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350-401 Practice Question: An architect is planning a Cisco SD-Access fabric…
An architect is planning a Cisco SD-Access fabric deployment. The design must support host mobility across multiple fabric edge nodes while ensuring consistent policy enforcement. Which fabric component is responsible for tracking endpoint locations and mapping them to the fabric?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that the fabric edge node tracks endpoint locations because it directly connects to hosts, but the control plane node is the centralized mapping database in LISP-based SD-Access.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Fabric control plane node
In Cisco SD-Access, the fabric control plane node (based on LISP) is responsible for maintaining the endpoint database (EID-to-RLOC mappings). When a host moves between fabric edge nodes, the control plane node updates the mapping, ensuring consistent policy enforcement by providing the correct location information to all edge nodes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Fabric control plane node
Why this is correct
The control plane node in SD-Access runs LISP as its mapping system, maintaining the Endpoint Database (EID-to-RLOC) for every wired or wireless endpoint in the fabric. When an edge node needs to reach a destination, it sends a Map-Request to the control plane node, which replies with the routable locator (RLOC) of the destination edge node. This node is thus the authoritative source for tracking and mapping endpoint locations, making it the correct answer.
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Fabric border node
Why it's wrong here
The fabric border node is responsible for connecting the SD-Access fabric to external networks, such as a WAN, data center, or the Internet, and for handling north-south traffic. It may participate in LISP by importing external prefixes into the fabric, but it does not maintain the global EID-to-RLOC mapping table for internal endpoints. Its primary role is interworking between the fabric's VXLAN encapsulation and external routing protocols like BGP, so it does not track internal endpoint mappings.
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Fabric edge node
Why it's wrong here
The fabric edge node is the access-layer switch that physically connects wired endpoints to the fabric, performing initial endpoint classification and registering them with the control plane node. While it learns about local endpoints and stores a local mapping cache for efficiency, it does not hold the authoritative global mapping database. For any destination not local to the edge node, it must query the control plane node for the correct RLOC before encapsulating traffic in VXLAN, so it relies on the control plane for mapping.
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Fabric wireless controller
Why it's wrong here
The fabric wireless controller manages wireless access in an SD-Access fabric, overseeing APs, SSIDs, client authentication, and intra-fabric roaming, but it does not run the LISP mapping system. Wireless clients are detected by fabric edge nodes (or fabric-enabled APs acting as edge devices), which then register the client's EID with the control plane node. The controller itself does not maintain or resolve endpoint-to-location mappings; its focus is on wireless policy and RF management, not fabric endpoint tracking.
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