Converting a Nexus9000 switch to ACI mode is fairly easy as compared to vice versa. You need to download the ACI image for the switch & upload it in switch bootflash
nxos-switch1# copy tftp: bootflash:
nxos-switch1# no boot nxos (This will ensure switch will not boot back in nxos mode
nxos-switch1# copy run start (save the config, DO NOT save config after this step)
Now you need to boot the switch with ACI Image
nxos-switch1# boot aci bootflash://aci-n9000-xxxxxx.bin
nxos-switch1# reload (Switch will boot in ACI mode)
Switch will be running in ACI mode now after reboot !!
Verification – Once switch boots up, add the username as “admin” & hit Enter. You should see message “Fabric discovery in progress” which confirm switch is in ACI mode now. You can login in ACI GUI now & check under “Fabric membership (3.x or older)” or under “Unregistered Nodes(4.x or higher)” to check if leaf serial number is visible. Once visible, you can register the leaf in ACI fabric.
I hope this article helped you in the implementation. Please provide feedback which motivates me to write more technical articles for the community!!