Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) Playbook
This playbook is designed to provide you with use case education, customer requirements, and actions you'll need to take to help your customers navigate their Cisco product adoption.
You will be guided through the specific objectives of each stage of adoption and how they relate to the aligning automated digital experience.
As we learn more about what it takes for customers to be successful with their adoption, new resources and updated information can be added to this playbook, including if a customer becomes Stalled in Stage or requires additional troubleshooting aid.
Refer to the last page of this playbook for definitions, descriptions, and all associated resources to help your customer through their adoption.
How to coach for success with Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC)
Help your customers get started with initial Cisco NDFC onboarding steps, then learn how to tap into advanced features to further configure, customize, and secure their network.
Help your customer unlock the full potential of Cisco NDFC from seamless activation of Intersight to leveraging best practices in Fabric Provisioning and Operations, Software Image Management, and Distributed Networking. With resources like live demos, peer communities, and expert-led sessions, customers will gain the knowledge to optimize VXLAN EVPN fabrics, automate backups, monitor health, and scale their network efficiently. With your help, customers will achieve operational excellence and drive meaningful business outcomes with NDFC.
Refer to the last page of this playbook for definitions, descriptions, and all associated resources to help your customer through their adoption.
Customers enter the Fabric Provisioning and Operations and Software Image Management journeys when they meet the following entry criteria:
NXOS Advantage, NXOS Essentials, NXOS Add-On
ACI Essentials, ACI Advantage, ACI Premier, ACI Security, ACI Storage
DCN Essentials, DCN Advantage, DCN Premier
DCNM Server License
ACI Essentials, ACI Advantage, ACI Premier, ACI Security, ACI Storage
DCN Essentials, DCN Advantage, DCN Premier
DCNM Server License
DCNM Server Product ID
N9300 Leaf, N9300 Spine, N9300 NXOS Leaf, N9300 Spine or Leaf
N9200
N3000 Spine or Leaf
N9504
N9508
N9516
N9500 X97 ACI NXOS Spine line card
N9500 X97 NXOS Spine line card
N9804
N9808
N9400 Spine or Leaf
N9200
N3000 Spine or Leaf
N9504
N9508
N9516
N9500 X97 ACI NXOS Spine line card
N9500 X97 NXOS Spine line card
N9804
N9808
N9400 Spine or Leaf
Nexus Dashboard Appliance
Customers are eligible for the Fabric Provisioning and Operations and Software Image Management journeys when they have purchased:
| Eligibility Rule | Hierarchy Component | Rule Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rule 1 | Infrastructure | Have any N9300 Spine or N9504, N9508, N9516, N9804, N9808 and N9300 Leaf, N9300 NXOS Leaf, Nexus 9200, N3K Leaf or N9300 Spine or Leaf, N9400 Spine or Leaf, N3K Spine or Leaf |
| Rule 2 | Appliance | Have any Nexus Dashboard Appliance |
| Rule 3 | Software | Have any DCNM Server Product ID |
| Rule 4 | License | Have any DCNM Server License, NXOS Advantage, NXOS Essentials, DCN Essentials, DCN Advantage, DCN Premier, ACI Essentials, ACI Advantage, ACI Premier |
| Rule 5 | License | Have any ACI Security, ACI Storage, NXOS Add-On |
| Eligibility Scenarios |
|---|
| If Rule 1, Rule 2, and Rule 4 are TRUE, then your customer is ELIGIBLE |
| If Rule 1, Rule 3, and Rule 4 are TRUE, then your customer is ELIGIBLE |
| If Rule 1, Rule 3, Rule 4, and Rule 5 are TRUE, then your customer is ELIGIBLE |
Customers enter the Distributed Networking journey when they meet the following entry criteria:
NXOS Advantage, NXOS Essentials, NXOS Add-On
ACI Essentials, ACI Advantage, ACI Premier, ACI Security, ACI Storage
DCN Essentials, DCN Advantage, DCN Premier
DCNM Server License
ACI Essentials, ACI Advantage, ACI Premier, ACI Security, ACI Storage
DCN Essentials, DCN Advantage, DCN Premier
DCNM Server License
DCNM Server Product ID
N9300 Leaf, N9300 Spine, N9300 NXOS Leaf, N9300 Spine or Leaf
N9200
N3000 Spine or Leaf
N9504
N9508
N9516
N9500 X97 ACI NXOS Spine line card
N9500 X97 NXOS Spine line card
N9804
N9808
N9400 Spine or Leaf
N9200
N3000 Spine or Leaf
N9504
N9508
N9516
N9500 X97 ACI NXOS Spine line card
N9500 X97 NXOS Spine line card
N9804
N9808
N9400 Spine or Leaf
Nexus Dashboard Appliance
Customers are eligible for the Distributed Networking journey when they have purchased:
| Eligibility Rule | Hierarchy Component | Rule Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rule 1 | Infrastructure | Have any N3000 Spine or Leaf and N9300 Leaf |
| Rule 2 | Infrastructure | Have any N9300 Spine or N9504, N9508, N9516, N9804, N9808 and N9300 Leaf, N9300 NXOS Leaf, Nexus 9200, N3000 Leaf or N9300 Spine or Leaf, N9400 Spine or Leaf |
| Rule 3 | Software | Have any DCNM Server Product ID |
| Rule 4 | Appliance | Have any Nexus Dashboard Appliance |
| Rule 5 | License | Have any DCNM Server License, NXOS Advantage, DCN Advantage, DCN Premier, ACI Advantage, ACI Premier or NXOS Essentials and NXOS Ess-Adv Upgrade License, ACI Essentials and ACI Ess-ACI Adv Upgrade License, DCN Essentials and ACI Ess-ACI Adv Upgrade License |
| Rule 6 | License | Have any ACI Security, ACI Storage, NXOS Add-On |
| Eligibility Scenarios |
|---|
| If Rule 1, Rule 3, and Rule 5 are TRUE, then your customer is ELIGIBLE |
| If Rule 1, Rule 4, and Rule 5 are TRUE, then your customer is ELIGIBLE |
| If Rule 2, Rule 3, and Rule 5 are TRUE, then your customer is ELIGIBLE |
| If Rule 2, Rule 4, and Rule 5 are TRUE, then your customer is ELIGIBLE |
| If Rule 2, Rule 3, Rule 5, and Rule 6 are TRUE, then your customer is ELIGIBLE |
Refer to the last page of this playbook for definitions, descriptions, and all associated resources to help your customer through their adoption.
Guidance on helping your customer adopt Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC)
In this stage, the customer will:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Consume relevant Fabric Provisioning and Operations content
- Install the NDFC or Nexus Dashboard
- Upgrade NDFC or Nexus Dashboard to the latest recommended versions
- Connect NDFC or Nexus Dashboard to Intersight
- Connect to Smart Licensing account
- Configure persistent IP for NDFC
- Enable NDFC application
- Consume relevant Software Image Management content
- Become familiar with the role of NDFC in managing VXLAN BGP EVPN
- Become familiar with features being used in VXLAN BGP EVPN design
- Become familiar with the installed version NX-OS firmware
- Review release notes and configuration guides for feature scalability and limitations for the target NDFC and switch firmware
- Look at any applicable Field Notices prior to the upgrade (if Nexus Insights is installed this will be available from Nexus Insights)
- Based on feature and functionality used in the configuration, standardize on the recommended firmware for the switches in the fabric as the golden images for the upgrade
- Standardize on the recommended version of NDFC controller software as the golden image for the upgrade
- Check syslog configuration
- Define the connectivity requirements for multi-site
- Review implementation prerequisite and risks of Distributed Networking locations
- Follow best practices for multi-site configurations
- Ensure correct fabric policies are defined
- Configure ISN requirement for multi-site to interconnect different locations
The customer will exit this stage when they have:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Installed NDFC cluster (physical/virtual)
- Enabled persistent IP address on Nexus Dashboard
- Enabled NDFC application in Nexus Dashboard Services
- Claimed NDFC/Nexus Dashboard on Intersight
- Confirmed NDFC/Nexus Dashboard cluster health is healthy
Software Image Management:
- Verified that NDFC is on a current version
Distributed Networking:
- Verified that Nexus Dashboard Intersight connector is streaming Telemetry to Intersight cloud
Tips for Partner:
- Cisco will manually progress customer to the next lifecycle stage if they don't have Telemetry turned on
Activate
Subject Line: Activate Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (formerly DCNM) to begin your journey
Preheader: Gain full use of your investment by taking these actions today
Trigger: Customer receives this email when their stage = Onboard or Implement and they have not activated their Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller
Goal: Promote creation of Cisco Intersight account and NDFC activation
Preheader: Gain full use of your investment by taking these actions today
Trigger: Customer receives this email when their stage = Onboard or Implement and they have not activated their Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller
Goal: Promote creation of Cisco Intersight account and NDFC activation
Activate
In this stage, the customer will:
- Attend relevant virtual events
- Review the Guided Resources
- Explore Cisco Community
The customer will exit this stage when they have:
- Received this email
Tips for Partner:
- Ensure your customer is consuming current Cisco content
Welcome resources
Subject Line: Bookmark these Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) resources
Preheader: Everything you need for a successful deployment
Trigger: Customer receives this email when they have activated Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller
Goal: Provide customer with resources needed to adopt their product
Preheader: Everything you need for a successful deployment
Trigger: Customer receives this email when they have activated Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller
Goal: Provide customer with resources needed to adopt their product
Welcome resources
In this stage, the customer will:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Develop and collect design requirements for VXLAN fabric or IPFM fabric
- Design underlay IP addressing scheme
- Define the underlay routing protocol
- Define the underlay BUM forwarding
- Design the switch out-of-band management in the fabric
- Define the role of network devices in the fabric
- Design the L2 and L3 VNI for the tenant network
- Define NDFC Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) for access security
- POAP NDFC range
- Install nexus switches used in the fabric in a rack(s)
- Connect nexus switches to out-of-band management network
- Connect leaf switches to spine switches and vPC between leaf switches as required
- Configure NDFC fabric template
- Onboard switches to the configured fabric
- Create and deploy tenant VRF
- Create and deploy tenant network(s)
- Use default VRF or IPFM VRF for IPFM fabrics
- Connect endpoints to the VXLAN EVPN fabric
- Configure external connectivity to the fabric
- Validate that the endpoints can communicate with in and out of the fabric
- Configure VXLAN Layer 2/3 connectivity with existing network
- Extend the VRFs to the border devices
- Move default gateway to VXLAN fabric
- Configure L2 LAN extension
- Confirm Method of Procedure (MOP) is established
- Upload the target switch firmware image onto the NDFC
- Set the NXOS software version to the target image version in the fabric template settings
- Download any required Software Maintenance Upgrades (SMU) for patching
- Upload the golden image switch firmware to the NDFC for upgrade
- Update the fabric templates to reflect the new firmware for new switch add-ons to the fabric
- Upload EPLD and SMU bundles that are required for NDFC for the upgrade
- Check syslog configuration
- Define the connectivity requirements for multi-site
- Review implementation prerequisite and risks of Distributed Networking locations
- Follow best practices for multi-site configurations
- Ensure correct fabric policies are defined
- Configure ISN requirement for multi-site to interconnect different locations
- Follow best practices for migrations and test scenarios before putting into production
- Follow define MOP based on each architecture for migrations scenarios
The customer will exit this stage when they have:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Created an NDFC fabric template
- Added switches to the fabric switch inventory
- Assigned switch roles
- Configured Data Center VXLAN EVPN/BGP/IPFM fabric with at least one leaf and one spine role type switches or collapsed role type switches
- Checked routing protocol enabled in the fabric
- Checked replication mode is set to Multicast or Ingress Replication
- Checked for minimum one networks deployment and switch attachment for non-IPFM fabric
- Checked for minimum one VRF deployment and switch attachment
- Checked for connected endpoints
- Checked for prefix (subnet) routes in the fabric for VXLAN fabric
- Checked for endpoints in IPFM fabric manually
- Verified selected software NXOS image in the fabric settings matches uploaded image version
- Verified NDFC NXOS image upgrade jobs have been scheduled and ran successfully
- Configured NDFC as syslog target
- Confirmed multi-site using NDFC
- Verified that fabric is a member of MSD Domain
- Verified that a BGW switch exists inside the fabric
- Verified VRFs and networks that need to be extended between sites are provisioned on the BGWs of each site deployed on NDFC
Tips for Partner:
- Engage with customer and use a screen sharing session to validate steps
- Make sure customer has defined and reviewed connectivity requirements, implementation, and best practices for Distributed Networking
Best practices
Subject Line: Tips for your Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller implementation
Preheader: Implement with these best practices for success
Trigger: Customer receives this email one week after the Resources: Getting started email is sent
Goal: Provide customer with implementation best practices
Preheader: Implement with these best practices for success
Trigger: Customer receives this email one week after the Resources: Getting started email is sent
Goal: Provide customer with implementation best practices
Best practices
In this stage, the customer will:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Understand OAM capabilities in NDFC
- Integrate NDFC monitoring with existing processes and systems
- Explore NDFC monitoring tool options
- Become familiar with VXLAN BGP EVPN troubleshooting methodology and scenarios
- Discover NDFC OAM troubleshooting capabilities
- Configure auto, scheduled, and/or manual backups
- Configure the NDFC tracker on fabric switches
- Utilize the NDFC dashboard to monitor system health
- Grow the fabric to accommodate mode endpoints
- Establish maintenance window for the upgrade
- Use the NDFC upgrade interface and select the switches to be upgraded
- Wait for the selected switch(es) to be fully upgraded and wait for the fabric to stabilize before proceeding to the next set of switch(es)
- Scale the use of multi-site configuration
The customer will exit this stage when they have:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Ensured OAM is enabled (VXLAN/eBGP fabric only)
- Verified at least one backup job has been initiated
- Confirmed the NDFC tracker is enabled for NDFC fabric
- Verified that 25% of NDFC switches have been upgraded to the latest recommended version
- Verified there's an increase in the number of sites, networks, or VRFs deployed in the fabric
Tips for Partner:
- Verify that the customer is familiar with the troubleshooting capabilities of NDFC
- Verify that the customer's upgrade is complete, and the fabric is stable and configured before proceeding to the next set of switch(es)
Core features
Subject Line: Enable these core features for Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller
Preheader: Get to know these configuration best practices
Trigger: Customer receives this email when there's a new contact one week after the Resources: Getting started email or when existing contacts’ stage = Use, Engage, Adopt, and Optimize
Goal: Highlight core product features and provide resources to learn more
Preheader: Get to know these configuration best practices
Trigger: Customer receives this email when there's a new contact one week after the Resources: Getting started email or when existing contacts’ stage = Use, Engage, Adopt, and Optimize
Goal: Highlight core product features and provide resources to learn more
Core features
In this stage, the customer will:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Attend a training class or digital learning
- Attend Cisco NDFC Day 2 Operations and Usage Review
- Grow the fabric to accommodate mode endpoints
- Perform at least one ROMMON upgrade on a network device or perform one or more SMU upgrades on a network device
- Attend a training class or digital learning for advanced features to incorporate in multi-site
- Learn more about disaster recovery, availability, and network isolation control plane with multi-site use cases
- Scale fabric
The customer will exit this stage when they have:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Checked for growth in VRFs, networks, and/or endpoints
- Verified that 65% of NDFC switches have been upgraded to the latest recommended version
- Verified there's an increase in the number of sites, networks, or VRFs deployed in the fabric
Tips for Partner:
- Verify that the customer's upgrade is complete, and the fabric is stable and configured before proceeding to the next set of switch(es)
Feature focus
Subject Line: Tips for Fabric Provisioning and Operations deployment
Preheader: Best practices to grow the fabric
Trigger: Customer receives this email two weeks after the Core features email is sent
Goal: Provide steps to customer on how to plan and deploy their product
Preheader: Best practices to grow the fabric
Trigger: Customer receives this email two weeks after the Core features email is sent
Goal: Provide steps to customer on how to plan and deploy their product
Feature focus
In this stage, the customer will:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Evaluate segmentation benefits
- Become familiar with L4-7 service insertion
- Understand Tenant Routed Multicast (TRM)
- Understand VXLAN multi-site
- Understand IPv6 in VXLAN fabrics
- Understand DCI hand-off options (MPLS, SR, etc.)
- Learn about Policy-Based Redirect (PBR)
- Define user(s) with RBAC privileges to perform firmware upgrades to the fabric switches
- Configure TRM across sites
- Explore digital content for Distributed Networking, multi-site, and TRM
- Scale fabric
The customer will exit this stage when they have:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Checked for growth in VRFs, networks, and/or endpoints
- Verified that 85% of NDFC switches have been upgraded to the latest recommended version
- Verified there's an increase in the number of sites, networks, or VRFs deployed in the fabric
- Verified multi-site TRM
Tips for Partner:
- Engage with customer to verify that they have added users other than the default admin user
Top 3 recommendations
Subject Line: What you should know about successful NDFC customers
Preheader: Use these top 3 best practices
Trigger: Customer receives this email two weeks after the Feature focus email is sent
Goal: Provide customer with best practices for using and tuning their product
Preheader: Use these top 3 best practices
Trigger: Customer receives this email two weeks after the Feature focus email is sent
Goal: Provide customer with best practices for using and tuning their product
Top 3 recommendations
In this stage, the customer will:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Build performance baseline and identify potential bottlenecks
- Tune L2 VNIs to optimize flooding
- Use capacity dashboard to monitor resources utilization
- Understand NDFC's high availability and failover capabilities
- Understand security policies and QoS
- Upgrade NDFC to the latest recommended version
- Enable CloudSec on Border Gateway (BGW) device for securing cross-site DCI interface traffic
The customer will exit this stage when they have:
Fabric Provisioning and Operations:
- Checked that the NDFC and NXOS are running on a recommended version
- Confirmed NDFC high availability is configured
- Verified customer's upgrade privileges have been created
- Verified all of the NDFC switches have been upgraded
- Verified CloudSec is configured on BGWs
- Checked current versions of NDFC against recommended version(s)
Tips for Partner:
- Engage with customer to verify they're running the latest version of NDFC
Advanced features
Subject Line: Unlock these advanced features for NDFC
Preheader: Mature your NDFC posture
Trigger: Customer receives this email four weeks after the Top 3 recommendations email is sent
Goal: Provide advanced features and integrations
Preheader: Mature your NDFC posture
Trigger: Customer receives this email four weeks after the Top 3 recommendations email is sent
Goal: Provide advanced features and integrations
Advanced features
Refer to the last page of this playbook for definitions, descriptions, and all associated resources to help your customer through their adoption.
To further support your customers along their digital journey, you can provide them with key resources:
Refer to the last page of this playbook for definitions, descriptions, and all associated resources to help your customer through their adoption.