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

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Onboard a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Device using generic bootstrap configuration

Updated: July 7, 2026

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Provisions a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Device by generating and applying a generic bootstrap configuration file. This process enables the device to connect to the network and register with Cisco SD-WAN Manager .

Procedure

1.

Enable One Touch Provisioning (Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Release 20.12.x and earlier) .

  1. From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Administration > Settings .

  2. Check if One Touch Provisioning is Enabled .

  3. If One Touch Provisioning is Disabled , click Edit .

  4. For the Enable Claim WAN Edges setting, choose Enabled and click Save .

2.

From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Devices > WAN Edge List .

3.

Click Export Bootstrap Configuration .

  1. In the Export Bootstrap Configuration dialog box, enter the VPN0 Interface name .

    Note

    The VPN 0 interface name may vary among Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device models. Specify the interface name based on the model you wish to onboard.

  2. Click Generate Generic Configuration.

  3. Save the generic bootstrap configuration file.

    The file is named in the format <filename>.cfg .

  4. Rename the generic bootstrap configuration file as ciscosdwan.cfg .

  5. Copy the ciscosdwan.cfg file to a bootable USB drive or to the bootflash of the device.

4.

If you are using a USB drive, plug the USB drive into the device.
5.

Reset the device software configuration by issuing the following commands on the CLI:

Example:

Device# request platform software sdwan config reset
Device# reload
Note

Performing a config reset generates a new type 6 master key. Therefore, ensure that the current password protecting the bootstrap configuration file is in plaintext and does not contain any type 6 keys. If the bootstrap configuration password contains type 6 keys, it will cause the device reset to fail.
6.

Reboot the device.

  • While rebooting, the device reads the configuration file from the USB drive or the bootflash and applies the configuration.

    The configuration enables the VPN 0 interface and initializes a DHCP client on the interface. The interface acquires an IP address from a DHCP server in the network.

    The device connects to the Cisco SD-WAN Validator and is listed as an unclaimed WAN edge device on the Cisco SD-WAN Validator and Cisco SD-WAN Manager .

  • On the Cisco SD-WAN Validator , you can view the unclaimed WAN edge devices by using the command show orchestrator unclaimed-vedges .

  • In Cisco SD-WAN Manager , you can view the unclaimed WAN edge devices by selecting Configuration > Devices > Unclaimed WAN Edges .

    If the device is not listed as an unclaimed WAN edge device, check whether the device can connect to the Cisco SD-WAN Validator and correct any connectivity issues.

7.

Claim the device on Cisco SD-WAN Manager :

From the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Devices > Unclaimed WAN Edges .

  1. Choose the device you wish to claim and click Claim Device(s) .

    • The device is removed from Unclaimed WAN Edges and listed on WAN Edge List .

    • On the Cisco SD-WAN Validator , the device is listed as a valid WAN edge device. You can view the valid WAN Edge devices by issuing the command show orchestrator valid-vedges .

8.

Associate a configuration group to the device.

  1. Ensure that the template includes the system IP address and the site ID.

  2. Push the template to the device.

The device connects to Cisco SD-WAN Controller s and is added to the overlay network.

To verify that the device has established control connections and is part of the overlay network, from the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Monitor > Overview and click the number in the WAN Edges area.

Note

In Cisco vManage Release 20.6.x and earlier: To verify that the device has established control connections and is part of the overlay network, from the Cisco SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Dashboard > Main Dashboard and click WAN Edge devices in the Summary Pane .