Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Network Configuration Guide, Releases 26.x and Later

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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Network Configuration Guide, Releases 26.x and Later

Configure PPL

Updated: April 24, 2026

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Configure PPL using configuration groups

Use these steps to configure PPL using configuration groups.

Procedure

  1. From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Configuration groups.

  2. Create or edit a System profile.

  3. Navigate to Basic Settings and select Per Packet Load Balancing.

  4. Enable PPL on the Sender and configure its parameters mentioned below.

  5. Enable packet reordering on the receiver.

    Table 1. PPL fields
    Field Description
    Local colors Specify the WAN links (such as MPLS, Internet, and LTE) used to distribute traffic within the network.
    Flow splitting

    Specify how to divide traffic among the available tunnels.

    Packets:

    Sends a set number of packets (default: 1024) through one tunnel before switching to the next flowlet. This cycle repeats continuously to balance the network load.

    To set a maximum packet value, refer toConfigure maximum packet value in PPL using CLI commands

    Packet gap:

    Switches tunnels based on the time interval between packets. If the time gap between bursts exceeds the maximum latency difference among tunnels, a new flowlet is sent on a different tunnel.

    This helps distribute traffic more effectively during natural pauses in data transmission.
    Candidate tunnel group

    Dynamically defines the group of tunnels used in a PPL network.

    All tunnels: All available tunnels become part of PPL network.

    Latency offset: Includes only those tunnels whose latency is within a configurable threshold of the lowest-latency tunnel.

    To set latency offset value, refer to Configure latency offset value in PPL using CLI commands.

    Adaptive cluster: Groups tunnels dynamically into clusters based on real-time loss and latency measurements. Tunnels with similar loss (primary factor) and latency (secondary factor) are grouped together for packet distribution.
    Reorder

    Enables packet reordering at the receiving end to reduce out-of-order delivery. If you disable this option, ensure that your application can independently handle packet reordering.

Configure a data policy with load balancing using policy groups

Use these steps to configure data policy with load balancing.

Procedure

  1. From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager, choose Configuration > Policy Groups > Application Priority and SLA.

  2. Create or edit an existing policy.

  3. Add or create a new Traffic Policy within the policy.

  4. Set the direction to From Service.

  5. In the Match Clause, specify the traffic to be matched, such as the DSCP source.

  6. In the Action section, select the radio button to enable Load Balancing .

  7. From the Load Balancing Algorithm drop-down list, select per packet.

  8. Select Save.

Configure maximum packet value in PPL using CLI commands

Use these steps to configure the maximum packet value in PPL.

Procedure

  1. Enter configuration mode.

    Example:

    config-transaction

  2. Set the maximum number of packets in a flowlet.

    Example:

    sdwan ppl flow-splitting max-pkts 2048

    Enter a value between 1024 and 10240 to define the maximum packet count for a flowlet.

Here's the complete configuration example for configuring maximum packet value in PPL.

sdwan
 ppl
  enable
  flow-splitting
   max-pkts 2048
   !
  !
 !

Configure latency offset value in PPL using CLI commands

Use these steps to configure the latency offset value in PPL.

Procedure

  1. Enter configuration mode.

    Example:

    config-transaction

  2. Configure the latency offset value for the CTG algorithm.

    Example:

    sdwan ppl ctg algo latency-offset 15

    Enter the desired latency offset value to be used by the PPL CTG algorithm.

Here's the complete configuration example for configuring maximum packet value in PPL.

sdwan
 ppl
  ctg
    algo
     latency-offset 15
     !
    !
  !
!