N10-009 Question 125
Select 2A retail company is replacing traditional branch routers with an SD-WAN solution at 60 small stores. Each store has a broadband internet circuit, and some also have LTE backup. The network team wants new devices to be shipped directly to stores without requiring an engineer on-site, and they want business-critical payment traffic to automatically use the best available path while guest Wi-Fi traffic uses any remaining bandwidth. Which TWO SD-WAN capabilities most directly address these requirements?
- A
Zero-touch provisioning, so branch appliances can automatically register with the controller and download their configuration after being connected
- B
Application-aware routing, so the SD-WAN can identify payment traffic and steer it based on policy and link conditions
- C
Dynamic routing adjacency, so guest Wi-Fi clients can advertise their own routes into the WAN
- D
Transport agnostic operation, so the SD-WAN can build overlays only across MPLS circuits and not broadband or LTE
- E
Central policy management, so administrators can define business-wide traffic rules once and push them to all branches
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, B
Explanation
The scenario highlights two specific operational goals: simplified branch deployment and intelligent traffic steering. Zero-touch provisioning addresses the first by allowing devices to be deployed remotely with minimal local involvement. Application-aware routing addresses the second by recognizing business-critical applications and dynamically selecting the best available WAN path based on policy and measured performance. These are standard SD-WAN capabilities described by major vendors and industry guidance. Central policy management is also an important SD-WAN feature because it lets administrators define and distribute policies from a single controller, but it is less directly tied to the exact pair of requirements asked in this question. Transport-agnostic design is another common SD-WAN characteristic, meaning overlays can use different underlay links such as MPLS, internet, and cellular rather than being locked to one circuit type. In practice, SD-WAN best practices commonly combine ZTP, centralized orchestration, application-aware policies, and support for multiple transports to simplify branch operations and improve application performance.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Zero-touch provisioning (ZTP) is designed for exactly this type of deployment. A branch appliance can be shipped directly to a remote site, connected by nontechnical staff, and then automatically contact a controller or orchestrator to authenticate and download its configuration. This reduces truck rolls and speeds large-scale branch rollouts.
- B. Correct.
Correct. Application-aware routing is a core SD-WAN feature that classifies traffic by application or business intent and then selects the most appropriate path based on policy and real-time link metrics such as latency, jitter, and loss. In this scenario, payment traffic can be prioritized onto the best path while less critical guest traffic can use lower-priority capacity.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Dynamic routing protocols may still be used in SD-WAN environments between routers or sites, but guest Wi-Fi clients do not advertise routes into the WAN. This option reflects a misunderstanding of how routing adjacencies work and does not address the stated deployment or traffic-steering requirements.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Transport agnostic means the opposite of what this option states. SD-WAN commonly supports multiple underlay transports such as MPLS, broadband internet, and LTE/5G, allowing overlays to run across whichever transport is available. Restricting overlays to MPLS only would not be transport agnostic.
- E. Incorrect.
Incorrect in the context of this question's best answer set. Central policy management is a legitimate SD-WAN capability and would help apply consistent rules across all branches. However, the two requirements called out most directly are remote deployment without on-site engineers and path selection for payment traffic versus guest traffic. Those map most directly to zero-touch provisioning and application-aware routing.