Skip to content

SD-WAN Architecture Design

This chapter presents the complete architectural design for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, covering control plane, data plane, overlay topology, and modern SD-WAN capabilities including integration with SD-Access, cloud platforms, and SASE.

Chapter Overview

The architecture design phase translates discovery findings into a comprehensive SD-WAN solution blueprint. This chapter covers all architectural domains:

  • Control and data plane design
  • Overlay topology and transport selection
  • Multi-region fabric and integration patterns
  • High availability and scalability
  • Modern features including Catalyst Center integration

Sections in This Chapter

  • 2.1 SD-WAN Solution Overview - Architecture principles and design methodology
  • 2.2 Control Plane Design - vManage, vSmart, vBond orchestration
  • 2.3 Data Plane Design - IPsec tunnels, routing, and forwarding
  • 2.4 Overlay Topology Design - Hub-and-spoke, full-mesh, and regional topologies
  • 2.5 Transport Design - MPLS, Internet, LTE/5G transport integration
  • 2.6 Multi-Region Fabric Design - Global deployment architecture
  • 2.7 SD-Access Integration Design - Fabric handoff and VN integration
  • 2.8 Cloud OnRamp Design - Cloud connectivity and optimization
  • 2.9 SASE Integration Design - Security Service Edge integration
  • 2.10 High Availability Design - Redundancy and failover strategies
  • 2.11 Sizing & Scalability Design - Capacity planning and growth
  • 2.12 IP Addressing Design - Addressing scheme and subnetting
  • 2.13 Modern SD-WAN Features - Advanced capabilities and innovations
  • 2.14 Wireless WAN Design - LTE/5G integration
  • 2.15 Catalyst Center for SD-WAN - Unified management integration

Design Principles

This architecture follows enterprise-grade design principles: - Scalability: Support for 1000+ sites and 10,000+ tunnels - Resilience: Multi-layer redundancy with sub-second failover - Segmentation: VRF-lite and VN-based traffic isolation - Integration: Seamless interop with SD-Access, ISE, and Catalyst Center - Automation: API-driven provisioning and orchestration

Part of: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Implementation Guide | Previous: ← Discovery | Next: Security Architecture →