SD-WAN: 10 essential considerations organizations need to weigh

SD-WAN is one of the hottest new network technologies, and many distributed organizations have adopted SD-WAN solutions. The appeal of SD-WAN is that it combines multiple physical WAN links into a single logical network and can accelerate the performance of applications deployed in internal data centers and clouds.

This article describes 10 essential factors that IT organizations need to consider when weighing whether to adopt or expand SD-WAN.

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1. Save money

The economic benefits of SD-WAN are reflected in the avoidance of expensive WAN link costs and improved bandwidth efficiency. With an average annual growth rate of 20% for WAN data, most organizations need more bandwidth to achieve high-speed communications to remote offices. SD-WAN supports the secure deployment of internet links DSL, cable, Ethernet, wireless, and other internet links, or can be used in conjunction with or as a replacement for expensive MPLS connections. On average, internet connections provide 2 to 5 times the bandwidth of MPLS connections of the same price, directly promoting the return on investment of SD-WAN equipment.

2. Improve reliability

SD-WAN allows traffic to pass through two or more independent WAN links. Therefore, IT organizations can diversify their WAN connections by contracting with multiple communications service providers to ensure more reliable connections to their remote offices. SD-WAN can intelligently monitor links based on pre-set policies and route traffic through efficient links.

3. Traffic Identification and Prioritization

Most organizations are rapidly moving away from hub-and-spoke WAN connections, where all traffic is backhauled to a central data center, toward direct point-to-point connections between remote offices and cloud or SaaS application portals. SD-WAN enables IT organizations to set application and user-driven policies regarding priority and security. SD-WAN is able to identify the type of traffic coming in and out of the branch and route it directly to the correct data center.

Four: Plug and Play

Most SD-WAN solutions can be deployed in remote offices very easily. SD-WAN hardware appliances are typically shipped to the office, plugged into AC power and a WAN connection, and then remotely configured by IT, a channel partner, or a service provider. All products have a learning curve when it comes to setting up traffic prioritization, security policies, and orchestration practices. SD-WAN solutions should be easy to integrate with existing network equipment and network security products at the branch office, but this may also take some work.

5. SD-WAN products are not interoperable

SD-WAN solutions leverage proprietary code to provide intelligent overlays that support hybrid WANs, traffic prioritization, security, and management. In the short term, IT organizations should choose an SD-WAN solution that meets their requirements and use remote and central SD-WAN device pairs from the same vendor. Organizations can run SD-WAN device pairs from multiple vendors in different parts of their networks, but keep in mind that this means learning to manage unique SD-WAN products from each vendor.

6. SD-WAN supports multi-cloud

Most IT organizations have a mix of on-premises data centers, applications in the public cloud, and users accessing SaaS applications. SD-WAN solutions are able to identify and route cloud-based traffic. SD-WAN vendors have partnered with leading IaaS providers to speed up communications between local sites. SD-WAN solutions recognize the IP addresses of most leading SaaS providers and can route traffic accordingly.

VII. Internal Security and Partnership

SD-WAN solutions can protect unreliable Internet links and identify abnormal traffic. Each SD-WAN vendor has a unique approach to providing firewalls, whitelists, blacklists, encryption, etc. Other features may include content filtering, endpoint management, and policy enforcement. SD-WAN solutions need to interoperate with existing network security products (such as next-generation firewalls), and most SD-WAN providers offer a strong ecosystem of network security partners whose products need to be integrated with their products.

8. Management, Automation and Network Orchestration (MANO)

For most SD-WAN solutions, the intelligence for management, orchestration, and automation resides in a centralized data center or cloud. The centralized IT operator's management, automation, and network orchestration (MANO) console should be highly automated, but this often requires some learning curve. SD-WAN MANO also faces some challenges to integrate into existing network and application management systems, but this is necessary for fully automated application performance management.

9. Self-management or managed services

IT organizations can purchase solutions directly from SD-WAN technology providers or purchase managed SD-WAN services from service providers. Most organizations will benefit from an experienced channel partner to integrate SD-WAN into the network including routers, Wi-Fi, and network security equipment. Other organizations outsource SD-WAN solutions and WAN connectivity to a managed service provider.

10: The Road to SD-Branch

Software-defined branch (SD-Branch) leverages the concepts of SDN and network virtualization to package all popular network requirements into a software-based solution that runs on a unified platform. Its capabilities include: SD-WAN, routing, network security and networking, Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Many SD-WAN solutions offer expansion capabilities, either internally or through partnerships, to meet the needs of SD-Branch. As a result, IT organizations can quickly deploy and configure an all-in-one network branch solution. This feature may be an ideal choice for IT organizations with new sites, moving branch locations, or branch refresh projects.

Original link:

https://www.networkworld.com/article/3355138/sd-wan-10-essential-considerations.html