SDWAN: The Future of Networking

Featured article by Catherine Hernandez, Independent Technology Author

Have you heard of SD-WAN? Well, if not, brace yourself for a significant shift in enterprise networking.

Software-defined WAN, or SDWAN, is a technology that allows enterprises to route traffic through a hybrid WAN. This can be done using the existing network infrastructure. In 2015, this technology had a value of $225 million. This is expected to hit $8.05 billion by 2021.

The reason for this growth is because of the increasing use of cloud computing. As businesses move to a cloud-based environment, they need increased bandwidth for a seamless operation.

Software-defined networking (SDN) posses as the ideal solution for that.

In this post, we’re going to explore more about SD-WAN. Keep on reading to learn more.

What Is it and How Does it Work?

As noted before, SD-WAN is a specific service, application or technology that is applied to WAN connections. The goal is to connect multiple branch networks over large geographical locations.

This networking technology replaces traditional branch routers. It offers tools that use different transport technologies based on their performance. As such, enterprises can use affordable services, such as broadband, to route their traffic.

If you have a global network, you can deploy SD-WAN as software. Or, as a software/hardware combination with WAN edge devices installed at your branch locations. Network managers create the security rules and application policies for each device.

What Problems Does this Technology Address?

With the WAN technology, enterprises are likely to experience increased operating costs and network complexities. This also means their performance and flexibility will be impacted.

1. High Costs

One of the driving factors that is fueling the adoption of SDWAN is cost. This is particularly true for those businesses that are using Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) WAN. MPLS protocols require heavy IT budgets if you have geographically dispersed offices.

SDN allows you to avoid traditional providers that offer a gateway for your traffic. Plus, you’ll not need to maintain the standard telco lines, which are usually costly.

For example, a 250-branch over three years can cost $1,285,000 if you are using traditional WAN. With SD-WAN this cost can be about $452,500.

2. WAN Network Complexities

Having many branches means significant networking complexities. This is true with the different application requirements and additional technology that you’ll need to ensure a seamless WAN networking.

Plus, with WAN, you must manually configure the settings when installing a new application or changing your traffic patterns. SD-WAN takes care of such complexities with much ease. Ideally, it assesses your traffic in real-time and manages WAN using the software.

As such, your organization benefits from optimized traffic routing and automation. This helps to reduce network complexities over time.

3. Poor Performance

As many businesses migrate to cloud, various challenges impact performance. This is because the network becomes complex and your bandwidth needs grow. Also, you’ll need constant monitoring of your network and link performance.

Plus, routing internet traffic over a private network and through consolidated gateways reduces your performance. SDN technology can help you to connect directly to cloud service providers. Also, you can offload your internet traffic.

In the end, it helps to lower your latency, and consequently, boosting your performance.

SDN Ensures Quality Experience

One of the promising features of the software-defined WAn is the ability to customize your network based on your needs. Also, it helps you to manage different types of connections.

For example, you can configure MPLS virtual private network to be prioritized for network connectivity. Activities that require high-bandwidth traffic, such video, can be given secondary priority.

This technology also allows for dynamic path selection. Ideally, you can choose an appropriate path for specific application traffic. This helps to reduce traffic congestion. Also, when congestion occurs, you can easily divert it to other paths.

In the end, this helps to balance and optimize your load to maintain high-quality data transfer.

How it Benefits Cloud-Based Operations

Most companies now run up to 79 percent of their workloads in cloud. They use both private and public cloud platforms to run their operations.

In the past, IT teams used to route their cloud traffic through a central point in hub-and-spoke configurations. This processes created additional hops, which lead to increased latency and network congestion.

Even with increasing the number of break-out points to the cloud, some organizations still configure and update their systems manually.

SDWAN now allows companies with different branches to centralize their operations. It’s now easy to manage all direct connections from the various geographical offices to the cloud. With one management console, it’s possible to formulate and implement policies that regulate the performance and security of the entire network.

SDN technology also allows zero touch positioning. In this case, your network switches can receive configuration instructions, connect, and authenticate automatically. This eliminates the manual process of adding and configuring switches to your cloud network.

Considerations When Evaluating SD-WAN

You can say SDWAN is at its infancy stage, but there are already companies that are offering this service. So, if you’re looking to upgrade to SDN, it helps to consider what vendors are offering.

Ask about the security of the service. Most of them usually come with firewalls and VPN. If you have confidential traffic, you’ll need robust firewalls. You can also use other third-party services that boost security. You should also be able to set your police rules to bolster security.

The service should also allow public cloud integrations. This is vital if you’re using services, such as AWS and Microsoft Azure. This will make it easier to manage your traffic.

It also necessary for the vendor to offer digital experience management tools to make work easier for your IT team. This will make it easier for your team to identify and troubleshoot problems before they affect other users.

The Future of SDWAN

As companies and organizations continue to adopt SD-WAN, networking expectations are high, especially with the growing use of cloud. Networking is expected to shift to software-defined architectures. This need to reduce costs it’s what is fueling this shift.

SDWAN offers a promising use case thanks to the growing number of deployments. Enterprises can now get rid off manual configurations that are prone to errors. Plus, it helps to centralize your multi-branch operations.

If you have any thoughts on this exciting technology, feel free to share them with us in the comment section.