Summary of "ACI Part 4 | Mapping out your data center endpoints"

The video titled "ACI Part 4 | Mapping out your data center endpoints" provides a detailed tutorial on how to correctly map devices to Endpoint Groups (EPGs) within a Cisco ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure) environment. The main focus is on endpoint classification, EPG creation, and domain/interface configuration to enable proper network segmentation and connectivity.

Key Technological Concepts and Features Covered:

Endpoint Classifications in ACI:
- Physical Endpoints: Mapped based on leaf switch port, VLAN, source IP/subnet, or MAC address.
- Virtual Endpoints: Mapped based on virtual switches (vSwitch or vNIC), VM attributes, or integration with virtualization platforms.
- External Endpoints: Classified by network subnet mask or IP address of traffic originating outside the ACI fabric.
Virtual Endpoint Group (EPG) Mapping:
- Demonstrated using a VMware environment integrated with ACI.
- Creation of application profiles and EPGs corresponding to different tiers (web, application server, database).
- Association of VMware port groups (vSwitch port groups) with ACI EPGs through VMM domain associations.
- Explanation of VLAN pools and how VLAN IDs are assigned dynamically during this process.
- Mapping VMs to EPGs by assigning them to the corresponding VMware port groups.
Contract Configuration:
- Contracts define communication policies between EPGs (consumer and provider roles).
- Example contract created to allow MySQL traffic (TCP port 3306) from the application server to the database server.
- Importance of filtering traffic to segment network communication effectively.
Physical Endpoint Group Mapping:
- Creation of physical domains for legacy/non-ACI switches.
- Setup of attachable entity profiles (AEPs) and VLAN pools specific to physical domains.
- Configuration of leaf switch interfaces and policy groups for physical connectivity.
- Mapping physical switch ports (e.g., leaf interface 1/10 with VLAN 10) to physical EPGs.
- Adjusting bridge domain policies (e.g., changing L2 unknown unicast from hardware proxy to flood) to enable endpoint discovery on legacy switches.
External Connectivity (Layer 3 Out):
- Creation of an L3 external domain and associated AEP for connectivity outside the ACI fabric.
- Configuration of leaf interfaces for L3 external connections with appropriate link-level policies (e.g., 1Gbps link settings).
- Setup of OSPF routing protocol on leaf switches for external routing.
- Creation of L3 Out objects linked to tenants with OSPF area and router IDs.
- Contracts permitting specific traffic (e.g., ICMP for ping) to/from external networks.
- Enabling route advertisement from bridge domains to external networks to allow external access to internal servers.

Product Features and Configuration Highlights:

Use of APIC GUI for tenant, application profile, EPG, and contract creation.
Integration with VMware vSphere for virtual endpoint mapping.
Detailed walkthrough of physical domain and interface policy creation for legacy device integration.
Explanation of bridge domain settings and their impact on traffic handling and endpoint discovery.
Use of contracts to enforce network segmentation and security policies.
Layer 3 external connectivity setup with OSPF routing on leaf switches.
Practical tips such as mandatory "Submit" clicks to avoid errors and quirks in the APIC interface.

Tutorials and Guides Provided:

Step-by-step creation of application profiles and multiple EPGs for different tiers.
Mapping VMware virtual port groups to ACI EPGs.
Creating contracts with specific filters (e.g., MySQL TCP port).
Configuring physical domains and VLAN pools for legacy switches.
Assigning leaf switch interfaces to physical domain policy groups.
Setting up Layer 3 external connectivity with OSPF routing and contracts.
Adjusting bridge domain policies for physical endpoint discovery.

Main Speaker / Source:

Rich, the host of the "Rich Tech Guy" YouTube channel, who presents a series of videos on Cisco ACI and networking concepts.

Overall, this video serves as a comprehensive tutorial on mapping endpoints in Cisco ACI, covering virtual, physical, and external endpoints, and includes practical configuration steps to build a segmented, secure, and externally accessible ACI fabric environment.