SD-WAN solutions automate WAN routing, offer flexibility and provide security. It enables organizations to support SaaS and cloud computing strategies while reducing costs. For example, if a restaurant needs to process credit card transactions through their Point of Sale (POS) terminals, they may traditionally use Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). But with SD-WAN, they can use their broadband Internet connection or cellular options.
Availability
Delivering applications and services reliably is an important feature of any SD-WAN solution. A reliable SD-WAN offers an encrypted overlay network that separates traffic from the underlying infrastructure and supports load balancing, policy-driven routing, and real-time data monitoring.
A robust SD-WAN also provides resiliency and failover capabilities. In the past, WANs backhauled all traffic from branch offices to a central control plane in a data center for application visibility and security services. This approach was costly and time-consuming. A reliable SD-WAN enables direct Internet access to applications, eliminating expensive backhauls. The reliability of an SD-WAN depends on how the software handles WAN connections over the public Internet and on its ability to support global connectivity.
Some SD-WANs use tunneling protocols that add 30 percent or more to bandwidth usage, while others rely on backup Internet connections and link bonding to address reliability concerns. The best SD-WANs offer integrated security, customer premises equipment (CPE) with virtual private network capabilities, and direct connections to major cloud services. Some can even connect to remote locations over 4G LTE. Thus, there’s something to learn more about SD-WAN and its remarkable impact on your network.
Scalability
A digital enterprise requires flexible connectivity to business tools, data and applications hosted in a multi-cloud environment. SD-WAN solutions support these strategies by allowing the use of different connection types, including MPLS, broadband internet, LTE and more. This helps organizations save money on WAN circuits and improve application performance, resiliency and security.
Additionally, many solutions offer the option of zero-touch provisioning. This allows IT teams to ship small offices/home office (SOHO) appliances to sites, which automatically connect over existing Internet and cell connections. This eliminates the need for onsite equipment and dramatically reduces deployment time, resources and opex.
Many SD-WAN solutions also feature centralized control functions to securely and efficiently steer traffic in an application-driven manner based on business intent. This ensures consistent application performance and a high-quality user experience, which boosts productivity and lowers IT costs. Many solutions also provide rich reporting at layer seven and the application level.
This gives network administrators insight into applications’ performance and where performance issues may lie. Learn more about how an SD-WAN solution can improve your business by completing the short form below.
Flexibility
A key concept that spawned SD-WAN and its big brother, software-defined networking (SDN), is programmability. It detangles the management of network devices from their data plane that forwards traffic, making it easier to automate and simplify network functions.
This reduces complexity and provides more adaptability across the enterprise network edge. Most SD-WAN solutions create a virtualized overlay network of secure, end-to-end encrypted tunnels that route traffic intelligently using application-aware routing protocols. Centralized managers can then prioritize business-critical applications and ensure a high quality of service by automatically steering network traffic to the most efficient path available.
Depending on the specific solution, it may also support direct Internet access at the branch office by offloading web traffic from private circuits to lower-cost public Internet connections such as MPLS, LTE, or broadband Internet. This can save money, reduce latency, and provide more bandwidth for critical cloud services.
This flexibility can help enterprises meet their digitization goals and evolve into a multi-cloud environment. Moreover, some solutions offer additional virtualized services that can be deployed on the customer premises equipment (CPE), such as firewalling or load balancing.
Efficiency
SD-WAN solutions offer a centralized management interface that simplifies network operations. IT staff can monitor performance from a single location, add new sites and upgrade software and firmware from a central portal. This lowers labor costs and reduces maintenance expenses.
The solution also makes it easy to prioritize data types and choose the best path to applications. For example, administrators can route critical mission apps over MPLS while routing less-critical web traffic over broadband or 3G/4G LTE connections for cost efficiency and resiliency.
A superior SD-WAN offering will include integrated security, advanced malware detection and a strong firewall with a built-in intrusion prevention system. These capabilities prevent cyber threats from infiltrating the network and reducing employee productivity. SD-WAN can also offload internet access at branches by directing traffic directly to local points of presence (POPs).
This increases available bandwidth for business-critical applications and decreases latency. It also helps lower the utilization of private circuits that are limited in bandwidth and reduces costs by connecting to a high-quality Internet connection.
Security
Security measures and practices built into the SD-WAN architecture can help protect any information that travels over the network. Some of these features include encryption, which ensures that data remains secure no matter the circumstances.
The SD-WAN solution should support encryption of data in motion as well as at rest, even if it incorporates cloud components. Another key security feature is centralized control of device settings and configurations. This can reduce the amount of time that is spent managing security at the individual remote sites.
Additionally, it can help ensure that the policies are consistent throughout the network. One example is the ability to validate devices by sending a list of authorized serial numbers to vManage (or the PnP connect portal) and then syncing that list with the WAN edge routers so that only valid devices can form control connections with the centralized controller. This can prevent unauthorized devices from joining the WAN overlay and being exposed to security threats.
