| Feature | Standalone NX-OS | ACI Mode | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Management | CLI/API per switch | Centralized APIC GUI/REST | | Policy model | Device-centric (ACLs) | Application-centric (Contracts) | | Automation | Manual or external (Ansible) | Built-in (Declarative) | | Troubleshooting | CLI tools (show, debug) | Visore, HealthScores, atomic counters | | Multi-cloud | Manual VPN | Cloud APIC (AWS, Azure, GCP) |
Each service, such as OSPF or BGP, runs as an independent process. If a process fails, it can be restarted statefully without impacting the entire system. | Feature | Standalone NX-OS | ACI Mode
For next-gen architectures, the old model of logging into switches is dying. Cisco’s (formerly DCNM and MSO) is a containerized orchestration platform that sits above NX-OS and ACI. It provides: Cisco’s (formerly DCNM and MSO) is a containerized