{"id":22434,"date":"2025-07-14T11:30:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T09:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/?p=22434"},"modified":"2025-08-20T15:08:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T13:08:59","slug":"aci-user-group-treffen-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/2025\/07\/14\/aci-user-group-treffen-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of the ACI User Group Meeting 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"twoclick_social_bookmarks_post_22434 social_share_privacy clearfix 1.6.4 locale-en_US sprite-en_US\"><\/div><div class=\"twoclick-js\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\njQuery(document).ready(function($){if($('.twoclick_social_bookmarks_post_22434')){$('.twoclick_social_bookmarks_post_22434').socialSharePrivacy({\"txt_help\":\"Wenn Sie diese Felder durch einen Klick aktivieren, werden Informationen an Facebook, Twitter, Flattr, Xing, t3n, LinkedIn, Pinterest oder Google eventuell ins Ausland \\u00fcbertragen und unter Umst\\u00e4nden auch dort gespeichert. N\\u00e4heres erfahren Sie durch einen Klick auf das <em>i<\\\/em>.\",\"settings_perma\":\"Dauerhaft aktivieren und Daten\\u00fcber-tragung zustimmen:\",\"info_link\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.heise.de\\\/ct\\\/artikel\\\/2-Klicks-fuer-mehr-Datenschutz-1333879.html\",\"uri\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\\\/itc\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/14\\\/aci-user-group-treffen-2025\\\/\",\"post_id\":22434,\"post_title_referrer_track\":\"Review+of+the+ACI+User+Group+Meeting+2025\",\"display_infobox\":\"on\"});}});\n\/* ]]> *\/<\/script><\/div><p><div id=\"attachment_22443\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22443\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-22443\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog-Layout-2-1-300x200.png\" alt=\"cloud server hosting mobile schnittstelle holographisches steuerelement cloud speicher remote datenbank\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog-Layout-2-1-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog-Layout-2-1-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog-Layout-2-1-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog-Layout-2-1-1536x1024.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Blog-Layout-2-1-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-22443\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/de.freepik.com\/vektoren-kostenlos\/cloud-server-hosting-mobile-schnittstelle-holographisches-steuerelement-cloud-speicher-remote-datenbank_4102884.htm#fromView=search&amp;page=1&amp;position=4&amp;uuid=f6a6ff3d-9af9-463a-bc0f-2fa7ef9760d6&amp;query=application+centric+infrastructure\">Freepik<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<p>The ACI User Group came together again this year. This time, the meeting took place at the Bosch IT Campus in Stuttgart from 24 to 25 June 2025. Around 40 participants from the public sector, industry and the IT Center were in attendance. The aim: to discuss current developments, challenges and future topics in the ACI context.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">What Is ACI?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>ACI stands for &#8220;Application Centric Infrastructure&#8221; and is a data centre network solution that is used at the IT Center. It forms the basis for the network connectivity of more than 1,500 virtual machines (and bare-metal servers) operated both by the IT Center itself and by its customers.<\/p>\n<p>The ACI architecture consists of three central elements: the &#8220;DataCenter-Admin&#8221; self-service portal, a network of three redundant controllers and a large number of switches. The &#8220;DataCenter-Admin&#8221; management platform was developed in-house by the IT Center and enables administrators to manage the infrastructure independently and in a controlled manner. This access allows configurations to be managed centrally via the controllers, which in turn distribute all information to the switches. These take care of routing, switching and firewalling and ensure that data packets are reliably forwarded to the end systems.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">Focus: Networks for ML and AI<\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_22445\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22445\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-22445\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_9479-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_9479-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_9479-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_9479-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_9479-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_9479-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-22445\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Own Illustration<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This year&#8217;s focus was on setting up and operating high-performance network infrastructures for applications in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence. In particular, the focus was on questions such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Which network protocols are suitable for highly dynamic ML workloads?<\/li>\n<li>Which concepts can help to organise computing and data paths efficiently?<\/li>\n<li>How can classic architectures be transferred to the requirements of modern AI setups?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The experts agreed that networks are the backbone of high-performance AI infrastructures. However, many solutions still need to be tested for practical suitability and adapted accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">IPv6 in ACI: IT Center Confirmed in Pioneering Role<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Another key topic was the integration of IPv6 in ACI environments. The IT Center has taken on a pioneering role here: We have activated and tested the first functions. The aim is to make productive ACI setups IPv6-capable in the medium to long term. However, the IT Center has already taken this step. This represents an important step towards future-proofing and scalability.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">High-Speed Networks: 400G and 800G in View<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In addition to the technical focus on ML and IPv6, technological progress in the physical network infrastructure was also on the agenda. The new 400G and 800G per second standards were discussed. These are bandwidths that will play an increasingly important role in modern data centres and core networks in the future.<\/p>\n<p>The participants discussed the requirements that networks must fulfil in order to be able to use such speeds effectively.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_22447\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22447\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-22447\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Datei_20861D70-877D-4611-B678-D0BB33B3C843-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Datei_20861D70-877D-4611-B678-D0BB33B3C843-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Datei_20861D70-877D-4611-B678-D0BB33B3C843-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Datei_20861D70-877D-4611-B678-D0BB33B3C843-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Datei_20861D70-877D-4611-B678-D0BB33B3C843-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2025\/07\/Datei_20861D70-877D-4611-B678-D0BB33B3C843-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-22447\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Own Illustration<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">Exchange at Eye Level<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As always, the focus was also on sharing experiences. Best practices and lessons learnt were openly shared in various sessions. In addition to the technical depth, the participants particularly appreciated the open, solution-orientated atmosphere of the group.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\">Outlook<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The ideas from the meeting will now be followed up internally and incorporated into current projects and strategic planning. Especially with regard to AI workloads, IPv6 and future network standards, there is a concrete need for action for many organisations.<\/p>\n<p>The next ACI user group is already being planned. We look forward to further exciting discussions and practical developments.<\/p>\n<p>You can find all contributions to past ACI meetings on our <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en?s=ACI\">blog<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Responsible for the content of this article are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itc.rwth-aachen.de\/cms\/it-center\/it-center\/profil\/team\/~epvp\/mitarbeiter-campus-\/?gguid=PER-EB7A3US&amp;allou=1\">Benedikt Paffen<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itc.rwth-aachen.de\/cms\/it-center\/it-center\/profil\/team\/~epvp\/mitarbeiter-campus-\/?gguid=PER-N6AW3XB&amp;allou=1\">Arlinda Ujkani<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5003,"featured_media":22443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"c2c_always_allow_admin_comments":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[308,312,1514],"tags":[961,962,582,620,1172,929],"class_list":["post-22434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-jubilaen-erfolge","category-insight-it-center","category-ki","tag-aci","tag-application-centric-infrastructure","tag-austausch","tag-ki","tag-machine-learning","tag-treffen"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5003"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22434"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22464,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22434\/revisions\/22464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}