SD-WAN Explained
The acronym SD-WAN stands for Software-Defined Wide Area Network. This is basically the virtual architecture that enterprises use for their wireless WAN network. It is a technology that allows companies to connect to applications securely and more efficiently than some traditional networking services like MPLS and more reliably than WAN networks using VPN. SD-WAN is a revolutionary technology that addresses the changing demand of companies that use their networks for cloud-computing purposes and services.
SD-WAN uses an appliance that connects to an area of network services and monitors their performance so that the best possible network link gets sent to each SD-WAN appliance in the wider appliances network.
Why do businesses need an SD-WAN?
Utilizing cloud solutions and supporting a remote workforce requires more agile and scalable networks. Oldschool WAN networks were designed and built to link physical locations, which is not practical, secure or cost-effective in the complex connectivity arrangement seen today with hybrid and mobile offices. The complexity of such network topology results in complicated and cumbersome patching management that puts the entire enterprise at risk of hacking and malicious attempts.
Another problem with the legacy WAN is that there is bigger latency when the traffic increases and data is moving across networks. It is made to link data centers and physical offices that support the entire network operations rather than send data back and forth to many different external networks at the same time. This explains briefly why traditional WAN is not well suited for the needs of the modern workspace, compared to the new SD-WAN approach.
SD-WAN Services Explained
An SD-WAN is a solution that is offered as a service by third-party providers like we-IT. These services are offered to business customers with a guarantee that their network performance will be optimal at all times while the whole enterprise is connected seamlessly from the data center of the provider to the virtual and real technology assets of the client company.
What are the main SD-WAN benefits?
Lesser cost
Software-defined WAN is designed to provide businesses with better performing network bandwidth than the traditional WAN using MPLS WAN. This translates to lesser expenses for bandwidth and technical know-how when it comes to provisioning the links in a short space of time.
Better performance
We already mentioned that the legacy WAN is efficient in routing web traffic between physical locations that are stationary. This is a limitation to this technology that leads to poor WAN performance when businesses use cloud services like DaaS (Desktop-as-a-Service) from multiple and interchanging remote locations. SD-WAN uses a policy-based approach that routes the traffic with better efficiency across the network, based on the requirements of the applications used.
Higher agility
SD-WAN is a lot more agile than the traditional MLPS-based WAN networking technology. With SD-WAN, each network layer is separated and managed from a centralized location, which allows traffic to be routed more effectively and at a better speed than the complex and outdated WAN approach.
Better management
Having mentioned centralized management, we should emphasize the importance of this attribute to the SD-WAN networks. A traditional MPLS WAN requires multiple appliances to be deployed to ensure the security and efficiency of the network whereas SD-WAN is managed entirely from a single centralized location where networks can be scaled up with the use of advanced managed services technology.
Increased availability
With SD-WAN clients get much better availability of their networking services than the traditional MPLS-basedWAN technology. SD-WAN is designed to reduce the redundancies of MPLS and make it easier for providers to route the traffic in the instance of a hardware outrage.
If you want to know more about our SD-WAN offering, do not hesitate to contact our team for more information!
