SD WAN technology enables businesses to control their network. Managing the network becomes simpler as it can be controlled remotely from any location.
The convenience of centralised management makes SD WAN technology ideal for businesses that are spread over different locations. If changes have to be made they can be centrally done from a single dashboard instead of implementing the changes separately in each location.
SD WAN technology will be a boon if your business is expanding and new collaborations are being established. The convenience of managing multiple locations remotely from anywhere across the globe enables the smooth running of businesses while saving a lot of time.
If you already have any of the connections like ADSL, WAN, 4G or Ethernet you can still get the benefit of SD WAN technology as it is designed to connect with any existing network.
Traditional WAN Vs SD Wan
The advantages of SD WAN over the traditional wan are manifolds.
- The usage of both the networks depends on the type of circuit i.e, MPNL, Ethernet, broadband or cellular. Also, there are some kinds of routing endpoints at the source and the destination of the connection.
- Virtualisation and cloud are the unique selling points of SD Wan. SD WAN technology makes the business more active and productive. The organisations will be able to utilise the wide-area network faster than the traditional WAN with a cost reduction of upto 3 times. Centralised management of the network improves activity, and visibility and enables expansion without any additional management costs.
- SD WAN technology has all the information like connection, security, and network embedded in the software whereas in traditional WAN the information is programmed directly into the device through command lines
- The facility of centralised management in SD WAN technology makes it convenient to manage multiple connections from any location across the globe. It is both cost and time saving and is appropriate for a business with several branches.
- The virtual connection of SD WAN can be moved from one device to another without much difficulty and any changes to be made according to the business requirement will also be faster without any time wasted.
- A set of rules will enable SD WAN to reallocate bandwidth according to the requirement of the business, which is not possible with traditional WAN since programming will be required for any reallocation to be made.
Advantages of SD WAN Technology
There are numerous advantages of SD WAN Technology.
#1. Multiple connections
SD WAN network supports hybrid WAN which means that each network can have multiple connections using different channels like Ethernet, MPLs, broadband, LTE etc. A virtual private network is set up across each WAN for security.
#2. Resilience and Security
The basic purpose of SD WAN technology is to enhance resilience by reducing the severity, number and duration of WAN outages.
SD WAN offers inbuilt security to mitigate the risk of hacking. An SD WAN with combined security features like encryption, NGFW, AV, IPS and sandboxing capabilities that can prevent packet loss, downtime and regulatory violations will be the best option.
The fast-emerging SSE solutions – Security Services Edge, ensure that organizations can securely and safely access cloud-based services or applications through a 5G router or any other edge appliance as its wireless access point. If and when there is an SD-WAN router at the edge, it helps ensure improved network security that allows easy vetting of users, averting security breaches, aiding traffic segmentation and improving network protection on the whole.
#3. Cloud Usage
Businesses have started using cloud services extensively. SD WAN technology facilitates access to cloud services through the remote branch, thus avoiding backhauling traffic. SD WAN directs the cloud and branch office traffic through the data centre. This means the employees can access the cloud applications irrespective of the location. It boosts the performance of cloud applications by giving importance to business-critical applications. This is made possible by enabling the branches to directly interact with the internet.
#4. Centralised management
Businesses at multiple locations now have the advantage of managing all the locations remotely from anywhere across the world with SD WAN technology. Any changes to be made can be done on a single dashboard instead of accessing each site individually which is very cost-effective.
#5. Rapid Deployment
The businesses will be able to deploy the SD WAN 100 times faster than the traditional WAN and have the benefit of cost reduction of up to three times.
#6. Cost-Effective
Organisations now use a variety of cloud applications, and the transformation of data over the network has considerably increased which would result in increased operational costs. SD WAN technology is a blessing in disguise as it reduces the cost by using low-cost internet access and providing direct access to cloud applications. An estimated saving could be between 5% to 39%.
Conclusion
Migrating to SD WAN technology from the traditional WAN has several advantages like eliminating network slump, inconsistent performance, and security risk. This new technology can offer huge business benefits for businesses with a vision which will result in reduced operational costs and also support their extensive SD-branch initiatives.
FAQs
What should you know about SD-WAN?
An SD-WAN employs a centralised control function to securely and intelligently route traffic across the WAN and directly to SaaS and IaaS providers whom you can count on. This improves application performance and provides a high-quality user experience, increasing business productivity and agility while lowering IT costs.
What are the two major weaknesses of SD-WAN?
SD-WAN weaknesses that organisations should consider include cost, complexity, and interoperability issues with existing network components.
What is the main advantage of SD-WAN?
SD WAN keeps track of the performance of WAN connections and controls traffic in order to maintain high speeds and maximise connectivity.
What is the difference between SD-WAN and VPN?
For easy management, various WAN features have been combined into a single platform in SD-WAN whereas VPN provides authenticated WAN security between two or more endpoints to
Shield communication between the head office and branch offices.
Are routers required for SD-WAN?
SD-WAN eliminates the need for manually configuring routers from network administrators. SD-WAN router configurations are automatic to ensure WAN links. MPLS and broadband work together and are utilised to the maximum. The SD-WAN keeps track of application performance and hybrid network traffic.