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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN: Getting started guide

This guide walks you through the core steps required to get your network up and running, from initial onboarding to operational best practices.

  • Networking
  • Catalyst SD-WAN
  • Guide

WAN edge provisioning and device onboarding

Apply Device Tagging and assign Configuration Groups to branch, hub, and data center routers

In Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, apply Device Tagging to align routers to their appropriate Configuration Groups / device templates, ensuring devices are placed in controller-managed mode (SD-WAN Manager mode, not CLI mode).

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Summarized on September 30, 2026

In Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, devices can operate in one of two configuration modes: SD-WAN Manager mode (where a template or configuration group is attached and CLI changes are blocked) or CLI mode (where no template is attached and the device is configured locally via CLI) [1]. For devices to be managed through Configuration Groups, they must be placed in SD-WAN Manager (vManage) mode, which occurs automatically when a template or configuration group is deployed to the device.

To toggle a WAN edge router from CLI mode to SD-WAN Manager mode (or verify its current mode), navigate to Configuration > Devices > WAN Edge List, select the target device, and use the Change Mode drop-down or the Config Lock (Provision Device) option. The steps to change a router's configuration mode are:

  1. From the SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Devices.
  2. Click WAN Edge List and select the device.
  3. Click the Change Mode drop-down list and select the desired mode, or click the ... icon adjacent to the device and select Config Lock (Provision Device) to switch from SD-WAN Manager mode to CLI mode (available from Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Release 17.11.1a onward).

Once devices are confirmed to be in SD-WAN Manager mode, Configuration Groups can be assigned to align branch, hub, and data center routers to their appropriate profiles. The Configuration > Configuration Groups page is used to create and deploy these groups, with the solution type set to SD-WAN, ensuring each device receives the correct feature set and parameter values for its role in the overlay network.

Sources

  1. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Control Components and Device Management Guide, Releases 26.x and Later - Configure and manage devices using SD-WAN Manager [Cisco SD-WAN]
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