The Future of Networking: How SD-WAN is Revolutionizing Connectivity

With the rise of mobile, cloud, and converged networking, networks must adapt to accommodate the needs of an increasingly digital world. This means changing the way people interact with each other and technology.

Unlike traditional MPLS, SD-WAN uses low-cost broadband Internet to connect multiple branch offices. This eliminates costly MPLS circuits, reducing WAN bandwidth requirements and improving WAN availability.

Enhanced Visibility

The future of networking is changing rapidly, and SD-WAN is at the forefront. It is a software-defined network architecture that connects branch offices to data centers through the Internet, using methods like dynamic path selection and traffic steering.

If you want to learn about SD-WAN, many companies today replace traditional multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) WANs with an SD-WAN network that relies on inexpensive broadband Internet services and enables flexible routing. In doing so, they are achieving significant savings in both the cost and availability of transport.

For example, one major retailer has seen up to 40 percent savings by dropping MPLS and adopting SD-WAN as a backup. They can also use their new hybrid network to meet changing requirements for traffic.

In addition, SD-WAN solutions are designed to help users connect securely to their networks and applications anywhere in the world. This can include remote workers who work from home or public places and businesses using cloud-based and SaaS applications.

Scalability

SD-WAN is a breakthrough technology that addresses many of the shortcomings of traditional WAN connectivity technologies. It uses a software-based controller that can be hosted in the cloud. This makes it easier to manage the network, as it does not require on-site engineers.

It can also provide better scalability using low-cost broadband Internet connections instead of expensive MPLS circuits for most traffic. This enables businesses to avoid wasting bandwidth on low-priority applications and improve their WAN resilience.

One of the most important advantages of SD-WAN is that it can automatically divert users to a different link when traffic is disrupted. This can significantly reduce user frustration and ensure a smooth operation.

This feature is especially beneficial for organizations transitioning to 5G infrastructure. It will help them optimize their network to deliver high-bandwidth services to customers while ensuring they can maintain high performance. For example, an intelligent application-driven routing approach would prioritize high-bandwidth applications to 5G cell sites while routing lower-bandwidth applications to LTE and other broadband internet connections.

Convenience

Using SD-WAN, enterprises can automate various network connectivity and routing configurations to multiple locations. These connections can be configured through a centralized cloud-based dashboard that simplifies administration and management.

For example, many organizations use SD-WAN to connect work-from-home employees to secure internet access to their enterprise networks. This eliminates the need for users to log in and password-protect their devices to access the network.

Organizations that need to maintain a certain level of security can also leverage SD-WAN to provide encryption. This can help reduce costs and improve user experience by protecting sensitive data from hackers, viruses, or malicious entities.

With SD-WAN, you can also automatically optimize connection speeds for applications requiring a high-performance level. This ensures that your users aren’t impacted by latency or packet loss.

Another critical aspect of SD-WAN is the ability to divert traffic when an issue arises automatically. This prevents large amounts of stress and can save valuable time. The ability to do this can be critical when link degradation and other issues affect your business operations.

Cost-Effectiveness

SD-WAN enables businesses to optimize their investments and leverage the Internet to connect multiple locations. In addition to reducing operating costs, it also offers increased security and performance.

Rather than routing traffic over expensive private circuits, SD-WAN prioritizes bandwidth for business-critical applications and enables businesses to augment MPLS with low-cost internet connections. This can save a significant amount of money over the life of a network.

A large automotive manufacturer, for example, saved over $1 million per year by switching from MPLS to SD-WAN. The savings could be even higher for some enterprises.

In addition, SD-WAN enables organizations to increase their use of public internet links, reducing the need for costly private WAN circuits. It also allows companies to use jitter buffers and forward error correction to improve the performance of commodity circuits.

In short, SD-WAN has revolutionized connectivity for companies of all sizes. It is an invaluable tool that can help companies save money, improve employee productivity and streamline operations. Moreover, it is easy to install and scale. With these benefits in mind, it’s no wonder that more and more companies are moving to the cloud.

Flexibility

SD-WAN is a software-defined networking technology revolutionizing how users connect to their applications, no matter where they are located. It enables companies to connect to any cloud service, data center, or network from anywhere using any device and an internet connection.

It logically separates the control and data layers within the underlying infrastructure, abstracting controls so that the infrastructure can be automated and programmed via a standard software controller. This makes SD-WANs much easier to manage and operate than traditional WANs. Equipment can be controlled from the cloud, and engineers don’t need to be sent onto the site to perform tasks like changing router settings or connecting new branch offices.

This flexibility helps organizations use their WAN capacity better, enabling a dual connectivity strategy that utilizes public Internet services to offload some traffic while reserving private network connections for applications requiring low latency or business-critical performance. This can help improve WAN resilience, too.

Another key benefit of SD-WAN is the ability to support various WAN connection types, including MPLS, broadband Internet, and LTE. This lets enterprises leverage lower-cost, high-bandwidth Internet connections to replace or supplement their existing MPLS lines.