Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 key terms

Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure, a policy-driven data center architecture that uses a centralized controller and an object model to automate network provisioning and management.

Application Policy Infrastructure Controller, the clustered controller that manages ACI fabrics, exposes a REST API, and stores the policy model.

A logical container in ACI that isolates policies and resources; it holds EPGs, contracts, and other objects for a specific application or organization.

Endpoint Group, a collection of endpoints that share the same policy requirements, such as a set of web servers, and are connected via a bridge domain.

An ACI construct that defines a Layer 2 forwarding domain and acts as a container for subnets; it is associated with a VRF for Layer 3 routing.

Virtual Routing and Forwarding, a tenant-level object in ACI that provides a Layer 3 address space and routing table separation.

An ACI policy object that defines the rules for communication between EPGs, specifying subjects, filters, and actions such as permit or deny.

In ACI, a set of Layer 2 to Layer 4 classification rules (such as TCP port 80) used within a contract to control traffic between EPGs.

Distinguished Name, a unique hierarchical string that identifies an object in the ACI object model and is used in API calls to address specific objects.

Representational State Transfer API, a web service interface used by Cisco controllers (APIC, Nexus Dashboard) to programmatically manage and query network objects via HTTP methods.

JavaScript Object Notation, a lightweight data-interchange format commonly used in REST API requests and responses for Cisco automation.

eXtensible Markup Language, a structured data format used in some Cisco APIs (such as APIC and NX-API) for encoding configuration and query data.

A Cisco NX-OS feature that enables programmatic access to the switch CLI and object model via HTTP/HTTPS, supporting JSON or XML input and output.

Cisco's network operating system for Nexus data center switches, providing CLI, APIs, and automation capabilities.

A data modeling language used to define the structure of configuration and state data for network devices, often used with NETCONF or RESTCONF.

A network management protocol that uses XML-based remote procedure calls to install, manipulate, and delete configuration on network devices.

A protocol that provides a RESTful interface to access YANG-modeled data on network devices using HTTP methods.

An open-source automation tool that uses agentless YAML playbooks to configure systems and network devices, including Cisco Nexus and ACI.

A YAML file in Ansible that defines a set of tasks to be executed on managed hosts, forming the core of Ansible automation.

A file or source in Ansible that lists the managed hosts and groups, optionally with variables, used to target playbooks.

A reusable, standalone unit of code in Ansible (or Python) that performs a specific task, such as configuring an interface or retrieving facts.

An infrastructure-as-code tool by HashiCorp that uses declarative configuration files to provision and manage resources across various providers, including Cisco ACI and Nexus Dashboard.

In Terraform, a plugin that enables interaction with a specific API or service, such as the ACI provider for managing ACI objects.

In Terraform, a block that describes a piece of infrastructure to be managed, such as an ACI tenant or an EPG.

A Terraform file that stores the mapping between declared resources and real-world objects, enabling Terraform to track and manage infrastructure changes.

HashiCorp Configuration Language, the declarative language used to write Terraform configuration files.

Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery/Deployment, a practice that automates the building, testing, and deployment of code and infrastructure changes.

An automated sequence of steps in CI/CD that builds, tests, and deploys code or infrastructure changes.

A distributed version control system used to track changes in code and configuration, often integrated with CI/CD pipelines for automation.

A Cisco platform that provides a unified management interface for data center networks, including Nexus Dashboard Insights, Orchestrator, and Fabric Controller.

A Cisco application that enables centralized policy management and automation across multiple ACI fabrics and NDFC sites.

A Cisco application that provides analytics, visibility, and assurance for data center networks, helping to identify and troubleshoot issues.

The automated collection and transmission of network data (such as statistics and events) from devices to a collector for monitoring and analysis.

A method of streaming operational data from network devices using structured data models (YANG) and protocols such as gRPC or NETCONF.

A popular programming language used for network automation, with libraries such as requests, ncclient, and SDKs for Cisco controllers.

Software Development Kit, a set of tools and libraries that simplifies interaction with a platform's API, such as the Cisco ACI SDK or NX-OS SDK.

A property of an operation where applying it multiple times produces the same result as applying it once, important in automation tools like Ansible and Terraform.

A style of configuration where you define the desired end state rather than the steps to achieve it, as used in Terraform and ACI policy models.

A style of automation where you specify explicit commands or steps to execute, as in traditional CLI scripting or Ansible tasks.

A popular tool for testing and developing APIs, often used to explore and validate Cisco REST APIs.