Configure Host Entry for SDWAN vBond Controller

Introduction

This document describes how to configure the host entry for Software Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) Authenticator.

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Prerequisites

Requirements

Cisco recommends that you have knowledge of these topics:

• Cisco SD-WAN Authenticator
• Cisco Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) 

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Components Used

The information in this document is based on these software and hardware versions:

• Manager Software 20.12.8.1
• Controller Software 20.12.8.1
• Authenticator Software 20.12.8.1
• Cisco Edge (cEdge) Router Software 17.12.8
• Viptela Edge (vEdge) Router Software 20.9.10

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The information in this document was created from the devices in a specific lab environment. All of the devices used in this document started with a cleared (default) configuration. If your network is live, ensure that you understand the potential impact of any command.

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Scope

Configure the vBond host entry when there are Domain Name Server (DNS) issues such as, but not limited to:

• DNS connectivity
• Cannot translate Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN)

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Considerations

This document assumes:

• WAN SD-WAN Edge routers are fully functional
• Basic Configuration is applied to the controllers
• Controllers and Edge Routers have connectivity between them
• The network has Authenticator, Manager, and Controllers that are up and in a healthy state

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Problem: DNS Scenarios with FQDN Entry

Scenario 1. DNS Entry with FQDN, Resolution Works

This is an example of a common configuration with FQDN:

vedge# show running-config system vbond
system
 vbond vbond.lab.sdwan
!
vedge# show running-config vpn 0 dns
vpn 0
 dns 192.168.1.11 primary
!

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This is the expected result when DNS translation works properly:

vedge# nslookup vbond.lab.sdwan
nslookup in VPN 0:
Server:    192.168.1.11
Address 1: 192.168.1.11

Name:      vbond.lab.sdwan
Address 1: 192.168.2.1 vbond.lab.sdwan
Address 2: 192.168.2.2 vbond.lab.sdwan

vedge# ping vbond.lab.sdwan
Ping in VPN 0
PING vbond.lab (192.168.2.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from vbond.lab (192.168.2.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=63 time=26.1 ms

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Scenario 2. DNS Entry with FQDN, Resolution Fails

This configuration is the same as the previous scenario:

vedge# show running-config system vbond
system
 vbond vbond.lab.sdwan
!
vedge# show running-config vpn 0 dns
vpn 0
 dns 192.168.1.11 primary
!

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This time, DNS resolution fails:

vedge#nslookup vbond.lab.sdwan
nslookup in VPN 0:
Server: 192.168.1.11
Address 1: 192.168.1.11
nslookup: can't resolve 'vbond.lab.sdwan'
vedge#
vedge# ping vpn 0 vbond.lab.sdwan
Ping in VPN 0
ping: vbond.lab.sdwan: Name or service not known
vedge#

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Solution: Configure DNS Entry with Static IP

Configuration for vEdge

Configure the host command with FQDN and vBond IPs:

vedge# show running-config vpn 0 host
vpn 0
 host vbond.lab.sdwan ip 192.168.2.1 192.168.2.2
!
vedge#

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Run the nslookup command for validation purposes:

vedge# nslookup vbond.lab.sdwan
nslookup in VPN 0:
Server: 192.168.1.11
Address 1: 192.168.1.11

Name: vbond.lab.sdwan
Address 1: 192.168.2.1 vbond.lab.sdwan
Address 2: 192.168.2.2 vbond.lab.sdwan

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Tip: You can analyze logs of vDebug file from admin-tech if vBond resolution fails.

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Configuration for Controllers

The configuration is the same as vEdge devices. This is an example of the controller:

vsmart# show running-config system vbond
system
 vbond vbond.lab.sdwan
!
vsmart# show running-config vpn 0 dns
vpn 0
 dns 192.168.1.11 primary
!
vsmart# show running-config vpn 0 host
vpn 0
 host vbond.lab.sdwan ip 192.168.2.1 192.168.2.2
!
vsmart#

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Configuration for Cisco Edge Router

This is the configuration for the Cisco Edge Router:

cedge#show sdwan run system | include vbond
vbond vbond-list
cedge#
cedge#show sdwan run | include host
ip host vbond-list 192.168.2.1 192.168.2.2
cedge#

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Run ICMP for validation purposes:

cedge#ping vbond-list
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 192.168.50.149, timeout is 2 seconds:
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 27/29/31 ms
cedge#

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Additional Configuration

Set the primary and secondary DNS server as a redundancy method. This is in case one server fails and the other forms a DNS resolution.

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The next example applies to vEdge, Manager, and Controller:

VM# show running-config vpn 0 dns
vpn 0
 dns 192.168.1.11 secondary
 dns 192.168.1.12 primary
!

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The next example applies for cEdge:

cedge#show run | i name
ip name-server 192.168.30.32 192.168.48.89
cedge#

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Common Configuration Issues

• Wrong Authenticator IP addresses.
• Inconsistent name resolution among controllers and WAN Edge routers.
• Use the same IP address in the Authenticator. Each Authenticator must have its own IP address configured as the vBond local command.
• You can have multiple WAN interfaces such as Gigabitethernet1 and Gigabitethernet2, however, the DNS server is only reachable via Gigabitethernet1, therefore, the control connection fails.

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Related Information

• Host Entry for Version SD-WAN Version 20.15
• Collect Admin-Tech
• Technical Support & Documentation - Cisco Systems

Revision History

Revision	Publish Date	Comments
2.0	10-Sep-2026	Updated title, spelling, grammar, inserted horizontal lines to separate sections for readability, fixed CCW alerts.
1.0	11-Apr-2023	Initial Release