A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment is a model of delivering SD-WAN services from the cloud, rather than from on-premises hardware or software appliances. A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment has several benefits, such as:
* Instant scale: A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment can scale up or down the network resources and bandwidth on demand, without requiring additional hardware or manual configuration. This enables the network to adapt to the changing traffic patterns and user demands, while optimizing the network performance and efficiency12.
* Reduced costs: A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment can lower the capital and operational expenses of the network, by eliminating the need for expensive and complex WAN infrastructure, such as MPLS circuits, routers, firewalls, and WAN optimization devices. A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment can also leverage the economies of scale and the pay-as-you-go model of the cloud, which can reduce the network costs per megabit12.
* Simplified management: A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment can simplify the network management and operation, by providing a centralized and unified dashboard that can monitor, configure, and troubleshoot the network across multiple sites and regions. A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment can alsoautomate the network provisioning, orchestration, and optimization, by applying intelligent policies and analytics based on the business intent and network conditions12.
* Enhanced security: A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment can enhance the network security and compliance, by providing built-in and integrated security features, such as encryption, firewall, VPN, IPS, and antivirus. A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment can also leverage the cloud security services, such as SASE, toprovide secure and direct access to the cloud applications and platforms, without compromising the network performance and user experience123.
* Improved cloud readiness: A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment can improve the cloud readiness and
* agility of the network, by enabling seamless and optimized connectivity to the public cloud, SaaS, and cloud interconnect providers. A cloud-based SD-WAN deployment can also support the multicloud and hybrid-cloud strategies, by allowing the network to operate as a cloud-native WAN overlay, using software-defined automation and orchestration tools123.
References:
* What Is SD-WAN? – Software-Defined WAN (SDWAN) – Cisco
* SD-WAN Benefits: 5 Business Advantages of SD-WAN – Fortinet
* What are the Benefits of SD-WAN? – Cisco
* What are the Benefits of SD-WAN?
* SD-WAN and SASE: The new landscape of networking
https://salesconnect.cisco.com/sc/s/learning-activity-from-plan?ltui__urlRecordId=a0c8c00000P3hKMAAZ&ltu

The three focus areas for reinventing the WAN are:
* Secure Elastic Connectivity: This refers to the ability to provide secure and flexible connectivity to any application, anywhere, and anytime. Secure elastic connectivity enables the network to adapt to the changing business needs and user demands, while maintaining security and performance. Secure elastic connectivity leverages SD-WAN technologies, such as Cloud OnRamp, SASE, and ThousandEyes, to optimize the network path, encrypt the traffic, and monitor the end-to-end visibility across the WAN12.
* Application Quality of Experience: This refers to the ability to ensure optimal and consistent user experience for any application, regardless of the network conditions. Application quality of experience uses SD-WAN technologies, such as vAnalytics, to measure and improve the application performance, availability, and reliability across the WAN3. Application quality of experience also uses intelligent policies and real-time analytics to prioritize the critical applications and steer the traffic to the best-performing path4.
* Cloud First: This refers to the ability to embrace the cloud as the primary platform for delivering applications and services to the users. Cloud first enables the network to support the multicloud strategy and accelerate the cloud adoption. Cloud first leverages SD-WAN technologies, such as Cloud OnRamp, to simplify and automate the connectivity to the public cloud, SaaS, and cloud interconnect
* providers4. Cloud first also enables the network to operate as a cloud-native WAN overlay, using software-defined automation and orchestration tools5.
References:
* Cisco SD-WAN Architecture Overview
* SD-WAN and SASE: The new landscape of networking
* Under the vAnalytics Hood: Enabling Total Network Visibility, Total Network Control
* SD-WAN Capabilities – The New Landscape of Networking
* Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN): the new landscape of networking
The 4 Focus areas for reinventing the WAN are:
* Secure Elastic Connectivity
* Cloud First
* Application Quality of Experience
* Agile Operations
https://salesconnect.cisco.com/sc/s/learning-activity-from-plan?ltui__urlRecordId=a0c8c00000P3hKMAAZ&ltu

Explanation
Cisco ISE is a policy decision point that enables enterprises to ensure compliance, enhance infrastructure security, and streamline service operations. Some features and benefits of Cisco ISE include1:
Zero trust across the network: ISE allows only trusted users and devices access to resources on your network. It also uses intel to automatically identify, classify and profile devices.
Policy and lifecycle management: ISE simplifies the delivery of consistent, highly secure access control across wired, wireless, and VPN connections. It also allows users to add and manage their own devices through self-service portals.
Remote management and deployment: ISE supports cloud-based deployment and management, as well as integration with other Cisco products and third-party solutions.
Site survivability: ISE provides local authentication and authorization services for remote sites, even when the connection to the central ISE server is lost.
Visibility of all devices and their users: ISE can provide data about when a specific device connected to the network, what type of device it is, who is using it, what applications are running on it, and where it is located.
Among these features, two statements are true regarding Cisco ISE:
ISE plays a critical role in SD-Access: SD-Access is a network architecture that uses software-defined networking (SDN) principles to create a secure, scalable, and consistent network fabric. ISE is the policy engine that defines and enforces the network segmentation and access policies for SD-Access2.
ISE can provide data about when a specific device connected to the network: ISE uses a number of probes to collect attributes for all endpoints on the network, and pass them to the Profiler analyzer, where the known endpoints are classified according to their associated policies and identity groups. ISE can also provide historical data about the endpoint connections, such as the time, duration, location, and user of the connection3.
The other three statements are false regarding Cisco ISE:
The major business outcomes of ISE are enhanced user experience and secure VLAN segmentation: ISE provides more than just user experience and VLAN segmentation. It also delivers business outcomes such as improved network performance, reduced operational costs, increased security, and simplified compliance4.
An ISE deployment requires only a Cisco ISE network access control appliance: ISE can be deployed on different platforms, such as physical appliances, virtual machines, or cloud services. An ISE deployment also requires other components, such as network devices, endpoints, and external identity sources5.
Without integration with any other product, ISE can track the actual physical location of a wireless endpoint as it moves: ISE can provide the location information of an endpoint based on the network device that it is connected to, such as the switch port or the wireless access point. However, to track the actual physical location of a wireless endpoint as it moves, ISE needs to integrate with other products, such as Cisco DNA Center, Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX), or Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC)6.
References:
Cisco Content Hub – Cisco ISE Features1 : Cisco SD-Access Solution Design Guide (CVD) – Cisco2 : Cisco ISE Network Discovery3 : Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) – Cisco4 : Cisco Identity Services Engine Hardware Installation Guide, Release 2.7 – Cisco ISE Deployment [Cisco Identity Services Engine] – Cisco5 :
Cisco Identity Services Engine Administrator Guide, Release 2.7 – Configure Location Mapping [Cisco Identity Services Engine] – Cisco6

Explanation
Cisco ISE incorporated Cisco ACS (Cisco Secure Access Control System) between ISE releases 2.0 and 2.3.
Cisco ACS was a network access policy platform that provided authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) services for network devices and users. Cisco ACS was discontinued in 2017 and replaced by Cisco ISE, which offers more advanced features and capabilities for identity-based network access control. Cisco ISE provides a migration tool that allows customers to migrate their data and configurations from Cisco ACS to Cisco ISE. The migration tool supports Cisco ACS versions 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, and 5.8 and Cisco ISE versions
2.0, 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3.
References:
Cisco Secure Access Control System End-of-Life Announcement [Cisco Secure Access Control System] Cisco Secure ACS to Cisco ISE Migration Tool [Cisco Identity Services Engine] Cisco Identity Services Engine Administrator Guide, Release 2.3 – Cisco Secure ACS to Cisco ISE Migration [Cisco Identity Services Engine] Cisco Identity Services Engine Administrator Guide, Release 2.3 – Manage Migration [Cisco Identity Services Engine]
[Cisco Identity Services Engine Migration Guide, Release 2.3 [Cisco Identity Services Engine]]
[Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks (ENDESIGN) Exam Topics [Cisco]]
[Cisco Validated Design Guides [Cisco]]

SD-Access – High Level Branch Design-Software Defined Access @
0:34https://salesconnect.cisco.com/sc/s/learning-activity-from-plan?ltui__urlRecordId=a0c8c00000O0wmZAAR
https://www.ciscolive.com/c/dam/r/ciscolive/apjc/docs/2020/pdf/BRKCRS-3493.pdf

According to the Cisco SD-WAN vEdge Routers Data Sheet1, the Cisco vEdge 5000 router is the only model that offers 20 Gbps of encrypted throughput. The vEdge 5000 router delivers highly secure site-to-site data connectivity to large enterprises, offers interface modularity, and supports up to 4 Network Interface Modules (NIMs)2. The other models of vEdge routers have lower encrypted throughput capacities, as shown in Table 6 of the Ordering Guide for SD-WAN3. The vEdge 1000 router has a maximum encrypted throughput of 1 Gbps, the vEdge 2000 router has a maximum encrypted throughput of 5 Gbps, and the vEdge 100 router has a maximum encrypted throughput of 100 Mbps3.
References:
1: Cisco SD-WAN vEdge Routers Data Sheet 2: vEdge 5000 Router 3: Ordering Guide for SD-WAN
1. vEdge-100: 100Mbps AES-256 throughput, with five fixed 10/100/1000 Mbps ports. Comes in three different flavors: vEdge 100b: Ethernet only vEdge 100m: Ethernet and integrated 2G/3G/4G modem vEdge
100wm: Ethernet and integrated 2G/3G/4G modem + Wireless LAN 2. vEdge-1000: 1 Gbps AES-256 throughput, with 8 ports of fixed GE SFP 3. vEdge-2000: 10 Gbps AES-256 throughput, with 2 Pluggable Interface Modules 4. vEdge-5000: 20 Gbps AES-256 throughput, with 4 Network Interface Modules

The Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches are specifically built to address the new challenges faced by enterprises, such as the need for increased bandwidth, security, and scalability. The Catalyst 9500 Series Switches are also designed to support Cisco SD-Access, which is a software-defined access fabric that simplifies network management and improves network security.
References: =
* Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks
(ENDESIGN): https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/training-certifications/training/training-serv
* Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series
Switches: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/products/networking/switches/catalyst-9500-series-switches/in The Catalyst 9K platform has been built to address security risks posed by advanced persistent threats, operational complexities associated with IoT convergence, evolving mobility requirements and a need to take advantage of Cloud agility & consumption models.https://www.orbe.es/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/DNA_Bootcamp_SDA_CustomerLEO_Orbe.compress Slide 63

When demonstrating Cisco Software-Defined Access (SDA), it’s essential to tailor the presentation to highlight the strategic benefits and overall architecture without overwhelming the audience with excessive technical details. Two key recommendations for a successful SDA demonstration are:
* Keep the demo at a high level (Option B):It’s crucial to keep the demonstration focused on the overarching concepts and benefits rather than delving into the intricate technical details. This approach ensures that the audience, which may include decision-makers and non-technical stakeholders, can easily grasp the value and advantages of SDA. By presenting at a high level, you can effectivelycommunicate how SDA simplifies network management, enhances security, and supports digital transformation initiatives.
* Show the customer how to integrate ISE into DNA Center at the end of the demo (Option E):
Integrating Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) with Cisco DNA Center is a pivotal aspect of the SDA solution. Demonstrating this integration towards the end of the presentation allows you to showcase the seamless interoperability and added security benefits that ISE brings to the SDA environment. This part of the demo highlights how ISE enhances network access control, policy enforcement, and overall security management within the SDA framework.
References:
* Cisco Software-Defined Access Solution Overview
* Cisco DNA Center and ISE Integration Guide