IP-VPN to SD-WAN Migration: More Security and Centralized Policies

300-420 By islever Editorial Last updated Sep 30, 2026

Describe Cisco SD-WAN design considerations (control plane design, overlay design, LAN design, high availability, redundancy, scalability, security design, QoS and multicast over SD-WAN fabric)

Short answer

BD SD-WAN adds built-in security and centralized, vSmart-driven application policies versus the distributed IP-VPN model.

Question

What are two characteristics of a migration from an IP-VPN service to a Cisco SD-WAN architecture? (Choose two.)

distributed control plane
increased security Correct Answer
increased scalability
centralized application policies Correct Answer
increased solution complexity

Key Takeaways

SD-WAN's hallmarks vs IP-VPN: centralized control/policy (vSmart) and native security. 'Distributed control plane' (A) is the opposite of SD-WAN's centralized model, so it is wrong.

Moving from a traditional IP-VPN (MPLS L3 VPN) to Cisco SD-WAN brings increased security through built-in end-to-end encryption and centralized, application-aware policies driven by the vSmart controller. SD-WAN centralizes the control plane, so a 'distributed control plane' is not a migration characteristic.

Common mistake: Picking A (distributed control plane): SD-WAN centralizes the control plane via vSmart; that is a key difference from IP-VPN, not a characteristic of the SD-WAN side. Choose B and D.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

B and D are correct. Compared with a traditional IP-VPN, Cisco SD-WAN adds increased security through built-in end-to-end encryption (B) and centralized, application-aware policies pushed by the vSmart controller (D).

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

A (distributed control plane) is wrong: SD-WAN centralizes the control plane in vSmart, the opposite of distributed, so it is not an SD-WAN-side characteristic. C (increased scalability) and E (increased complexity) are not the two characteristics the question targets; the defining gains are security and centralized policy.

Community Comment Notes

The vote is split CD (50) vs BD (50). The reasoning for B and D: SD-WAN is marketed for integrated security and central application policies; vSmart centralizes policy, so 'distributed control plane' (A) is incorrect.

Official Reference

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/enterprise-networks/sd-wan/what-is-sd-wan.html

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Community Votes

50%

50% of anonymous learners picked answer CD. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 3 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 3

PicoOstrava 👍 1

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/enterprise-networks/sd-wan/what-is-sd-wan.html#~benefits << security being mentioned specifically together with Better application experience. Cisco boasting about ngfw features and end to end security. “ Security where you need it - when you need it #1 in threat intelligence from Talos* SD-WAN with integrated cloud security, URL filtering, Advanced Malware Protection (AMP), Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)”
neiker45 👍 1

I will agree on D because Cisco loves to say how well applications are handled by SD-WAN. C is a very marketed reason as well. So C,D. We have to remember that this is from a IP-VPN standpoint, so C will actually make quite a lot of sense.
rogerrogersson79 👍 1

Ill go for C,D. Ill take "Distributed control plane" as the control plane is not central. vSmart makes is central.

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