module to that of smart licensing, a perpetual license state, without offering any compensation to the the customers.

This made the license worthless and forced us to subscribe for smart licensing. This is the only way to continue receiving active support and upgrades from Cisco, not that anyone would say anything were I to stop. The licensing issue contributes to my decision to rate the solution as an eight out of ten. 

Cisco is much more expensive than other vendors, especially when it comes to the licensing. For half the cost, I can obtain the same service with another product.

We are talking about the cost of the renewal. 

Cisco solution is a perfect product and considered number one in the world in many parts.

Cisco ACI is a great product. It's nice to have in the company.

I am the network administrator in the enterprise company.

I rate Cisco ACI as an eight out of ten. 

It has helped to improve our organization in the automation front. We integrated it with vCenter and Microsoft Hyper-V. 

Currently, we are not on the cloud. We have a private cloud deployment.

The most valuable features are the automation with the different systems for the software development and the ability to provision switches in hours rather than days.

Automation is the main criteria why we chose to go with this solution.

Cisco ACI needs to add more analytics and automation. 

It is stable but we have faced some problems with troubleshooting. 

There are no issues with scalability. We can easily scale. 

The solution's technical support is good. They help us with the operations. 

We decided to go with this product because the Cisco solution had hardware and software built-in. VMware is in the virtual world and so we went with the hardware and the software in the same box.

The initial set up was complex. We had to deploy 120 leads. Migrating from Legacy Cisco network to ACI was complex. 

We also looked at VMware. 

On a scale from 1 to 10, I would rate Cisco ACI an eight. The reason is that troubleshooting has been a concern. When there is a problem, the downtime increases. 

Cisco ACI is a good product. If you're looking for automation, you should go for it.