Which component is responsible for applying data/control policies to classify and route application flows in SD-WAN?

• A. vManage applies data/control policies to classify and route application flows.
• B. vBond handles policy distribution to edge devices.
• C. vSmart handles user authentication.
• D. The edge applies policies with no central controller.

Answer: (A)

In SD-WAN, policy creation and distribution happens from a centralized management plane. vManage is where administrators define how traffic should be classified, which application flows to route on which paths, and what QoS or security rules to apply, then publish those policies to the fabric. The enforcement of those policies actually happens on the edge devices, which apply the rules they receive (via the control plane) to classify and route traffic. Among the options, the management plane that handles authoring and publishing the policies is the best match for who “applies data/control policies to classify and route application flows,” because it is the centralized source of policy configuration that guides the entire SD-WAN behavior. The other components serve different roles: vBond is the bootstrap/trust mechanism, vSmart handles control-plane distribution of policies, and the edge cannot operate without relying on centrally defined policies.