Summary
This chapter introduces the components that make up Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN. It discusses the data plane, wherein user traffic is routed and forwarded across the WAN. The data plane is similar to routers that would be deployed in a traditional WAN; in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, they are referred to as WAN Edge routers.
This chapter also introduces SD-WAN Manager, which is part of the management plane, where all Day 0, Day 1, and Day N functions are performed, including WAN Edge configuration, routing and control policies, troubleshooting, and monitoring.
You have seen that SD-WAN Controller, the brain of the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN fabric, is responsible for calculating and deploying all control and data policies as well as handling the distribution of encryption keys for data plane connectivity.
You have also seen that SD-WAN Validator makes up the orchestration plane and is responsible for authenticating components on the fabric in addition to distributing control and management plane information to the WAN Edge routers. SD-WAN Validator is the component that aids in discovery of the fabric for all other components (such as when devices are behind NAT).
Finally, this chapter discusses deployment options. The most common deployment method is Cisco cloud hosted, but there are three other options to consider: on-premises, public cloud, and customer cloud hosted. By supporting all four deployment options, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN can support all business requirements.