Open standards as the foundation for modern data centers

Openness, interoperability, and security have never been more critical for data center networking. Cisco has long championed these principles-not just participating in standards bodies but leading the innovations that shape them. Our foundational work on technologies like Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) and Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) reflects a long-standing belief that open standards are the key to flexibility, interoperability, and customer choice.

We're now at a pivotal moment. As diverse technologies converge and the demand for seamless interoperability grows-especially with the rise of AI workloads-the industry needs a unified, open approach. EVPN, originally designed to make data center networks more efficient and scalable, now plays a crucial role in AI fabric architectures, providing the flexibility and consistency required for high-performance, distributed computing environments.

Cisco is meeting this moment by bringing together the power of Cisco ACI and NX-OS through the Cisco Nexus One Fabric solution-a unified architecture built entirely on the open standards we helped define. This approach is further validated by industry collaboration, including the recent VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) announcement. Together, we're shaping the next decade of data center networking-and AI networking-with simplicity, agility, and security at the core.

Cisco's pioneering role in IETF networking standards

Cisco has long been a leader in shaping industry standards through active participation and leadership in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). From core technologies like L3VPN and MPLS to our ongoing work with VXLAN and EVPN, our contributions have helped define the modern data center. For example, Cisco engineers introduced the first EVPN draft in 2010, setting the stage for what would become RFC 7432-the foundational standard for EVPN.

Our leadership is reflected in IETF data showing Cisco as the top contributor to EVPN RFCs. It's a testament to our deep expertise and commitment to open collaboration and a thriving multivendor ecosystem.

Cisco Nexus One: ACI and NX-OS interoperability for a consistent fabric experience

At the heart of our open networking vision is the Cisco Nexus One Fabric solution, bringing together the data plane, control plane, policy plane, and management plane across Cisco ACI and NX-OS VXLAN EVPN fabrics.

All managed simply through Cisco Nexus Dashboard.

What does this mean for our customers?

• Reduced complexity: Gain end-to-end visibility and simplified provisioning and troubleshooting through a single dashboard across data center fabrics.
• Investment protection: Seamlessly interoperate between ACI and NX-OS deployments-greenfield or brownfield.
• Enhanced security: Consistently enforce microsegmentation and policy across your entire fabric, from ACI to NX-OS and beyond.

This unified approach helps customers innovate faster, lower total cost of ownership, and achieve the operational simplicity needed to power today's dynamic, application-driven environments.

Advancing flexibility and segmentation with Group Policy Object

A key enabler of this converged architecture is our work on the Group Policy Object (GPO) standard. Originating from innovations within ACI, GPO provides a way to define and enforce security segmentation policies within a VXLAN EVPN fabric. We have contributed this innovation to the industry through IETF standards, building on the existing VXLAN EVPN framework for backward compatibility.

NX-OS now implements these GPO-based capabilities, allowing it to support policy-based segmentation just like ACI. At the same time, ACI expands its open architecture by integrating standards-based VXLAN EVPN Border Gateway functionality. This allows an ACI fabric to seamlessly interconnect with both policy-aware and policy-unaware non-ACI fabrics.

This two-way street of innovation is central to the Cisco Nexus One vision, providing unparalleled flexibility without sacrificing security or control.

Aligning with VMware Cloud Foundation for true interoperability

Our commitment to open standards extends to our collaborations with key ecosystem partners. The recent alignment between Broadcom's VMware Cloud Foundation and our Nexus One Fabric solution is a significant milestone for the industry. As VCF moves toward EVPN-based interoperability, it creates a powerful synergy with our standards-based approach.

"Broadcom today enables EVPN-based fabric interoperability with our VPC networking to deliver a cloud-like experience for modern private clouds, and we're excited to extend this focus on open standards-based networking through our new collaboration with Cisco," said Paul Turner, Chief Product Officer, VCF Division, Broadcom. "By aligning VMware Cloud Foundation with Cisco Nexus One Fabric solution, we enable organizations to accelerate innovation with a consistent operating model, increased performance, and lower total cost of ownership."

This collaboration allows customers who use both Cisco and VMware technologies to achieve consistent and reliable outcomes. VCF's open architecture, combined with the unified Cisco Nexus One Fabric, means you can build a modern private cloud that leverages your preferred infrastructure while benefiting from seamless network integration. This strategic approach helps accelerate innovation, shorten time to value, and lower total cost of ownership as VCF extends to the Cisco Nexus One Fabric solution.

The future is open and unified

As AI and business-critical workloads continue to reshape IT requirements, the need for flexible, unified architectures built on open standards has never been greater. Through our work in EVPN/VXLAN and the Nexus One solution, we are converging ACI and NX-OS, embracing standards like GPO, and partnering with Broadcom to shape the industry's direction.

Our open-standards approach facilitates seamless integration across virtual and Kubernetes environments, ensuring agility and consistency on every platform.

With a proven track record of IETF leadership and innovation, we're empowering customers to build the data centers of tomorrow on a secure, open, and unified networking fabric-enabling limitless possibilities.

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