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Security Architecture

This chapter delivers comprehensive security architecture for SD-WAN, covering control plane security, data plane encryption, segmentation, enterprise firewall, threat detection, and Zero Trust WAN implementation.

Chapter Overview

Security is paramount in SD-WAN deployments. This chapter provides defense-in-depth security architecture including:

  • Control and data plane encryption
  • Network segmentation and micro-segmentation
  • Enterprise firewall and URL filtering
  • Threat detection and DDoS protection
  • Zero Trust WAN framework
  • Compliance mapping and security operations

Sections in This Chapter

  • 3.1 Security Overview - Security architecture principles and framework
  • 3.2 Control Plane Security - DTLS encryption and certificate management
  • 3.3 Data Plane Security - IPsec encryption and integrity protection
  • 3.4 Segmentation Design - VRF, VPN, and VN-based segmentation
  • 3.5 TrustSec/SGT Integration - Cisco TrustSec micro-segmentation
  • 3.6 Enterprise Firewall Deep Dive - Zone-based firewall and IPS
  • 3.7 URL Filtering & DNS Security - Web filtering and DNS protection
  • 3.8 Threat Detection (UTD) - Unified Threat Defense integration
  • 3.9 DDoS Protection - Attack mitigation strategies
  • 3.10 Compliance Mapping - Regulatory compliance frameworks
  • 3.11 Zero Trust WAN - Zero Trust security model
  • 3.12 End-to-End Zero Trust - Comprehensive Zero Trust implementation
  • 3.13 Security Operations & Threat Response - SOC integration and incident response

Security Layers

The architecture implements multiple security layers:

Layer 1: Transport security (IPsec/DTLS encryption)
Layer 2: Network segmentation (VRF/VPN isolation)
Layer 3: Application security (enterprise firewall, IPS)
Layer 4: Threat detection (UTD, URL filtering)
Layer 5: Identity-based access (TrustSec/SGT)
Layer 6: Security operations (SIEM integration, threat response)


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