SD-WAN
What is SD-WAN?
Unlike a traditional WAN (wide-area network), which doesn’t work in a cloud-based environment, SD-WAN addresses challenges the current IT world faces. A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) is a virtual WAN architecture that uses a centralized control function to securely and intelligently direct traffic across the WAN and directly to trusted SaaS and IaaS providers. The term software-defined implies the WAN is programmatically configured and handled. Therefore, it can be easily adapted quickly to meet changing needs. This heavily increases application performance and delivers a high-quality user experience, which skyrockets business productivity and agility, while drastically reducing operational costs.
SD-WAN Benefits
This new approach to connectivity enables administrators the ability to use bandwidth more efficiently and can help ensure high levels of performance for critical applications without sacrificing security or data privacy.
The traditional WAN architecture was limited to enterprise, branch, and data centers. Once an organization transforms operations to digital-based applications in the form of SaaS and IaaS, its WAN architecture experiences an explosion of traffic and accessibility across the globe. With SD-WAN, any technology team can deliver routing, threat protection, efficient offloading of expensive circuits, and simplification of WAN network management.
- Better application experience
- Increased security
- Optimized cloud connectivity
- Simplified operations
- Reduced IT costs
- Improved performance
- Optimized user experience
- End-to-end visibility into applications & architecture
- Real-time bench-marking
- Increased bandwidth
- Consistent Quality of Experience (QoEx)
- Centralized control
- Multi-connection, multi-transport
- Dynamic path selection
- Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)
Why SD-WAN?
The simplicity that SD-WAN brings to complex environments could be by far of even greater importance than MPLS cost savings. SD-WAN helps tech teams take control and respond faster to ever-changing business needs. It starts by giving a network engineer the ability to design, deploy, and manage new equipment from one central location. A new SD-WAN gateway can be shipped to a remote site and plugged in by someone with no IT skills what-so-ever. The gateway will be discovered and brought online automatically with zero-touch provisioning — a workflow orchestrated by the central SD-WAN controller. This essentially eliminates the need for an expert to travel to the branch site or set it up remotely via a command line interface. How much easier can it get? Get in touch today to get started.