Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Control Components and Device Management Guide, Releases 26.x and Later

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Configure and manage device templates

Updated: June 9, 2026

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Describes the creation, management, and application of device templates.

Create a device template

A device template defines a device’s complete operational configuration.

It consists of multiple feature templates, each defining the configuration for a specific Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN software feature.

Some feature templates are mandatory (marked with an asterisk *), while others are optional.
Each mandatory feature template and some optional ones include a factory-default template.

You can either use the factory-default template Factory_Default_feature-name_Template or create a custom feature template.

Create a device template from feature templates

Use these steps to create a device template from feature templates.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
	2.	Click Device Templates.
	3.	Click the Create Template drop-down and select From Feature Template.
	4.	From the Device Model drop-down, select the device type for which you wish to create the template. All feature templates for that device type appear. Required templates are marked with `*`, and optional ones are not. Factory-default templates are preselected.
	5.	In the Template Name field, enter a name using letters, digits (0–9), hyphens (-), or underscores (_). No spaces or special characters allowed.
	6.	In the Description field, enter a description. Spaces and any characters allowed
	7.	To view a factory-default configuration, select a feature template and click View Template. Click Cancel to return to the previous screen.
	8.	To create a custom template for a feature: Select the desired factory-default feature template and click Create Template. In the Template Name and Description fields, provide details (same naming rules apply). Configure each parameter as needed. Click tabs or (+) to expand additional fields.

When you first open a feature template, parameters with default values show a check mark under the Default scope. You can change the scope for each parameter:


Parameter scope	Scope description
Device Specific (indicated by a host icon)	Use a device-specific value for the parameter. For device-specific parameters, you cannot enter a value in the feature template. You enter the value when you attach a device to a device template. When you click Device Specific, the Enter Key box opens. This box displays a key, which is a unique string that identifies the parameter in a CSV file that you create. This file is an Excel spreadsheet that contains one column for each key. The header row contains the key names (one key per column), and each row after that corresponds to a device and defines the values of the keys for that device. You upload the CSV file when you attach a device to a device template. To change the default key, type a new string and move the cursor out of the Enter Key box. Examples of device-specific parameters are system IP address, hostname, GPS location, and site ID.
Global (indicated by a globe icon)	Enter a value for the parameter, and apply that value to all devices. Examples of parameters that you might apply globally to a group of devices are DNS server, syslog server, and interface MTUs.

To make an entire parameter group device-specific, select Mark as Optional Row. These parameters are grayed out in the feature template and filled later when attaching the device.

10.

Click Save after configuring each feature template.

11.

Repeat steps 6 through 9 for each additional software feature you want to include.

12.

Click Create.

The new device template appears in the Device Template table.
The Feature Templates column shows how many feature templates it includes.
The Type column displays Feature, indicating it was created from feature templates.

Create a device template after building custom feature templates

To create device templates after building custom feature templates.

Procedure

	1.	Click Feature > Add Template.
	2.	From Select Devices, choose the device type. You can create a single feature template for features that are available on multiple device types. You must, however, create separate feature templates for software features that are available only on the device type you are configuring.
	3.	Select the feature template. The template form is displayed. This form contains fields for naming the template and fields for defining the required parameters. If the feature has optional parameters, then the template form shows a plus sign (+) after the required parameters.
	4.	In the Template Name field, enter a name for the device template. This field is mandatory and can contain only uppercase and lowercase letters, the digits 0 through 9, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). It cannot contain spaces or any other characters.
	5.	In the Description field, enter a description for the device template. This field is mandatory, and it can contain any characters and spaces.
	6.	For each required parameter, choose the desired value, and if applicable, select the scope of the parameter. Select the scope from the drop-down list of each parameter's value box. Click the plus sign (+) from the required parameters to set the values of optional parameters.
	7.	Click Save .
	8.	Repeat Steps 2 to 7 for each additional feature template you wish to create.
	9.	Click Device.
	10.	Click the Create Template drop-down list and select From Feature Template.
	11.	From the Device Model drop-down list, select the type of device for which you wish to create the device template. SD-WAN Manager displays the feature templates for the device type you selected. The required feature templates are indicated with an asterisk (*). The remaining templates are optional.
	12.	Repeat step 4 and 5.
	13.	To view the factory-default configuration for a feature template, select the desired feature template and click View Template.
	14.	Factory default configuration. Click Cancel to return to the Configuration Template screen. The new device template is displayed in the Device Template table. The Feature Templates column shows the number of feature templates that are included in the device template, and the Type column shows "Feature" to indicate that the device template was created from a collection of feature templates. To modify a factory-default configuration, choose a different feature template you created from the drop-down. Repeat this step for each factory-default feature template you wish to modify.
	15.	Click Create

The new configuration template is displayed in the Device Template table.

The Feature Templates column shows the number of feature templates that are included in the device template, and the Type column shows "Feature" to indicate that the device template was created from a collection of feature templates.

Create a device CLI template

To create a device template by entering a CLI text-style configuration directly on the SD-WAN Manager.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates .
	2.	Click Device Templates.
	3.	Click the Create Template drop-down list and select CLI Template.
	4.	From the Device Type drop-down list, select the type of device for which you wish to create the template.
	5.	In the Template Name field, enter a name for the device template. This field is mandatory and can contain only uppercase and lowercase letters, the digits 0 through 9, hyphens (–), and underscores (_). It cannot contain spaces or any other characters.
	6.	In the Description field, enter a description for the device template. This field is mandatory, and it can contain any characters and spaces.
	7.	In the CLI Configuration box, enter the configuration either by typing it, cutting and pasting it, or uploading a file.
	8.	To convert an actual configuration value to a variable, select the value and click Create Variable. Enter the variable name, and click Create Variable. You can also type the variable name directly, in the format {{variable-name}}; for example, {{hostname}}.

Click Add. The new device template is displayed in the Device Template table.

The Feature Templates column shows the number of feature templates that are included in the device template, and the Type column shows "CLI" to indicate that the device template was created from CLI text.

Default device templates

A default device template includes the basic information needed to bring up devices in a deployment. It allows you to quickly provision devices with the minimum details required for them to operate in your network.

You cannot directly edit or update a default device template, but you can copy it and then edit the copied version.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
	2.	Click Device Templates.
	3.	From the Template Type drop-down list, select Default. A list of default device templates displays.
	4.	Perform any of these actions: To attach a default device template to devices, click ..., and select Attach Devices. In the Attach Devices dialog box, select the devices that you want attach, and then click Attach. To view the configuration settings for a default device template, click ..., and choose View. To copy a default device template, click ..., and choose View. In the Template Copy dialog box, enter a unique name and a description for the copy that you are creating, and then click Copy. The copied version becomes a feature template that you can edit. To create an Excel file in CSV format that contains device-specific settings from a device template, click ..., and choose Export CSV. Use the dialog box that displays to open or save the CSV file. You can use this CSV file as a reference for device-specific settings when you create other device templates.

Change variable values for a device

When you create a configuration from device configuration templates that contain variables, SD-WAN Manager automatically populates those variables with actual values when you attach the templates to devices. To enable this, create an Excel file listing the variable values for each device and save it in CSV format. You can also manually enter the variable values.

After you push the configuration to a device, you can change the value assigned to any variable.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
	2.	Click Device Templates, and choose the desired device template.
	3.	Click ..., and click Change Device Values. The screen displays a table of all the devices that are attached to that device template.
	4.	For the desired device, click ..., and click Edit Device Template.
	5.	In the Update Device Template dialog box, enter values for the items in the variable list.
	6.	Click Update.
	7.	Click Next.
	8.	Click Configure Devices to push the configuration to the device.

The Status column displays if the configuration was successfully pushed or not. Click the right angle bracket to display the details of the push operation.

Change the device rollback timer

By default, when you attach a configuration template to a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device, the router rolls back to the previous configuration if it fails to start successfully within 5 minutes. For configurations created from the CLI, you can change the device's rollback timer.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
	2.	Click Device Templates, and choose a device template.
	3.	Click …, and click Change Device Values. The right pane displays the device's configuration, and the Config Preview tab is selected.
	4.	In the left pane, click the name of a device.
	5.	Click Configure Device Rollback Timer. The Configure Device Rollback Time pop up page is displayed.
	6.	From the Devices drop-down list, select a device.
	7.	Enable or disable the rollback timer. To enable the rollback timer, in the Set Rollback slider drag the slider to the left to enable the rollback timer. When you do this, the slider changes in color from gray to green. To disable the rollback timer, click Enable Rollback slider. When you disable the timer, the Password field dialog box appears. Enter the password that you used to log in to SD-WAN Manager. In the Device Rollback Time slider, drag the slider to the desired value. The default time is 5 minutes. You can configure a time from 6 to 15 minutes. To exclude a device from the rollback timer setting, click Add Exception and select the devices to exclude.
	8.	The table of the Configure Device Rollback Time dialog box lists all the devices to which you are attaching the template and their rollback time. To delete a configured rollback time, click the Trash icon of the device name.
	9.	Click Save.
	10.	Click Configure Devices to push the configuration to the devices.

The Status column displays whether the configuration was successfully pushed. Click (+) to display details of the push operation.

Edit a device template when a push fails

If the configuration push to a device fails, you can review the last edited configuration to identify any issues that caused the failure.

See Retrieve last edited configuration.

Retrieve last edited configuration

Before you begin

To review your last edited configuration, a device template must be attached to a device.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose ConfigurationTemplates.
	2.	Click Device Templates and choose a device template.
	3.	Click ..., and choose Edit. The CLI Configuration box displays the current running configuration on the device.
	4.	Click Load Last Attempted Config to view the last edited configuration.
	5.	Click Config Diff to view the differences in the current configuration versus the last edited configuration. The Config Diff option is available when you modify the configuration or when you click Load Last Attempted Config.
	6.	Click Config Preview. Load Last Attempted Config and the Config Diff option is available only when the configuration is not being pushed to the device.
	7.	Click Update.
	8.	Click Configure Devices to push the configuration to the devices.

The Status column displays whether the configuration was successfully pushed. Click > to view the details of the push operation.

Determine why a device rejects a template

To determine why the device rejected the template.

When you attach a template to a device using the screen, the device might reject the template. One reason that this may occur is because the device template contains incorrect variable values. When a device rejects a template, it reverts to the previous configuration.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose ConfigurationTemplates.
	2.	Click Device Templates and select the desired template.
	3.	Locate the device. The Template Status column indicates why the device rejected the template.

Preview device configuration and view configuration differences

Use these steps for a configuration that you have created using the CLI.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
	2.	Click Device Templates, and choose the desired device template.
	3.	Click ..., and click Change Device Values. The right pane displays the device's configuration, and Config Preview is selected.
	4.	Click the name of a device.
	5.	Click Config Diff to view the differences between the current configuration and the one running on the device.
	6.	Click Back to edit the variable values you entered on the previous screen.
	7.	Click Configure Devices to push the configuration to the devices.

The Status column displays whether the configuration was successfully pushed.

Click the right angle bracket to display details of the push operation.

Export a variables-spreadsheet in CSV format for a template

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose ConfigurationTemplates.
	2.	Click Device Templates and select the desired template.
	3.	Click …, and click Export CSV.

Edit a device template

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates .
	2.	Click Device Templates or Feature Templates and select a template.. In Cisco vManage Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Device Templates is titled Device, and Feature Templates is titled Feature.
	3.	Click …, and click Edit. You cannot change the name of a device or feature template when that is attached to a device. You can edit templates simultaneously from one or more Cisco SD-WAN Manager servers. For simultaneous template edit operations, the following rules apply: You cannot edit the same device or feature template simultaneously. When you are editing a device template, all other feature templates attached to that device template are locked and you cannot perform any edit operations on them. When you are editing a feature template that is attached to a device template, that device template as well as all other feature templates attached to it are locked and you cannot perform any edit operations on them.

Delete a template

Deleting a template does not remove the associated configuration from devices.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates .
	2.	Click Device Templates or Feature Templates and select a template.. In Cisco vManage Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Device Templates is titled Device, and Feature Templates is titled Feature.
	3.	Click …, and click Delete.
	4.	To confirm the deletion of the template, click OK.

Copy a template

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates .
	2.	Click Device Templates or Feature Templates and select a template.. In Cisco vManage Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Device Templates is titled Device, and Feature Templates is titled Feature.
	3.	Click …, and click Copy.
	4.	Enter a new template name and description.
	5.	Click Copy.

Edit a CLI device template

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates .
	2.	Click Device Templates and select a template.. In Cisco vManage Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Device Templates is titled Device, and Feature Templates is titled Feature.
	3.	Click …, and click Edit.
	4.	Under Device CLI Template, edit the template.
	5.	Click Update.

View a template

Use these steps to view a template.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
	2.	Click Device Templates or Feature Templates, and select a template you wish to view. In Cisco vManage Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Device Templates is titled Device, and Feature Templates is titled Feature.
	3.	Click …, and then click View.

View device templates attached to a feature template

Use these steps to view a template device templates attached to a feature template.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
	2.	Click Feature Templates, and select a template you wish to view. In Cisco vManage Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Feature Templates is titled Feature.
	3.	Click …, and click Show Attached Device Templates.
	4.	Device Templates dailog box opens, displaying the names of the device templates to which the feature template is attached.

View devices attached to a device template

Procedure

For a device template that you created from feature templates:

From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
Click Device Templates, and select a template you wish to view.

In Cisco vManage Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Device Templates is titled Device.
Click Device Templates, and select a template you wish to view.

In Cisco vManage Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Device Templates is titled Device.
Click …, and click Attach Devices.
From Attach Devices, click Attached Devices.

For a device template that you created from a CLI template:

From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager, choose Configuration > Templates.
Click Device Templates, and select a template you wish to view.
Click …, and then click Show Attached Devices.

Attach templates to devices

Attach and detach a device template

To configure a device on the network, attach a device template to it. You can attach only one device template to each device, and the template, whether created by consolidating individual feature templates or by entering a CLI text-style configuration, must include the complete configuration for that device. You cannot mix and match feature templates with CLI-style configurations.

You need to recreate the feature templates, as the templates created prior to Cisco vManage Release 20.5.1 fail when attached to the device.

Parallel operations

On Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN devices in the overlay network, you can perform the same operations in parallel from one or more SD-WAN Manager servers.

You can perform the following template operations in parallel:

Attach device templates to devices
Detach device templates from devices
Change variable values for device templates that have devices attached to them

Configuration deployment behavior

If the device being configured is present and operational on the network, the configuration is sent to the device immediately and takes effect immediately.

If the device has not yet joined the network, the pushing of the configuration to the device is scheduled. When the device joins the network, SD-WAN Manager pushes the configuration immediately after it learns that the device is present in the network.

Rules for template operations

The rules below apply for template operations:

When a device template is already attached to a device, you can modify one of its feature templates.
When you click Update > Configure Devices, all other template operations, including attach devices, detach devices, and edit device values, are locked on all SD-WAN Manager servers until the update operation completes.
This means that a user on another SD-WAN Manager server cannot perform any template operations until the update completes.
You can perform the attach and detach device template operations on different devices, from one or more SD-WAN Manager servers, at the same time.
However, if any one of these operations is in progress on one SD-WAN Manager server, you cannot edit any feature templates on any of the servers until the attach or detach operation completes.

Attach a device template to devices

Use these steps to attach a device template to one or more devices.

You can attach the same templates to multiple devices, and you can do so simultaneously, in a single operation.

Procedure

	1.	From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.
	2.	Click Device Templates and select the desired template.
	3.	Click …, and click Attach Devices. The Attach Devices dialog box opens with the Select Devices tab.
	4.	Select devices. In the Available Devices column on the left, select a group and search for one or more devices, select a device from the list, or click Select All. Click the arrow pointing right to move the device to the Selected Devices column on the right. Click Attach.
	5.	Enter variable values. If the template contains variables, enter the missing values for each device: Manually: Enter values in the table or click … and Edit Device Template. When using optional rows, leave a parameter blank if not required. Import File: Click Import File to upload a CSV file listing all variables and their values. Click Update, then Next. If any devices have the same system IP address, a dialog box appears or an error message is displayed when you click Next. Modify the system IP addresses so that there are no duplicates, and click Save. Then click Next again.
	6.	Preview configuration. In the left pane, select a device to preview its configuration. The right pane displays the Config Preview tab. To view differences with the running configuration, click the Config Diff tab. Click Back to edit variables if needed.
	7.	Click Configure Device Rollback Timer. The Configure Device Rollback Time dialog box appears. Select a device from the Devices drop-down list. Enable timer: Drag the Set Rollback slider left (gray → green). Disable timer: Click the slider; enter your Cisco SD-WAN Manager password when prompted. Set interval: Drag the Device Rollback Time slider to choose a time (default 5 minutes; range 6–15 minutes). Add Exception: Click Add Exception to exclude devices. The bottom table lists devices and their rollback times. Click the Trash icon to delete an entry. Click Save.
	8.	Click Configure Devices to push the configuration to all selected devices.

The Status column shows whether the configuration was successfully pushed. Click the right angle bracket ( > ) to view detailed push operation results.

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