Cisco unveils SD-WAN Configuration Catalog to streamline industrial deployments

One small step for the New Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Configuration Catalog, one giant leap for IT and OT

SD-WAN has emerged as a critical tool to manage both enterprise and industrial networks. But managing the network, especially when it’s across a geographically distributed area, can allow for some complexity. We address this challenge by introducing the industry’s first customer-driven configuration group-based approach that templatizes enterprise and industrial SD-WAN deployments. 

Proven and tested: preconfigured catalog of best practices to help you get the most out of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager 

The Configuration Catalog is a new capability that’s built into SD-WAN Manager, offering a repository of predefined, optimal configurations designed to streamline network deployments. Instead of manually creating each configuration – an often tedious and error-prone task – customers can leverage these best practice configurations to assemble network setups more efficiently. Research has shown that configuration errors are a leading cause of network downtime and increased security risks, which can significantly impact business operations. By using the Configuration Catalog, users can reduce the risk of human error and gain confidence that the necessary elements are included for the desired use cases, maximizing the capabilities of their SD-WAN solution. These well-vetted blueprints, combined with Catalyst SD-WAN’s monitoring and orchestration capabilities, empower IT and OT users to confidently deploy Industrial IoT routers at scale, while significantly reducing the time and cost of network operations. 

Go from setup in days to setup in minutes 

The catalog not only saves time but also helps ensure that all configurations are correctly aligned with best practices – developed and tested by Cisco’s solution engineering teams. As a result, they reduce the likelihood of troubleshooting caused by configuration issues.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Configuration Catalog for Industrial IoT (IIoT)

SD-WAN configurations designed for Industrial IoT use cases facilitates unified deployment management between IT and OT 

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN offers significant advantages for Industrial IoT (IIoT) use cases. Organizations in sectors such as utilities, roadways and intersections, rail, and oil and gas can deploy their industrial/OT WAN with ease, securely connecting remote assets, minimizing errors, and saving time. This is crucial in industries where network reliability is essential, and even minor disruptions can have significant operational impacts.  

The Configuration Catalog includes specific use cases designed for IIoT environments that are covered by Cisco Validated Profiles (CVPs). These CVPs, developed with customer input and extensively tested by Cisco’s Solution Engineering teams, feature optimized default settings, especially for cellular WAN, including reducing 5G/LTE data usage. They cover the Catalyst IR1101 and Catalyst IR1800 Rugged Series Routers in both routed and NAT modes. These two modes comprise the majority of deployment scenarios we see our customers use. In addition, these CVP’s incorporate best practices from our Cisco Validated Designs for various industries as well, so our customers are getting the best of both worlds: referenceable network designs to simplify the deployment of IT technologies in OT at scale, and the Configuration Catalog to more easily make that a reality – helping them get the most out of modern industrial automation.  

More catalog entries are coming in Q4CY24 for both IR1101 and IR1800, specifically for connected roadways and intersections. The Configuration Catalog will continue to receive subsequent updates, adding new entries for critical IT and OT use cases. 

Get started with the end-user guide for SD-WAN Configuration Catalog  

Learn more about SD-WAN for Industrial Markets  

Read the Catalyst SD-WAN 20.15 release notes

Sign up for the Cisco Industrial IoT Newsletter

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