In today’s digital era, organizations increasingly adopt SD-WAN solutions to boost network performance, security, and agility.
SD-WAN Overview
At the core of Cisco’s SD-WAN architecture are three vital controllers:
- Manager (vManage) – The Management Plane
- Validator (vBond) – The Orchestration Plane
- Controller (vSmart) – The Control Plane
These controllers work together to create a robust SD-WAN infrastructure.
Key Components of Cisco’s SD-WAN Architecture
In this guide, we explore the functions of the Manager (vManage) and how it simplifies network operations.
Manager Controller: Streamlining Network Management
Cisco SD-WAN features a potent management platform, Manager (vManage), enabling centralized control and visibility across the entire SD-WAN fabric.
Centralized Network Management
Manager serves as the central management plane for Cisco SD-WAN deployments. It offers a single interface for network administrators to monitor, configure, and troubleshoot their SD-WAN infrastructure. This consolidation streamlines network operations and enhances efficiency.
Simplified Configuration and Orchestration
Manager’s primary role is to streamline SD-WAN device configuration and orchestration. Administrators can define policies and templates for WAN Edge devices, ensuring consistent and predictable network behavior.
Manager also simplifies device provisioning and onboarding. It automates device discovery and addition, reducing manual configuration and deployment time. The platform facilitates firmware upgrades and software patches for enhanced security and performance.
Comprehensive Monitoring and Analytics
Manager provides extensive monitoring and analytics capabilities. It collects and analyzes data from WAN Edge devices, offering real-time insights into network performance, application usage, and traffic patterns.
With these insights, administrators proactively identify and resolve network issues, optimize application performance, and make informed decisions about network capacity and resource allocation. Manager includes alerting mechanisms for timely issue resolution.
Manager Cluster: Enhancing Scalability and Efficiency
As SD-WAN networks expand, scalability, redundancy, and centralized management become vital. Manager Cluster (vManage Cluster) addresses these needs, enhancing Cisco SD-WAN management.
Benefits of Manager Cluster
Scalability
Network complexity and size demand scalable management systems. Manager Cluster allows multiple Manager (vManage) instances to form a cluster, enabling horizontal scaling. Organizations can add new Manager nodes seamlessly, ensuring efficient management of the growing network infrastructure.
Redundancy and High Availability
Network downtime is a significant concern. Manager Cluster provides redundancy and high availability by distributing management tasks across multiple nodes. In case of a node failure, remaining nodes take over, ensuring uninterrupted management operations. This redundancy enhances network reliability.
Centralized Management
Manager Cluster enables centralized management of the entire SD-WAN fabric. The cluster acts as a single entity, simplifying network management. Administrators gain comprehensive insights, streamline policy enforcement, and efficiently manage network resources from a unified interface.
How Manager Cluster Works
Manager Cluster operates on a distributed control plane architecture, ensuring seamless node collaboration.
Cluster nodes communicate and synchronize information, maintaining a consistent state across the entire cluster.
The cluster distributes management and data load among multiple Manager instances. Each instance manages an equal number of routers within the deployment. Control connections between Manager instances and routers facilitate this distribution.
For example, in a three-node cluster with 2400 routers, each instance handles control connections for around 800 routers. To ensure database integrity and availability, an odd number of Manager instances run Statistics and Configuration Databases. A majority quorum is required for the Configuration Database service.
Modifications to the Manager Cluster configuration require NMS service reload. These changes should be made during maintenance windows to avoid disrupting active users accessing the Manager GUI.
Significance of Manager Controller and Manager Cluster in Cisco SD-WAN
Leveraging Manager Cluster, organizations unlock Cisco SD-WAN’s full potential, revolutionizing network management. Manager Controller is critical for secure, scalable, and agile network infrastructure, while Manager Cluster enhances scalability, redundancy, and centralized management. Businesses can effectively manage their SD-WAN infrastructure, achieve high availability, and streamline network operations.
