Versa SD-WAN headend components, which include the Versa Controller, Versa Director, and Versa Analytics, offer flexible deployment options. They can be deployed on bare metal servers, as virtual machines, or as a hybrid of both, depending on the scalability needs and the available infrastructure at the data center or cloud environment. This flexibility ensures that Versa SD-WAN can adapt to a variety of enterprise environments and deployment scenarios.​

The provisioning of Versa SD-WAN CPE devices can be accomplished through multiple methods, including:

• URL-based provisioning (Answer B): This method involves directing the CPE to a URL where it can download configuration files automatically. This is an efficient way to provision devices remotely and is widely used for initial device setup and configuration.
• Script-based provisioning (Answer C): This method allows network administrators to use scripts to automate the configuration process of CPEs. Scripts can be customized to apply specific configurations and policies based on the deployment requirements.

References:Both URL-based and script-based provisioning are standard practices detailed in Versa's deployment guides, which provide step-by-step instructions on using these methods for efficient and scalable CPE deployments.

Versa Analytics, part of the Versa SD-WAN solution, can be deployed on-premises and is not limited to cloud-based installations. This gives enterprises the flexibility to choose where to deploy based on their specific needs, such as compliance or data sovereignty requirements. The Versa Controller, which provides the control plane for the SD-WAN network, supports various deployment options including virtual machines. This flexibility is important for integration into existing data center architectures or for leveraging cloud infrastructures.

To require users to justify their access to specific types of websites, such as social media sites, theCaptive Portal (Answer D)feature is used. This feature intercepts users' web requests, redirecting them to a portal where they must authenticate or provide justification for accessing the requested site. It is particularly useful in enforcing corporate policies and ensuring that access to certain types of sites is for legitimate business purposes.

References:The use of captive portals for controlling and monitoring access to web resources is a common practice in network administration, as outlined in Versa's configuration guidelines for secure network access and user authentication protocols.

Site discovery within Versa Secure SD-WAN operates under the premise of dynamic and automated networking capabilities. The correct statement about site discovery is:

When a new site is provisioned, existing sites auto-discover the new site using MP-BGP (Answer D).In Versa SD-WAN, Multiprotocol Border Gateway Protocol (MP-BGP) is employed for dynamic routing information exchange, which includes the discovery of new sites. When a new site is added to the network, MP-BGP facilitates the automatic dissemination of routing information to other sites, thus enabling them to auto-discover the new site without manual reconfiguration.

• Option A suggests manual addition, which contradicts the automated capabilities of SD-WAN.
• Option B and C imply manual notifications or reconfigurations by Versa Director or Controller, which are not the primary methods for site discovery in an SD-WAN environment where automation via MP-BGP is preferred.

References:The response utilizes the operational mechanisms of Versa SD-WAN as described in Versa’s official documentation and typical behaviors of MP-BGP in dynamic network environments.

In the event of a network outage, to verify the live status of the WAN links, Versa Director device monitoring dashboard and Versa Analytics sites availability dashboard are the tools to use.These components provide real-time visibility into the status and health of WAN links, allowing for rapid identification and troubleshooting of connectivity issues.​

The Versa Operating System (VOSTM) includes a broad set of IP services. Specifically, it includes Carrier-Grade NAT (CG-NAT), which allows private network spaces to be mapped to public IP addresses; Multicast protocols such as IGMP and PIM (in Releases 20.2 and later); and the NTP server for time synchronization. HTTP Proxy and CDN are not listed among the included features for the Versa Operating System in the provided documents.​

Service templates are used to apply an identical QoS configuration to multiple CPEs, ensuring consistent quality of service across the network. Additionally, these templates are also employed to share an identical service configuration across different tenants within a multi-tenant architecture, ensuring uniform policy application while maintaining tenant separation.

In a Versa Secure SD-WAN solution configured with a Full Mesh topology, the true statement is that CPE devices send SLA probes on all possible transport paths between devices (B). This approach ensures any-to-any communication among branches, enabling direct communication using overlay tunnels without the need to transit through a hub or centralized site. SLA monitoring probes are utilized to track reachability and to measure link metrics for each access circuit towards any given remote site. These probes are critical for maintaining high-quality communication paths and for implementing traffic steering based on predefined SLA parameters​​.

In SD-WAN policy rules, two parts used to steer traffic are Schedules and Applications. Schedules allow administrators to define when certain policy rules should be active, effectively determining the timing for when traffic steering decisions should be applied. Applications, on the other hand, enable traffic steering decisions based on the type of application traffic being detected. This allows for more granular control and optimization of traffic flows based on application requirements and characteristics​​.

Versa CPEs are indeed activated using Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP), which automates the configuration process and reduces operational complexity. Furthermore, all components of the Versa SD-WAN solution support high availability configurations to ensure continuous operation and minimal disruption in the event of component failures. Versa Director and Versa Controllers can be deployed in redundant configurations, and Versa Analytics can be clustered for resilience and high availability.

To identify and diagnose intermittent network performance issues that occurred in the past,Versa Analytics dashboards (Answer B)are the most suitable component. Versa Analytics provides deep insights into historical data, enabling network administrators to analyze trends, performance metrics, and potential bottlenecks that occurred previously. The dashboards offer a comprehensive view of the network's operational performance over time, allowing for effective troubleshooting of issues that are not currently manifesting but did impact users in the past.

References:Versa Analytics dashboards are specifically designed to handle retrospective and real-time network data analysis, making them an essential tool for diagnosing past issues as described in Versa's official documentation on network analytics and performance monitoring.

Versa Secure Access (VSA) is designed to integrate with various authentication servers, including LDAP, and supports multifactor authentication methods like email and time-based OTP, integrating with authentication applications such as Duo, Google Authenticator, and Microsoft Authenticator. This makes the platform versatile in terms of supporting different enterpriserequirements for user authentication and enhancing security.​

To ensure that a new CPE deployment has the required version of the Versa Operating System:

• Select preferred software version to 20.2.2 in the Device Bind Data (Answer C): Device Bind Data in Versa Director is the correct place to specify the operating system version for CPE devices. This configuration ensures that when devices are bound to their respective templates and workflows, they automatically fetch and load the specified software version, which in this case is 20.2.2.

References:This procedure aligns with Versa's deployment guidelines which stipulate that device-specific settings such as operating system versions should be managed through device bind settings to ensure consistency and compliance with organizational standards. This is detailed in the Versa deployment manuals which emphasize the importance of precise configuration in device bind data to maintain software uniformity across deployed devices.

When changes to a device configuration are made in the Versa Director through templates, it is crucial to ensure that these changes propagate to the actual branch device. The correct steps involve:

• Committing the Device Template configuration to the appliance (Answer B): This step is necessary because any changes made in the device template need to be actively committed to ensure they are pushed to the specific branch device orappliances that are associated with this template. This action updates the appliance with the latest configuration details, including the static IP address changes for the WAN link.
• Updating the Device Bind Data in Workflows with the IP address and gateway of the Internet WAN link (Answer D): This involves updating the binding configurations that specifically tie device templates to actual hardware or site-specific configurations. It is essential when changes such as IP addressing are involved, as the binding data must accurately reflect the network topology and addressing used by the devices.

References:The detailed steps and necessity for these actions are derived from standard Versa SD-WAN configuration practices as reflected in the comprehensive Versa configuration manuals and best practices documents available through Versa Networks Academy Library and configuration guides.