Cisco ACI Essential SW License for Nexus 9K Leaf | 10/25/40/100G — ACI-ES-XF=

Keep Cisco Nexus 9K leaf infrastructure aligned to an ACI Essential software baseline for 10/25/40/100G environments. This license is designed for data center teams that want a defined entitlement for fabric operations, policy control, and operational consistency across leaf deployments. In modern data centers, the software tier matters as much as the hardware. ACI Essential licensing helps establish a controlled foundation for leaf nodes, supporting a fabric model that is easier to standardize, document, and manage across production environments. That is especially important when procurement teams need a clear software line item and architects need a predictable feature set. This license is a strong fit when the goal is to keep the Nexus 9K leaf layer aligned to Cisco ACI requirements without moving into broader licensing than the deployment calls for. It supports disciplined architecture, cleaner lifecycle planning, and a more precise match between fabric design and software entitlement. Ideal For Nexus 9K leaf licensing for ACI-based data center fabrics 10/25/40/100G leaf deployments requiring Cisco software entitlement Data center refresh projects standardizing on Cisco ACI Procurement of a defined license tier for leaf-node operations Why This Product 1 Built for Nexus 9K leaf deployments in ACI fabrics 2 Supports 10/25/40/100G environments 3 Defined Cisco software tier for data center operations 4 More precise than broader licenses for leaf-only requirements