Introduction
The Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions (ENSDWI 300-415) exam is a concentration exam for the CCNP Enterprise certification. If you pass the ENSDWI 300-415 exam, you also obtain the Cisco Certified Specialist – Enterprise SD-WAN Implementation certification. This exam covers core SD-WAN technologies, including SD-WAN architecture, controller deployment, Edge router deployment, policies, security, quality of service, multicast, and management and operations.
Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions (ENSDWI 300-415) is a 90-minute exam.
Tip
You can review the exam blueprint from Cisco’s website at https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/s/ensdwi-exam-topics.
This book gives you the foundation and covers the topics necessary to start the CCNP Enterprise certification, with a focus on SD-WAN concentration exam or Cisco Certified Specialist – Enterprise SD-WAN Implementation certification.
The CCNP Enterprise Certification
The CCNP Enterprise certification is one of the industry’s most respected certifications. In order for you to earn the CCNP Enterprise certification, you must pass two exams: the ENCOR exam and one concentration exam of your choice, so you can customize your certification to your technical area of focus. This book focuses on the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions (ENSDWI 300-415) concentration exam.
Tip
The ENCOR core exam is also the qualifying exam for the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure and CCIE Enterprise Wireless certifications. Passing this exam is the first step toward earning both of these certifications.
The following are the CCNP Enterprise concentration exams:
Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services (300-410 ENARSI)
Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions (300-415 ENSDWI)
Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks (300-420 ENSLD)
Designing Cisco Enterprise Wireless Networks (300-425 ENWLSD)
Implementing Cisco Enterprise Wireless Networks (300-430 ENWLSI)
Implementing Automation for Cisco Enterprise Solutions (300-435 ENAUTO)
Tip
CCNP Enterprise now includes automation and programmability to help you scale your enterprise infrastructure. If you pass the Developing Applications Using Cisco Core Platforms and APIs v1.0 (DEVCOR 350-901) exam, the ENCOR exam, and the Implementing Automation for Cisco Enterprise Solutions (ENAUTO 300-435) exam, you will achieve the CCNP Enterprise and DevNet Professional certifications with only three exams. Every exam earns an individual Specialist certification, allowing you to get recognized for each of your accomplishments, instead of waiting until you pass all the exams.
There are no formal prerequisites for CCNP Enterprise. In other words, you do not have to pass the CCNA or any other certifications in order to take CCNP-level exams. The same goes for the CCIE exams. On the other hand, CCNP candidates often have three to five years of experience in implementation enterprise networking solutions.
The Exam Objectives (Domains)
The Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions (ENSDWI 300-415) exam is broken down into six major domains. The contents of this book cover each of the domains and the subtopics included in them as illustrated in the following descriptions.
The following table lists the breakdown of each of the domains represented in the exam.
Domain |
Percentage of Representation in Exam |
1: Architecture |
20% |
2: Controller Deployment |
15% |
3: Router Deployment |
20% |
4: Policies |
20% |
5: Security and Quality of Service |
15% |
6: Management and Operations |
10% |
Total 100% |
Here are the details of each domain:
Domain 1: Architecture: This domain is covered in Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
1.1 Describe Cisco SD-WAN Architecture and Components
1.1.a Orchestration plane (vBond, NAT)
1.1.b Management plane (vManage)
1.1.c Control plane (vSmart, OMP)
1.1.d Data plane (vEdge)
1.1.d [i] TLOC
1.1.d (ii) IPsec
1.1.d (iii) vRoute
1.1.d (iv) BFD
1.2 Describe WAN Edge platform types, capabilities (vEdges, cEdges)
Domain 2: Controller Deployment: This domain is covered primarily in Chapter 13.
2.1 Describe controller cloud deployment
2.2 Describe controller on-prem deployment
2.2.a Hosting platform (KVM/hypervisor)
2.2.b Installing controllers
2.2.c Scalability and redundancy
2.3 Configure and verify certificates and whitelisting
2.4 Troubleshoot control plane connectivity between controllers
Domain 3: Router Deployment: This domain is covered primarily in Chapters 3 and 4.
3.1 Describe WAN Edge deployment
3.1.a Onboarding
3.1.b Orchestration with Zero Touch Provisioning/Plug and Play
3.1.c Single/multi data center/regional hub deployments
3.2 Configure and verify SD-WAN data plane
3.2.a Circuit termination/TLOC-extension
3.2.b Underlay–overlay connectivity
3.3 Configure and verify OMP
3.4 Configure and verify TLOCs
3.5 Configure and verify CLI and vManage feature configuration templates
3.5.a VRRP
3.5.b OSPF
3.5.c BGP
Domain 4: Policies: This domain is covered primarily in Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8.
4.1 Configure and verify control policies
4.2 Configure and verify data policies
4.3 Configure and verify end-to-end segmentation
4.3.a VPN segmentation
4.3.b Topologies
4.4 Configure and verify SD-WAN Application-Aware Routing
4.5 Configure and verify Direct Internet Access
Domain 5: Security and Quality of Service: This domain is covered primarily in Chapters 9 and 10.
5.1 Configure and verify service insertion
5.2 Describe application-aware firewall
5.3 Configure and verify QoS treatment on WAN Edge routers
5.3.a Scheduling
5.3.b Queuing
5.3.c Shaping
5.3.d Policing
Domain 6: Management and Operations: This domain is covered primarily in Chapters 4, 6, and 7.
6.1 Describe monitoring and reporting from vManage
6.2 Configure and verify monitoring and reporting
6.3 Describe REST API monitoring
6.4 Describe software upgrade from vManage
Steps to Passing the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions (ENSDWI 300-415) Exam
There are no prerequisites for the ENSDWI exam; however, students must have an understanding of implementing networking solutions.
Signing Up for the Exam
The steps required to sign up for the ENSDWI exam as follows:
Create an account at https://home.pearsonvue.com/cisco.
Complete the Examination Agreement, attesting to the truth of your assertions regarding professional experience and legally committing to the adherence of the testing policies.
Submit the examination fee.
Facts About the Exam
The exam is a computer-based test. The exam consists of multiple-choice questions only. You must bring a government-issued identification card. No other forms of ID will be accepted.
Tip
Refer to the Cisco Certification site at https://cisco.com/go/certifications for more information regarding this and other Cisco certifications.
About Cisco Software-Defined Wide-Area Networks: Designing, Deploying, and Securing Your Next-Generation WAN with Cisco SD-WAN
This book maps directly to the topic areas of the ENSDWI exam and uses a number of features to help you understand the topics and prepare for the exam.
Objectives and Methods
This book uses several key methodologies to help you discover the exam topics on which you need more review, to help you fully understand and remember those details, and to help you prove to yourself that you have retained your knowledge of those topics. This book does not try to help you pass the exam only by memorization; it seeks to help you to truly learn and understand the topics. This book is designed to help you pass the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions (ENSDWI 300-415) exam by using the following methods:
Helping you discover which exam topics you have not mastered
Providing explanations and information to fill in your knowledge gaps
Supplying review questions that enhance your ability to recall and deduce the answers to test questions
Providing practice exercises on the topics and the testing process via test questions on the companion website
Book Features
To help you customize your study time using this book, the core chapters have several features that help you make the best use of your time:
Review All Key Topics: The Key Topic icon appears next to the most important items in the chapter. The “Review All Key Topics” activity near the end of the chapter lists the key topics from the chapter, along with their page numbers. Although the contents of the entire chapter could be on the exam, you should definitely know the information listed in each key topic, so you should review these.
Define Key Terms: This section lists the most important terms from the chapter, asking you to write a short definition and compare your answer to the glossary at the end of the book.
Review Questions: Confirm that you understand the content you just covered by answering these questions and reading the answer explanations.
Web-based Practice Exam: The companion website includes the Pearson Cert Practice Test engine, which allows you to answer practice exam questions. Use it to prepare with a sample exam and to pinpoint topics where you need more study.
How This Book Is Organized
This book contains 13 core chapters—Chapters 1 through 13. Each core chapter covers a subset of the topics on the Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions (ENSDWI 300-415) exam. The core chapters map to the ENSDWI topic areas and cover the concepts and technologies that you will encounter on the exam.
Here’s a brief summary of each chapter:
Chapter 1, “Introduction to Cisco Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN),” covers an introduction to software-defined networking, controllers, and automation. This chapter also covers the benefits and value of automating management and operations.
Chapter 2, “Cisco SD-WAN Components,” covers an introduction to the SD-WAN components, including the various controllers. The various types of deployment models are introduced in this chapter as well. The chapter also introduces the control plane, data plane, and cloud integration.
Chapter 3, “Control Plane and Data Plane Operations,” covers the Overlay Management Protocol (OMP) and how it works to facilitate the orchestration of the control plane and ultimately influences the data plane. This chapter also covers how a secure data plane is constructed with IPsec. As with all routing protocols, there needs to be a loop prevention mechanism. This chapter also discusses the various types of loop prevention within OMP.
Chapter 4, “Onboarding and Provisioning,” covers how to provision the data plane devices, either manually or via Plug and Play/Zero Touch Provisioning. Templates are also discussed as a means to gain some flexibility and scale with configuration management.
Chapter 5, “Introduction to Cisco SD-WAN Policies,” covers the basics of Cisco SD-WAN policies. This includes the different types of policies, how policies are constructed, and how they are applied to the Cisco SD-WAN fabric.
Chapter 6, “Centralized Control Policies,” covers centralized control policies. These policies are used to manipulate or filter the OMP updates in order to manipulate the structure and forwarding patterns in the Cisco SD-WAN fabric. This chapter also covers packet loss recovery techniques, including Forward Error Correction and packet duplication. This chapter discusses a series of use cases that solve for different business requirements.
Chapter 7, “Centralized Data Policies,” covers centralized data policies that are used to manipulate or filter flows in the data plane and override the natural forwarding behavior that is propagated through the OMP. This chapter discusses a series of use cases that solve for different business requirements.
Chapter 8, “Application-Aware Routing Policies,” covers App-Route policies and how these policies can be used to ensure that traffic is forwarded across the SD-WAN fabric using links that meet a required service level agreement (SLA).
Chapter 9, “Localized Policies,” covers localized policies, including local route policies, access control lists (ACLs), and quality of service (QoS).
Chapter 10, “Cisco SD-WAN Security,” covers what SD-WAN security is and why it is relevant to your organization. This chapter also covers how to deploy Application-Aware Enterprise Firewall, intrusion detection and prevention, URL filtering, Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) and Threat Grid, DNS web layer security, cloud security, and vManage authentication and authorization.
Chapter 11, “Cisco SD-WAN Cloud onRamp,” covers what Cisco SD-WAN Cloud onRamp is and how it can optimize your organization’s application experience. This chapter also covers how to deploy onRamp for SaaS, onRamp for IaaS, and onRamp for Colocation.
Chapter 12, “Cisco SD-WAN Design and Migration,” covers the methodology behind SD-WAN design across the enterprise. This chapter also covers preparation for SD-WAN migration, data center design, and branch design, as well as overlay and underlay routing integration.
Chapter 13, “Provisioning Cisco SD-WAN Controllers in a Private Cloud,” covers how to deploy the controllers in a private cloud, on premises, or in a lab environment. This chapter also discusses the various methods to handle certificates. Certificates play a critical piece in encrypting and authenticating the control plane.
Appendix A, “Answers to Chapter Review Questions,” provides the answers to the review questions at the end of each chapter.
Appendix B, “Example 7-17,” shows the full and complete policy for all of the configuration that was performed in Chapters 6 and 7.
The Glossary of Key Terms provides definitions for the key terms in each chapter.
The Companion Website for Online Content Review
All the electronic review elements, as well as other electronic components of the book, exist on this book’s companion website.
How to Access the Companion Website
To access the companion website, which gives you access to the electronic content with this book, start by establishing a login at www.ciscopress.com and register your book.
To do so, simply go to www.ciscopress.com/register and enter the ISBN of the print book: 9780136533177. After you have registered your book, go to your account page and click the Registered Products tab. From there, click the Access Bonus Content link to get access to the book’s companion website.
Note that if you buy the Premium Edition eBook and Practice Test version of this book from Cisco Press, your book will automatically be registered on your account page. Simply go to your account page, click the Registered Products tab, and select Access Bonus Content to access the book’s companion website.
Please note that many of our companion content files can be very large, especially image and video files.
If you are unable to locate the files for this title, please visit www.pearsonITcertification.com/contact and select the Site Problems/Comments option. Our customer service representatives will assist you.
How to Access the Pearson Test Prep (PTP) App
You have two options for installing and using the Pearson Test Prep application: a web app and a desktop app. To use the Pearson Test Prep application, start by finding the registration code that comes with the book. You can find the code in these ways:
Print book: Look in the cardboard sleeve in the back of the book for a piece of paper with your book’s unique PTP code.
Premium Edition: If you purchase the Premium Edition eBook and Practice Test directly from the Cisco Press website, the code will be populated on your account page after purchase. Just log in at www.ciscopress.com, click account to see details of your account, and click the digital purchases tab.
Amazon Kindle: For those who purchase a Kindle edition from Amazon, the access code will be supplied directly from Amazon.
Other bookseller eBooks: Note that if you purchase an eBook version from any other source, the practice test is not included because other vendors to date have chosen not to vend the required unique access code.
Note
Do not lose the activation code because it is the only means with which you can access the QA content with the book.
Once you have the access code, to find instructions about both the PTP web app and the desktop app, follow these steps:
Step 1. Open this book’s companion website, as was shown earlier in this Introduction under the heading “How to Access the Companion Website.”
Step 2. Click the Practice Exams button.
Step 3. Follow the instructions listed there, both for installing the desktop app and for using the web app.
Note that if you want to use the web app only at this point, just navigate to www.pearsontestprep.com, establish a free login if you do not already have one, and register this book’s practice tests using the registration code you just found. The process should take only a couple of minutes.
Note
Amazon eBook (Kindle) customers: It is easy to miss Amazon’s email that lists your PTP access code. Soon after you purchase the Kindle eBook, Amazon should send an email. However, the email uses very generic text and makes no specific mention of PTP or practice exams. To find your code, read every email from Amazon after you purchase the book. Also do the usual checks for ensuring your email arrives, like checking your spam folder.
Note
Other eBook customers: As of the time of publication, only the publisher and Amazon supply PTP access codes when you purchase their eBook editions of this book.
Customizing Your Exams
Once you are in the exam settings screen, you can choose to take exams in one of three modes:
Study mode: Allows you to fully customize your exams and review answers as you are taking the exam. This is typically the mode you would use first to assess your knowledge and identify information gaps.
Practice Exam mode: Locks certain customization options, as it is presenting a realistic exam experience. Use this mode when you are preparing to test your exam readiness.
Flash Card mode: Strips out the answers and presents you with only the question stem. This mode is great for late-stage preparation when you really want to challenge yourself to provide answers without the benefit of seeing multiple-choice options. This mode does not provide the detailed score reports that the other two modes do, so you should not use it if you are trying to identify knowledge gaps.
In addition to these three modes, you will be able to select the source of your questions. You can choose to take exams that cover all of the chapters, or you can narrow your selection to just a single chapter or the chapters that make up a specific part in the book. All chapters are xxviiiselected by default. If you want to narrow your focus to individual chapters, simply deselect all the chapters and then select only those on which you wish to focus in the Objectives area.
You can also select the exam banks on which to focus. Each exam bank comes complete with a full exam of questions that cover topics in every chapter. The two online exams that accompany this book are available to you as well as two additional exams of unique questions. You can have the test engine serve up exams from all four banks or just from one individual bank by selecting the desired banks in the exam bank area.
There are several other customizations you can make to your exam from the exam settings screen, such as the time of the exam, the number of questions served up, whether to randomize questions and answers, whether to show the number of correct answers for multiple-answer questions, and whether to serve up only specific types of questions. You can also create custom test banks by selecting only questions that you have marked or questions on which you have added notes.
Updating Your Exams
If you are using the online version of the Pearson Test Prep software, you should always have access to the latest version of the software as well as the exam data. If you are using the Windows desktop version, every time you launch the software while connected to the Internet, it checks if there are any updates to your exam data and automatically downloads any changes that were made since the last time you used the software.
Sometimes, due to many factors, the exam data may not fully download when you activate your exam. If you find that figures or exhibits are missing, you may need to manually update your exams. To update a particular exam you have already activated and downloaded, simply click the Tools tab and click the Update Products button. Again, this is only an issue with the desktop Windows application.
If you wish to check for updates to the Pearson Test Prep exam engine software, Windows desktop version, simply click the Tools tab and click the Update Application button. This ensures that you are running the latest version of the software engine.