Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) is the comprehensive management solution for all NX-OS deployments spanning LAN Fabric, SAN, and IP Fabric for Media (IPFM) networks in data centers powered by Cisco. DCNM 11 automates Cisco MDS Switches and Cisco Nexus Family infrastructure, for data center management across Cisco Nexus 1000, 2000, 3000, 5000, 6000, 7000, and 9000 Series Switches in NX-OS mode. From Release 11.3(1), Cisco DCNM also supports non-Nexus devices, such as, IOS-XE, IOS-XR, and non-Cisco devices. DCNM 11 being a multi-fabric controller, it lets you manage many devices both legacy and new age fabric deployments simultaneously, while providing ready-to-use control, management, and automation capabilities for all these environments.

For more information, see https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/cloud-systems-management/prime-data-center-network-manager/index.html.

Cisco DCNM Release 11.5(1) manages various kinds of SAN deployments, LAN deployments (including VXLAN EVPN, Routed Fabrics, FabricPath, 3-tier classic deployments, and so on), and IP for Media deployments in the Cisco NX-OS driven data center environment. To download the Cisco DCNM software, go to Cisco DCNM Software Download, click Download Software.

Deployment of LAN Fabrics Using Cisco DCNM 11.5(1):

• Greenfield Deployments: Applicable for provisioning new VXLAN EVPN fabrics, eBGP based Routed fabrics, and traditional three-tier Access-Aggregation networks

• Brownfield Deployments: Applicable for existing VXLAN EVPN fabrics and other legacy environments:

  • Migrate CLI configured VXLAN EVPN fabrics to DCNM using the Easy_Fabric_11_1 fabric template.

  • NFM migration to Cisco DCNM using the Easy_Fabric_11_1 fabric template.

  • Import all existing 3-tier Access-Aggregation, FabricPath, MSDC etc., networks into the DCNM using either the External_11_1 or LAN_Classic fabric templates.

• Upgrades: Applicable for all LAN Fabric deployments created with previous DCNM versions:

  • Upgrade for fabrics built with DCNM 11.4(1) to DCNM 11.5(1)

  • Upgrade for fabrics built with DCNM 11.3(1) to DCNM 11.5(1)

  • Upgrade for fabrics built with DCNM 11.2(1) to DCNM 11.5(1)

  Refer to the Cisco DCNM Installation and Upgrade Guide for LAN Fabric Deployment, Release 11.5(1).

The Classic LAN Installation mode is deprecated in Release 11.4(1), and isn’t available in new installations. Existing DCNM Classic LAN installations are automatically migrated to the DCNM 11.5(1) LAN Fabric installation mode as a part of the inline upgrade process. For more information, refer to the Upgrading the Cisco DCNM Classic LAN Deployment in the Cisco DCNM Installation and Upgrade Guide for LAN Fabric Deployment, Release 11.5(1) .

Note	After upgrading the Classic LAN Deployment to Cisco DCNM Release 11.5(1), you can manage, monitor, automate, and control the Classic LAN deployment via the Cisco DCNM 11.5(1) LAN Fabric installation.

The existing switches in a switch group and the top-level container switch groups are converted to LAN Fabrics using the LAN_Classic and Fabric_Group templates respectively. Switches are placed in Migration mode after upgrade. In order to get the switches out of this mode, choose the appropriate LAN_Classic fabric and click Save & Deploy. For more information, refer to the External Fabrics in the Cisco DCNM LAN Fabric Configuration Guide.

Cisco DCNM LAN Fabric deployment with Compute nodes allows you to install Network Insights applications via the Cisco DCNM Web UI. Refer to Cisco DCNM LAN Fabric Configuration Guide

This document provides the Release Notes for Cisco DCNM, Release 11.5(1). Use this document with the documents that are listed in the Related Documentation.

The following table shows the change history for this document.