Which device is responsible for initiating the bring-up process of every vEdge device?

The vBond is responsible for initiating the bring-up process of every vEdge device in a Cisco SD-WAN architecture. When a vEdge device powers on and bootstraps, it first attempts to contact the vBond orchestrator. The primary role of the vBond is to provide the vEdge devices with the necessary information to establish their connections to both vSmart controllers and other vEdge devices, thus facilitating secure communication and network configuration.

During this process, the vBond provides authentication and allows the vEdge to discover the network topology. It ensures that the connection is secure since it acts as a trusted entity in the system. If the vBond is not available or not functioning correctly, the vEdge devices will not be able to complete their bring-up process and connect to the control and management components of the Cisco SD-WAN solution, leading to a failure in establishing the fabric.

On the other hand, while the vSmart controllers play a critical role in the data plane and routing policies, and the vManage serves as the management interface for monitoring and configuring the network, they do not initiate the bring-up process. The cEdge, referring to the Cisco Catalyst Edge devices, is also not involved in the bring-up for vEdge devices in the