The software-defined networking solution can help you implement cloud computing strategies and connect your enterprise network to public, private, and hybrid cloud infrastructures. It can also provide onramps for IaaS and SaaS services. It can even give you direct access to the Internet from anywhere. SD-WAN is also called the “software-defined revolution” and is a great way to take advantage of the cloud.
Session awareness
SD-WAN explained one of its top advantages, which is its ability to be self-managed, simplifying the deployment process. While traditional MPLS connections can take up to 90 days to provision, SD-WAN internet circuits can be deployed in just a few days. Additionally, SD-WAN doesn’t require on-site expertise for networking equipment, which reduces the risk of delays. Another advantage of SD-WAN is that it makes disaster recovery easier.
Another significant advantage of SD-WAN is its availability. Since it can mix different types of WANs, it can help ensure that the availability of your location is high. In addition, if one connection fails, SD-WAN routers can automatically switch traffic to another connection if needed. This failover process can be fast enough to keep a session alive.
SD-WAN also eliminates fragmentation and is more secure than traditional methods. However, overlay-based SD-WAN does have its downsides. Although it is easier to create an overlay, it comes with a cost. In addition, tunnel overhead can take up to 40 percent of packet bandwidth. It also reduces bandwidth efficiency, packet drops, and latency. These issues can affect your customers’ experience.
Policy-based routing
One of the essential benefits of SD-WAN is its ability to manage a variety of different types of connections. These connections include private clouds, public clouds, and even SaaS services. This type of infrastructure helps companies manage their traffic so that it is routed over the most appropriate path in real time. Using SD-WAN, companies can also route traffic from cloud-based applications directly to their branch offices.
Another significant benefit of SD-WAN is its ability to provide high availability. While MPLS is known for its high reliability, ensuring redundancy at the MPLS provider level is often expensive and time-consuming. But, with SD-WAN, enterprises can create high-availability configurations without requiring IT specialists on-site. Moreover, the SD-WAN overlay network provides complete visibility, network segmentation, and centralized management.
Moreover, SD-WAN also eliminates unused bandwidth. It can also utilize dynamic path selection to differentiate between different traffic types. This means the highest-priority traffic is routed over the best connection, while lower-priority traffic is routed over a lower-quality connection.
Dynamic session pathing
One of the top advantages of SD-WAN is its ability to manage traffic flows dynamically. This capability allows network managers to assign specific traffic flows to different devices based on the topology of the WAN. This feature can be handy when allocating other users to foreign locations. This feature can also help your network perform better and increase the overall speed of your network.
Another benefit of SD-WAN is its ability to monitor the health of each WAN link. As a result, it can discriminate between different types of traffic and use the best possible connection based on priority. This way, you can reserve the best link for the highest-priority traffic while routing lower-priority traffic to less reliable connections.
Another advantage of SD-WAN is that it is more cost-effective than traditional MPLS connections. Many enterprises find MPLS circuits to be prohibitively expensive. SD-WAN offers lower-cost alternatives and can even be used as an alternative to legacy voice lines. With these benefits, SD-WAN is an excellent choice for enterprises with multiple locations and a need to minimize network downtime. Moreover, with this technology, you can be assured of your WAN sites’ high availability and quality of service. Furthermore, SD-WAN can be managed centrally, which allows you to save money and increase efficiency.
Cloud-based SD-WAN
Among the many advantages of cloud-based SD-WAN are its flexibility and ease of deployment. For one thing, SD-WAN capitalizes on a service provider’s nearest Point of Presence (PoP) to increase the performance of your network. This could include a high-speed fiber-optic line.
SD-WAN also integrates artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize traffic for the best network path based on application type. This feature can be set up at the controller level and pushed down to all SD-WAN devices. The policies can be found in IP addresses, application profiles, port numbers, quality of service markings, and even time of day.
SD-WAN provides predictable service and high application performance. Moreover, the software-based approach to managing applications makes management easier and more superficial. This, in turn, results in even more excellent reliability.
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