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Difficulty: MediumCisco DNA Center Enabled Device Management

An enterprise branch location is deploying factory-default Cisco Catalyst switches using Cisco DNA Center Network Plug and Play (PnP). Which TWO methods allow an unconfigured switch to automatically locate the Cisco DNA Center controller IP address or hostname during the Day-0 onboarding process? (Choose two.)

  1. Receiving a vendor-specific option value (Option 43) in the DHCP offer during IP address acquisition.Answer
  2. Performing a DNS lookup for the default server name 'pnpserver' within the local domain context.Answer
  3. C
    Parsing neighbor discovery packets sent via LLDP containing controller location Type-Length-Value (TLV) fields.
  4. D
    Establishing an automated SSH session to the default gateway interface using predefined controller service account credentials.
  5. E
    Executing an agentless HTTP GET poll against an external management server to retrieve initial configuration playbooks.

Answer

The two valid automated discovery methods are receiving DHCP Option 43 containing the controller IP address during DHCP negotiation, and querying local DNS for the default hostname 'pnpserver'.
During Day-0 PnP onboarding, a factory-default Cisco switch uses built-in logic to discover Cisco DNA Center. It first attempts Cisco Cloud Redirect, then checks the DHCP response for Option 43 (which specifies the Cisco DNA Center IP address). If Option 43 is missing, it falls back to resolving the DNS hostname 'pnpserver' within the local domain provided by DHCP Option 15.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify Day-0 Cisco DNA Center PnP controller discovery mechanisms.
Unconfigured Cisco switches query network services in a defined sequence: Cisco Cloud Redirect, DHCP Option 43, and DNS lookup for 'pnpserver'.
Day-0 Plug and Play relies on standard automated infrastructure signaling without manual CLI intervention.
2
Evaluate the role of DHCP Option 43.
DHCP Option 43 delivers the controller IP address directly inside the DHCP Offer message payload.
This enables zero-touch onboarding within private enterprise subnets.
3
Evaluate the role of DNS domain resolution.
The switch constructs 'pnpserver.<domain-name>' using the domain name learned via DHCP Option 15 and resolves it.
This acts as the fallback mechanism when Option 43 is absent.

Key Concept

Cisco DNA Center Network Plug and Play (PnP) Day-0 Controller Discovery
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Topics

Cisco DNA Center Enabled Device Management

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