Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation
Dynamic VPNs (also known as ION-to-ION or Branch-to-Branch VPNs) allow Prisma SD-WAN devices to establish direct, on-demand secure tunnels between branch sites to optimize latency for peer-to-peer traffic (e.g., VoIP calls between offices).
To enable this capability, the primary architectural requirement is the configuration of VPN Clusters.
A VPN Cluster defines a logical group of devices that are authorized to communicate with one another.
By default, or if devices are in different clusters without peering, the topology typically defaults to Hub-and-Spoke, where branches only talk to the Data Center.
When two branch ION devices are placed into the same VPN Cluster (or peered clusters), the controller shares the necessary reachability and cryptographic information between them.
Once in the same cluster, the ION devices monitor traffic. If a user at Branch A tries to contact a server at Branch B, the ION devices detect this interest. If a direct path is available (e.g., via public internet), they will dynamically negotiate a direct VPN tunnel, bypassing the Data Center hub. This offloads the hub and reduces latency. Option B is incorrect because SD-WAN eliminates manual GRE config. Option C is incorrect because dynamic VPNs are a performance feature, not just a disaster recovery feature.
