Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is a critical component of a company’s network transformation strategy that can accelerate the digital journey towards a secure and more flexible network. The main purpose of SD-WAN is to enable a high-performance WAN ecosystem, with simplified management and control of network infrastructure using internet access.
SD-WAN is a virtual connectivity platform that separates network control and management from the data plane, using a service agnostic underlay. This can be anything from multi-protocol label switched (MPLS) connectivity to dedicated Internet access (DIA) services. As such, SD-WAN acts effectively as an overlay, on top of existing network infrastructure.
SD-WAN consists of three main components:
With SD-WAN, network configuration and management are completely centralized, radically simplifying the process of adding new connections, or implementing policy changes. SD-WAN is an access agnostic solution. In other words, it works over any connection, as long as access to the management layer is enabled (generally with basic internet connectivity). The solution also makes it easier to build and run hybrid WANs, where customers can retain some of their legacy MPLS infrastructure, whilst migrating to Internet or cloud-based alternatives at their own pace.
Through smart network utilization, SD-WAN makes it easy to utilize the best available connections for the most critical applications. By aggregating multiple connections and selecting the optimum path, SD-WAN emulates the performance of a dedicated network. It also helps enterprises reduce cost and latency, by breaking out Internet-facing traffic locally and removing the need for backhaul to the company HQ or primary datacenter.
SD-WANs are fully independent of the transport media that connect them but maintain security and optimize cost. By enabling active configuration, SD-WAN also permits full usage of any available bandwidth, rather than leaving back-up circuits idle. MPLS services are robust but tend to have long lead times and were not designed for cloud applications. SD-WAN on the other hand, can be quickly deployed through readily available access services, such as LTE, DIA or simple broadband Internet. With SD-WAN, each new device is configured directly with the latest available network configuration from an integrated management tool. This makes manual updates and site visits a thing of the past.
SD-WAN network management tools have a user-friendly GUI, where powerful templates can be created, and duplicated, for easy deployment across the entire network. Zero-touch provisioning, with network control on-premises, in the cloud, or anywhere in the WAN, facilitates changes within minutes. It also simplifies the management of Internet-based WANs, leaving the IP-VPN topology out and implementing its own set of network-tunneling, using the Internet, but with the security of a traditional WAN. In practical terms, SD-WAN provides a next-generation firewall and communication overlay baked into one.
Thanks to built-in intelligence, SD-WAN enables implementation of application-based policies and efficient traffic routing across the WAN, with a dynamic choice of network path if more than one is available.
“The Swedish operator’s leading SD-WAN service in cooperation with Cisco, based on the Viptela powered platform, provides an end-to-end networking solution that encompasses superior visibility, agility and control, exceeding traditional WAN perimeters.”
The sophisticated technology that SD-WAN offers includes a diverse set of capabilities to optimize application Quality of Experience; these include:
Features |
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Granular application visibility with a user interface |
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Application traffic prioritization |
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Centralized management of WAN edge routers |
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Dynamically choose the optimal connectivity paths |
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Cloud application performance management |
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Bespoke security options |
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Single Sign-On to overlay platform via Customer portal (MyCarrier) |
September 30, 2020 | 11AM EST/17:00 CET
This will be a 45-minute session filled with expert insights and some tips & tricks on what to keep in mind when embarking on your SD-WAN transformation.
The webinar will be moderated by Dr. Ray Mota, CEO and Principal Analyst at ACG Research. He will be joined by Bernd Hoogkamp, Product Management at Telia Carrier.
In this white paper we explore: