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Difficulty: MediumComparing Traditional Networks with Controller-Based Networking

An enterprise engineering team is preparing to migrate a legacy multi-tier campus network to a centralized controller-based architecture using Cisco DNA Center. During an architectural review, an engineer explains how control plane operations and management differ between the two paradigms. Which statement correctly contrasts control plane operations in a traditional network versus a controller-based network architecture?

  1. Traditional networks execute control plane logic independently on each distributed network device, whereas controller-based networks centralize control plane intelligence within a logical software controller.Answer
  2. B
    Traditional networks utilize agentless SSH connections to push control plane decisions between switches, whereas controller-based networks require dedicated agent software installed on every network device to compute routing tables.
  3. C
    Traditional networks execute HTTP GET and PUT verbs locally on each switch to build MAC address tables, whereas controller-based networks automate data plane forwarding using JSON payloads over Southbound interfaces.
  4. D
    Traditional networks consolidate authentication and authorization into a central control plane interface, whereas controller-based networks require individual device CLI access to encrypt payload data via RADIUS.

Answer

Traditional networks execute control plane logic independently on each distributed network device, whereas controller-based networks centralize control plane intelligence within a logical software controller.
In traditional network environments, each router and switch runs its own distributed control plane to independently discover neighbors, build routing/switching tables, and determine path selection. In contrast, controller-based networking decouples control plane intelligence from individual network devices and centralizes it within a software controller (such as Cisco DNA Center), which programs the data plane of underlying network devices.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze control plane distribution in traditional network architectures.
In traditional networking, each network device operates with a localized control plane, independently computing routing tables, spanning-tree topologies, and MAC tables.
Traditional devices must run control plane protocols locally on each physical unit.
2
Analyze control plane distribution in controller-based network architectures.
Controller-based networks abstract and centralize the control plane into a software-defined controller (such as Cisco DNA Center), which maintains a global view of the network and instructs hardware devices via Southbound APIs.
Decoupling and centralizing control plane intelligence provides automated provisioning and global network policy enforcement.
3
Identify the option that accurately describes this architectural difference.
The statement highlighting that traditional networks execute control plane logic locally on distributed devices while controller-based networks centralize control plane intelligence within a logical controller is correct.
This captures the fundamental shift from distributed control plane processing to centralized controller intelligence.

Key Concept

Decoupling and Centralization of Control Plane in SDN vs Distributed Traditional Control Plane
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Topics

Comparing Traditional Networks with Controller-Based Networking

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