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Cisco Nexus Dashboard- Dashboard for Multi application hosting

Cisco Nexus Dashboard
Dashboard for Multi application hosting

Cisco Nexus Dashboard (Nexus Dashboard) is an application container platform based on Kubernetes for launching Cisco Data Center Day-2 applications.

An Nexus Dashboard cluster allows numerous applications to operate concurrently on a single platform. When compared to the old docker-based deployment methodology, the Nexus Dashboard simplifies the upgrading procedure for MSO a Nexus Dashboard other apps.

The Nexus Dashboard nodes have distinct network interfaces for administration and Dashboard data. The data interfaces employ in-band Dashboard management addresses to connect with the APIC nodes. There are two ways to link the Nexus Dashboard data interfaces:

  • Connected to one or more fabrics via an L3Out connection 
  • Connected to leaf switches in a single fabric as typical hosts 
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Rear View
Fig 1.1- Cisco Nexus Dashboard Rear View

To stretch an Nexus Dashboard cluster across multiple fabrics for a single pane of glass experience (Network Insights / Network Assurance Engine), the nodes must communicate with the APIC controllers in each fabric through their respective L3Out connection. 

Currently, Nexus Dashboard version 2.x is only supported on physical appliances. Furthermore, Cisco MSO version 3.2 and Dashboard later are only available as a package to be installed on a Nexus Dashboard cluster. 

The Nexus Dashboard cluster is comprised of three master nodes responsible for managing the cluster state. As of version 2.0.x, up to four additional worker nodes may be added to the cluster to increase workload capacity. Nexus Dashboard version 2.1 is expected to increase the cluster size to a total of 16 nodes. 

A cluster may be local to a Data Center or it may span multiple locations given that the round Dashboard trip time (RTT) requirements below are met. A cluster can tolerate the loss of a single master node. The loss of two master nodes forces the cluster into a read only mode. 

Scalability
Nexus Dashboard, as of version 2.0(1), may host the Network Insights (NI) and Network Assurance Engine (NAE) apps, as well as 
MSO for up to 50 leaf switches in a three-node cluster. More than 50 leaf switches necessitate the establishment of additional worker nodes.

Connectivity
Each ND cluster node has two redundant interface types: 

  • Management: Out-of-band management of the ND node – API / GUI 
  • Data: APIC, application, and ND cluster communication 
  • Both interface types may reside in the same subnet 

The following ports are required by the Nexus Dashboard cluster and its applications: 
For traffic to and from the Nexus Dashboard cluster

  • Port 53 for DNS 
  • Port 443 for HTTPS 
  • Ports 22 and 1022 for SSH 

For traffic between the Nexus Dashboard nodes: 

  • Ports 3379, 3380, 9969, 9979, 15223 for KMS 
  • Port 19999 for conf d 
  • Ports 30000-30100 for Nexus Dashboard cluster services 
  • Ports 30500-30600 for Kubernetes 

For traffic between the Nexus Dashboard cluster and Cisco ACI fabrics: 

  • Ports 2022 and 884 for Network Insights Assurance 
  • Ports 5640-5656 for Network Insights Resources 

For NI and NAE, the data interfaces are utilized to connect with APIC nodes through their in-band management addresses. There are two ways to link the ND data interfaces:

  • Connected to one or more fabrics via an L3Out connection 
  • Connected to leaf switches in a single fabric as typical hosts 

To span an Nexus Dashboard cluster over several fabrics for a unified experience (NI / NAE), the nodes must interact with the APIC controllers in each fabric via their respective L3Out connections.

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