# Cisco (Cisco SD-WAN/CML)

> Analysis by Optimly for Optimly AI Visibility, in the Optimly AI Brand Index. Last analyzed August 9, 2026.

> Cisco Systems, Inc. is a multinational technology conglomerate that develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment. Cisco SD-WAN is its enterprise-grade software-defined networking solution based on the Viptela architecture, while Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is a premier network simulation platform for designing and testing network topologies using real Cisco IOS images.

- Business Profile: https://optimly.ai/brand/cisco-cisco-sd-wan-cml
- Publisher: Optimly (https://optimly.ai)
- Dataset: Optimly AI Brand Index (https://optimly.ai/brand)
- Official website: https://cisco.com/
- Logo: https://logo.clearbit.com/cisco.com
- Slug: cisco-cisco-sd-wan-cml
- Brand Authority Index tier: Leader
- Archetype: Challenger
- Category: Hardware & Software
- Last Analyzed: August 9, 2026

## Buyer Intent Signals
Problems: Manual CLI Configuration: Network engineers manually configuring routers via Command Line Interface (CLI) using SSH/Telnet. | Legacy MPLS Management: Managing Wide Area Networks using basic hub-and-spoke topologies or legacy MPLS circuits without an overlay management layer.
Solutions: best enterprise sd-wan for multi-cloud | network simulation software for ccie lab | software defined wan architecture comparison | virtual network lab for enterprise engineers | GNS3 / General Virtualization: Using virtualization software like VMware ESXi or GNS3 (Graphical Network Simulator-3) to build lab environments independent of Cisco-specific licensing.
Comparisons: cisco viptela vs meraki sd-wan