An enterprise must upgrade a fabric with clustered SD-WAN Manager, two Validators, two Controllers, and 80 WAN Edges, requiring minimal downtime and rollback safety with image distribution verified first. Which software upgrade sequence should the operations lead approve for safe image management from the Manager?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
You're renovating headquarters before touching branch offices to avoid chaos. Controllers depend on Manager guidance, so hierarchy dictates upgrading top-down for a clean rollback path.
Full Explanation
Cisco recommends upgrading management and control hierarchy top-down from SD-WAN Manager, formerly vManage, because it hosts images, compatibility checks, and upgrade orchestration, followed by SD-WAN Validators that provide orchestration and authentication, then SD-WAN Controllers that distribute OMP and policy, and lastly WAN Edges in staged batches so data-plane impact stays contained and rollback remains possible if control versions mismatch. Starting with WAN Edges risks running newer Edge code against older Controllers that may not support its features, causing control flaps. Starting with Controllers before Manager leaves orchestration without matching management logic for image handling. Upgrading Validators then jumping to Edges before Manager and Controllers similarly breaks version compatibility and centralized visibility. For the exam, memorize Manager, Validator, Controller, Edge as the safe order and that Manager distributes images via its repository. In practice verify each tier reaches stable control connections, check Manager alarms, and upgrade Edges by maintenance windows with pre-staged images.