Introduction to acisim-6.1-2g.ova
This OVA package provides the Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Simulator 6.1(2g) – a full-featured virtual environment replicating physical APIC controller functionality for testing multi-cloud network automation policies. Released in Q2 2024, it enables validation of complex service chaining configurations across up to 16 simulated leaf/spine nodes without requiring physical Nexus 9000 hardware.
The software supports VMware ESXi 8.0 U2+ and vCenter 8.0 U1 deployments, featuring enhanced multi-site orchestration capabilities for hybrid cloud environments. As part of Cisco’s SDN development toolkit, it maintains compatibility with Cisco Cloud Network Controller 12.1+ for unified policy management.
Key Features and Improvements
- Multi-Cloud Policy Orchestration
- Extends multi-site support to 8 APIC clusters with cross-domain service graphs
- 35% faster policy synchronization through optimized BGP EVPN control plane
- Security Enhancements
- Implements TLS 1.3 for all east-west management traffic
- Adds FIPS 140-3 Level 1 compliance for government cloud validations
- Monitoring & Analytics
- Integrates Tetration Analytics 6.2 for microsegmentation validation
- Enhances Prometheus metrics export with 120+ new telemetry points
- Resource Optimization
- Reduces memory footprint by 25% through containerized service components
- Supports dynamic vCPU allocation (4-16 cores) based on simulation scale
Compatibility and Requirements
| Category | Supported Components |
|---|---|
| Hypervisors | VMware ESXi 8.0 U2+ VMware vCenter 8.0 U1+ |
| Network Controllers | Cisco Cloud Network Controller 12.1+ |
| Minimum Specs | 8 vCPUs 64GB RAM 1.2TB Storage |
Known Limitations
- Requires vSwitch promiscuous mode enabled for L4-L7 service insertion
- Not compatible with VMware Workstation Pro 19.x
- Java SE 21+ mandatory for API gateway access
For verified access to acisim-6.1-2g.ova through authorized distribution channels, visit https://www.ioshub.net and consult our technical team for multi-cloud deployment validation guidelines.
