A campus network needs a new segmentation policy on 400 access switches this month, and 60 replacement switches installed later must pick up the same policy automatically. The audit team wants evidence that each switch still matches the intended policy. Which controller-based design satisfies both the onboarding and audit requirements?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
You can set the intended policy in Catalyst Center and use Plug and Play to give each new switch the same setup—like handing every new team member the same playbook. Compliance checks then verify that each switch still matches the intended policy; a push log only confirms that a deployment happened, not that the policy remains in place.
Full Explanation
Catalyst Center intent provides the desired policy, Plug and Play can provision switches as they join, and compliance checks compare device state with the intended configuration to provide ongoing audit evidence. Together, these capabilities address the initial rollout, automatic provisioning of later replacements, and verification that switches continue to match policy. A controller template applied to the current 400 switches, followed by nightly compliance checks, can meet the initial deployment and audit needs, but manually onboarding replacements does not satisfy the requirement that they receive the same policy automatically. Plug and Play can deliver the policy to both current and replacement switches, but deployment status or a push log records that a task ran; it does not establish that the switch’s current configuration still matches the intended policy, so it falls short of the audit requirement. Phasing the Catalyst Center rollout over several months retains automated onboarding and compliance checking, but misses the requirement to deploy the policy to the 400 existing switches this month. Exam caveat: compliance evidence is only as reliable as the defined policy baseline and the devices included in compliance assessment; successful provisioning alone is not proof of continuing conformity. Practical check: test a replacement switch through Plug and Play, then deliberately introduce a policy deviation and confirm that compliance reporting detects and records it.