Cisco SD-WAN (300-415 ENSDWI): vManage, vSmart & Viptela

Cisco updated its certification program in February 2020, introducing new certification numbers and tracks that reflect capabilities to implement switches, routers, security, data center, and wireless devices.

Learn about Cisco certification updates affecting all tracks, including consolidation, removal of specializations, and new one-exam paths with concentration and specialist options.

Discover how Cisco re-certifications now have a three-year validity, replacing earlier shorter periods, with certifications that can be activated, deactivated, or enter sleep mode.

Explore Cisco certification migration options and how existing certifications convert to new tracks with three-year validity. Use the migration tool to determine updated status and required exams.

Understand CCNP exam structure, where a core exam covers foundational concepts and you must pass one concentration exam for deeper specialization, including papers on routing, SD-WAN, wireless, and automation.

Compare physical dedicated laptop labs with virtual simulation tools for Cisco sd-wan, and assess Cisco lab packages and licenses for routing and switching practice.

Discover how to use supported virtual images in GNS3 and EVE-NG, including L2 and L3 Cisco images, to simulate switching and routing with CLI access.

Explore how to use GNS3 as a cost-effective, hardware-free lab for Cisco SD-WAN concepts, including configuring virtual images and supported devices for realistic simulations.

Install GNS3 on Windows by following basic steps, verify virtualization support, meet hardware requirements, download the latest GNS3 package from gns3.com, and complete the guided setup.

Learn how to add iris images in GNS3, copy them to your machine, and verify them via the setup. Explore basic options and editing preferences to simulate platforms.

Explore the default topology in GNS3, using logical interfaces and loopbacks to simulate multi-branch labs and practice ios initial configurations.

Learn to build an IOS default topology for Cisco SD-WAN by dragging devices, wiring connections, configuring interfaces, starting the topology, and saving initial configurations via the command line.

Connect a GNS3 topology to a host computer using virtual interfaces or the Microsoft loopback adapter, configure the cloud, and verify connectivity with the command prompt while checking firewall settings.

Learn to set up IOSv images in GNS3 for layer 2 and 3 networks. Import appliance and image files, manage versions, and connect images to devices to simulate iris.

Learn to use GNS3 IOU-L2-L3 images with a license file to simulate Cisco devices, add and configure images, and drag and drop devices for internal testing and skylab-style exams.

Learn to set up the eve-ng virtual platform, import and boot a vm, and build labs with devices and images, guided by the official documentation.

Explore how to obtain and use the EVE-NG professional license for Cisco SD-WAN practice, comparing free and professional versions, applying license requests, and accessing supported images for advanced labs.

Upload L2 and L3 images to EVE-NG, organize them in the correct folders, attach license files, and configure lab scenarios with switches and routers.

Learn to upload sd-wan images to eve-ng, verify licensing, and transfer the four required images from your local drive by logging in and copying with correct folder names.

Upload viptela images in eve-ng, organize folders and filenames, set permissions, verify in a lab browser, add devices with correct interfaces, then start and configure via command line.

Run Windows hosts in an eve-ng topology by uploading dot esle or ISO dot files, or using pre-configured Windows images, to simulate Windows clients or servers for management and services.

Connect a Windows Server to the EVE-NG topology to enable management access and serve as a certificate authority for controller authentication, configuring three interfaces and verifying connectivity.

Configure CSR 1000v in eve-ng by uploading the CSR 1000v image, adding it to the topology, and linking it to the internet and the virtual private network.

Explore the challenges of traditional network management, including multi-vendor operating systems, growing staff requirements, and manual configurations, and learn how automation mitigates these issues.

Learn how network automation reduces manual management, standardizes configurations, and minimizes errors. Automate testing, deployment, and documentation to improve availability and speed up troubleshooting.

Explore how land, data center, cloud, and wireless networks are automated using software defined networking, dashboards, and controllers to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs.

Explore plug-and-play provisioning and automation that auto-deploys devices with configurations from a gateway. See dynamic QoS and security policies adapt to application needs while static policies stay in place.

Automate software deployments from a centralized location, schedule device upgrades, and dynamically update topology and documentation; use AI-powered automated troubleshooting to reduce resolution time.

Automates network tasks to cut operational costs, speed device deployment, and reduce human errors. Provides centralized network visibility, stable configurations, and performance reporting for better control.

Identify automation origination points for SD-WAN, comparing email-script automation, embedded event manager, and centralized servers with Ansible, and explain how Ezzedine controllers define policies and traffic forwarding.

Explore software defined networking with the Ezzedine controller, which automates traffic forwarding and dynamic policies guided by applications.

Explore how SDN controllers centralize network management to enforce security and QoS policies and control forwarding decisions across physical appliances, software, and cloud deployments from Cisco APIC and VMware NSX.

Compare traditional networks with controller-based networking, enabling plug-and-play provisioning, remote configuration push, automatic policy updates, and centralized management through a single pane of glass.

Understand how the data plane forwards traffic through interfaces using routing tables, encapsulation, and buffering, for both IP and non-IP traffic, with examples across network devices.

The control plane builds a routing database via routing protocols, guiding the forwarding plane on which interface to use for each destination.

Learn how to manage Cisco SD-WAN devices through the management plane: configure devices via the command line, monitor interfaces and routing tables, and troubleshoot with logging and statistics.

Explains how the management plane in SD-WAN uses a centralized controller to automate device configuration, scheduling tasks, and issuing commands via XML-based Netconf and Yang mechanisms.

Learn how the control plane moves to the controller, enabling the data plane to forward traffic under centralized management, while the controller builds routes and programs forwarding paths.

Explore the SDN imperative model where a central controller programs routing and the control plane, while devices forward with empty tables, contrasting declarative models and OpenFlow.

Explore Cisco SD-WAN’s declarative model, where devices handle routing and forwarding with the control plane locally, while a controller learns application requirements and instructs devices on QoS and traffic paths.

Plan robust sd-wan designs by ensuring hardware understands control protocols and supports interoperable controllers with multi-controller clusters for high availability. Secure controllers with redundant paths and train engineers for implementation.

Explore overlay networks as virtual networks built atop underlying infrastructure, controlled by a central controller that selects forwarding paths using dynamic policies and quality-of-service requirements.