The 4D Training is a methodology that helps Systems Engineers and Field Engineers to understand and sell Cisco Enterprise Networks solutions, such as SD-Access, SD-WAN, and ISE. The 4D stands for Discovery, Design, Demonstrate, and Defend12. These are the four phases of the sales cycle that the training covers, with each phase having specific objectives, activities, and outcomes.

• Discovery: This phase involves identifying the customer’s needs, challenges, goals, and opportunities, as well as the current state of their network. The objective is to establish a trusted relationship with the customer and uncover their pain points and requirements. The activities include conducting interviews, surveys, assessments, and audits. The outcome is a clear understanding of the customer’s business and technical drivers, as well as their readiness and willingness to adopt Cisco solutions.
• Design: This phase involves creating a high-level solution architecture that meets the customer’s needs and aligns with their vision. The objective is to demonstrate the value proposition and benefits of Cisco solutions, as well as the differentiation from the competition. The activities include developing use cases, scenarios, diagrams, and presentations. The outcome is a compelling and customized solution design that addresses the customer’s challenges and opportunities.
• Demonstrate: This phase involves showing the capabilities and features of Cisco solutions in action, using live or simulated environments. The objective is to validate the solution design and showcase the advantages and benefits of Cisco solutions, as well as the ease of deployment and operation. The activities include conducting demos, proofs of concept, pilots, and trials. The outcome is a positive customer experience and feedback, as well as a confirmation of the solution fit and feasibility.
• Defend: This phase involves addressing the customer’s objections, concerns, and questions, as well as overcoming any barriers or risks that may prevent the deal closure. The objective is to reinforce the value proposition and benefits of Cisco solutions, as well as the trust and credibility of Cisco as a partner. The activities include providing references, testimonials, case studies, and best practices. The outcome is a successful deal closure and customer satisfaction.

Therefore, the definition that is not part of the 4D Training is Deploy, which is not one of the four phases of the sales cycle that the training covers.

References:

 1: [500-470 ENSDENG - Cisco] : 2: [500-490 ENDESIGN - Cisco]

A centralized SD-Access design is where a single fabric domain spans across the main site and all branch sites over the WAN. This design has some challenges, such as:

• Since the traffic is encapsulated in VXLAN headers, SD-WAN features such as application-aware routing, QoS, and security policies cannot be applied to the traffic based on the original IP headers. This means that the SD-WAN controller cannot optimize or route the traffic based on the application or user identity. The traffic is treated as a single class of service across the WAN.
• The centralized design also introduces a single point of failure and a potential bottleneck at the main site, where the border nodes and the control plane nodes are located. If the main site goes down or the WAN link fails, the branch sites will lose connectivity to the fabric domain and the external networks.
• The centralized design also requires a high bandwidth and low latency WAN connection between the main site and the branch sites, which may not be feasible or cost-effective for some scenarios.

References :=

Some possible references are:

• Cisco Enterprise Networks SDA, SDWAN and ISE Exam for System Engineers (ENSDENG) Study Guide
• Cisco SD-Access and SD-WAN Integration Design Guide

Some of the statements that are true regarding Cisco SD-WAN license tiers are:

• With Pro license, control and data policies are supported2. This license tier enables network operators to define and enforce policies for traffic shaping, quality of service (QoS), application optimization, and security2.
• With Plus license, split-tunnel is supported3. This license tier enables network operators to use split-tunneling technology to route traffic through different paths based on application or user preferences3.
• With Enterprise license, vAnalytics is included4. This license tier enables network operators to use vAnalytics feature to collect and analyze data from various sources such as endpoints, applications, devices, networks, and cloud services4.