SD-WAN has witnessed great success in recent years – transforming from something only used by those in the know to something that countless businesses rely on every day for managing their networks.
Like with every new technology, the internet can be a great place to find out about the benefits and drawbacks of SD-WAN – however many companies will attempt to frighten you into adopting it, making it seem like it’s really the only way to achieve success.
To that end, we’ve collated some of the facts about SD WAN to help you find out what the tech can do for a business, as well as what it cannot.
What Does ‘SD-Wan Mean?
SD-WAN stands for ‘Software-Defined Wide Area Network’. It can help to compare it to a more traditional WAN (Wide Area Network) to get a grasp of its features.
A WAN is essentially multiple branches (in this case, locations) that are all linked to a hub in the centre – most companies with numerous locations will make use of some kind of WAN. This central hub lets each branch make use of applications.
In most cases, each branch will have a dedicated connection to the internet, using a business VPN to keep the company’s network secure. It is common for the central hub to be where the IT department is stationed, and as such, it tends to contain the business’ apps and services.
How Does SD Wan Differ From a Traditional Wan?
The way a WAN function is not altered by SD-WAN. Really, SD-WAN is more of a system that overlays the WAN, providing you with finer control and the ability to manage the network’s connections. Since this is the case, no parts of the network are gotten rid of or replaced.
SD-WAN is a great way to achieve unity for each of your network’s parts. Your business will gain access to a unified interface, facilitating control over each device connected to the network. This concept of centralized control is one of the main selling points for businesses, but it doesn’t stop at control.
Devices use a plethora of languages to communicate and send traffic through your network – data that travels wirelessly and data that passes through a wired connection are both dealt with a little differently, for instance. The languages used to handle them are virtualized by SD-WAN – making it possible to use connections together even if they differ.
You may find that one site benefits from a 4G connection to the internet, whereas another would find a WiFi connection secured by a VPN to be more appropriate – whatever the case, SD-WAN has got you covered.
What are the Benefits of Using SD-Wan?
Above we’ve mentioned just a couple of the benefits of utilizing SD-WAN, in terms of the technology itself. But what about from a business perspective? Continue reading for a further look into what SD-WAN can bring to a business, and whether or not it’s what you need.
Get New Sites Online Quickly
SD-WAN gives you control over all the devices on your network, and it does this by virtualizing the languages, as we talked about earlier.
This can be advantageous when it comes to provisioning new sites, as it removes any chances of types of connections causing problems with their language, even if the device is miles away.
With SD-WAN you can do whichever is quickest, even if at one site you’re using a cellular connection and at another, you’re using broadband.
Bear in mind though that connection is not the only thing to worry about when provisioning sites – wherever it may be, there needs to be equipment set up.
Once this is done though, it’s possible for your IT department to sort out the minute details remotely, meaning even if SD-WAN doesn’t solve all your problems, you’ll still save a lot of time.
Dynamic Cos Alterations
An interesting feature of SD-WAN is the ability to make quick alterations to your Class of Service (COS) preferences.
SD-WAN makes it possible to control the routes that data takes through your network – meaning the traffic that is considered high priority can always get where it needs to be even if the network is under strain.
SD-WAN allows changes to be made through its control interface, as opposed to having to make changes through individual devices.
Unfortunately though, since SD-WAN is simply an overlay as opposed to something that makes changes on a hardware level, you won’t get quite as much Class of Service control as you would with a system such as MPLS, for example.
With an MPLS system, it’s possible for businesses to make extremely specific changes for individual users and their applications – SD-WAN offers a decent amount of control, but still isn’t quite on the same level as MPLS.
Security From a Central Location
It’s not just applications and support that can be accessed through the central hub – SD-WAN also allows security to be delivered throughout your network. Having the ability to monitor security from the central hub is a great advantage when it comes to keeping your data secure.
It’s common to find that, in terms of security, your average network will have a firewall to provide security at each physical site. I’m sure you can see where this is going – as SD-WAN lets each branch have access to applications from the center, it makes sense that security can also be rolled out from the same place.
It can be beneficial to have a word with potential providers about the possibility of integrating security into your network – once you do, you’ll surely find that with SD-WAN achieving a more secure network is much less complicated than setting up security at each individual location.
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