Three common misunderstandings about SD-WAN

Traditional WANs can no longer keep up. In the broadband era, network professionals struggled to manage and configure branch offices. Employees noticed a slowdown in their critical business applications while other applications, such as streaming sports events, overwhelmed the network. Global enterprises with many branch offices, such as financial institutions and retail stores, are turning to SD-WAN.

SD-WAN (Software Defined Wide Area Network) is an architecture that uses software-defined networking to direct traffic and improve connectivity while sending data over huge geographical distances. It increases flexibility and productivity and reduces costs.

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But we need to overcome some common misconceptions and concerns about SD-WAN. I’ve listed three below.

Myth 1: It’s too complicated

Occasionally, I run into network engineers who shy away from SD-WAN adoption because they seem to think the technology will require them to learn some complicated new programming language. I can almost see the thoughts in their heads: “That’s too hard!”

I won’t deny the learning curve involved, but SD-WAN doesn’t require you to learn some arcane new programming language. Because SD-WAN sits on top of multiple WAN links and uses software-driven policies to automatically select the best data transfer mechanism for each application, it masks the complexity.

Once the hardware is installed, configuration is quick. It doesn't put you in some nightmare situation where you're waiting for configuration and checking everything to see how it runs...waiting.

Remember: if it's command line driven and you build a network on each device, you're going to make mistakes and spend a lot of time eliminating them because human error is your biggest obstacle, not the software.

With SD-WAN, you can see the entire network. You're feeling it and seeing how it moves connections. SD-WAN allows you to always stay ahead of the curve, and you can keep up with service level agreements across the office. It takes a huge burden off of you.

Myth 2: Too expensive

SD-WAN is available as SaaS, which is relatively inexpensive compared to a custom DIY setup. Before adopting, you need to sit down and ask yourself: Can my team do this on their own using a custom model, or can our enterprise sign up for a service plan? Later, once you are familiar with it, and everything is set up correctly, you can pull it off as a DIY model.

In my experience, a roadblock is just an easy example to convince others of. If you want to save money because you're wasting bandwidth and productivity, then make the case.

SD-WAN's firewall helps ensure IT administrators gain the security and ability to identify thousands of applications on the network. It simplifies the process of defining configurations and policies for each one, giving IT administrators the control they need to do their job.

Simple buy-in is often the barrier because it's an upfront cost. The sooner you adopt it, the better you'll be on top of things, and the more value you can deliver to your business.

Myth 3: This is a killer app

Occasionally, I meet a network engineer who's pushing the envelope on SD-WAN. They say its purpose isn't to help the enterprise; rather, its goal is to cut jobs. SD-WAN isn't about that. It's about automating decisions and centralizing operations while reducing errors.

With so many applications, IoT devices, and ways the internet is being used, your enterprise’s bandwidth could be stolen from your operations. I could steal it all day long by streaming football. I could download intensive files to my laptop or tablet while I work. Without SD-WAN, your systems will inevitably choke.

"SD-WAN adoption is inevitable, but it requires a change in mindset. Some engineers may have to take their jobs to a higher level, but we still need jobs for people who can design and implement networks. We still need people who can use the software."

Fundamentally, this advancement is just another in a series of technological leaps forward, and you have to learn new things, and remember, if you are the policy maker who sets up the use of SD-WAN, you still have control over how they are set up. The SD-WAN software doesn't do anything behind the scenes, and you still have control.

SD-WAN is just one of the tools you should consider adopting.