Cisco ACI is a software defined networking solution that works a little differently than other competitors. Instead of abstracting the intelligence from the network hardware, ACI network hardware is equipped with a new kind of intelligence.
Administrators can create, customize, and duplicate network policies. Then they can instruct the infrastructure to follow these rules for specific applications. In effect, it creates the same results as other SDN solutions like VMware NSX, but the intelligence is in the software within the infrastructure rather than an independent application.
ACI also includes a Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) as well. Through the APIC, administers have centralized access to their network management. They can adjust policy, view network health, and implement advanced capabilities like QoS and multi-tenant security.
