With
more workers accessing cloud applications over cellular, broadband, wireless,
and MPLS networks, from on-site or remote, the explosion of traffic IT staff
must monitor is overwhelming and complex. Further securing this traffic for a
variety of user types, employees, partners, contractors, and guests makes
policy management a nightmare as the matrix of roles, devices, and connection
types grow exponentially.
Wide area networks were only used to
connect employees at headquarters to applications housed at a nearby data
centre. To reach those applications, dedicated MPLS circuits were used to
ensure high availability and low latency. This was simple, yet terribly
expensive.
“SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area
Network) is designed to help organisations securely connect users to
applications regardless of what type of network (MPLS, LTE/5G, broadband
internet services) they originate from. SD-WAN technology is easy to deploy,
centralises network management and control, and ensures quality of service
(QoS) and application performance for users,” says Pete Nel, Business
Development Executive at Duxbury Networking, local distributors for Extreme
Networking technology.
SD-WAN is proving to be very popular, for a number of
obvious reasons that include:
·
Simplicity. Get
a single, centralised view of connections on your network from the extended
edge to your core for configuration, management, and reporting.
·
Better performance. Dynamically
route traffic to ensure high availability, low latency and improved user
experience for critical applications like voice and video.
·
Greater security. End-to-end
segmentation and real-time access control secures traffic across all
connections, distributing security policies all the way to remote endpoints.
·
Business continuity. Manage
your entire networking ecosystem from a single view and enable Network
Operations and Security Operations teams to collaborate to simplify end-to-end
IT management.
“In addition to the technological benefits of SD-WAN, organisations can gain efficiencies in their connection costs. While MPLS expenses may not be completely eliminated, the ability for organisations to securely connect their workers to cloud-based resources via the Internet means that reliance on more expensive connection types may reduce while maximising productivity at the same time,” says Nel.
On-premises
vs cloud-based SD-WAN
“On-premises SD-WAN architecture
does not connect to the cloud. It only connects to other sites considered
private and internal to the organisation. If you don’t use cloud applications,
perhaps an on-premises SD-WAN could work for you,” says Nel.
“If you’re using Zoom, Dropbox, or other cloud-based applications accessed over the public Internet, then, cloud-based SD-WAN is probably right for you. Modern SD-WAN delivers dynamic routing, threat protection, and simple network management, all while lowering total cost of ownership in a cloud-based application from a single pane of glass,” says Nel.
Appliance based licensing vs SD-WAN as a service
Appliance based licensing for SD-WAN
requires users to buy a piece of hardware and a licence to operate the tool.
Often, this requires a capital expenditure to initiate the project, lead time
related to shipping and install, and then on-premises configuration.
SD-WAN as a service is usually cloud
based and removes lead time to get the system operational. The primary benefit
of choosing a service over a hardware appliance is the predictable monthly cost
over the large expense made at the beginning. “If you’re thinking you can’t
afford a huge expense right now, consider a cloud-based SD-WAN like the one
available from Extreme Networks and take advantage of its low monthly price, as
an operational expense instead of a capital one,” says Nel.
If you can answer ‘yes’ to any of
these statements, then it’s time to make a change: (a) Your workers are
geographically dispersed; (b) the types of connections you have to manage are
diverse; (c) your IT staff is thinly stretched.
“The reality is, the network
connections you have to secure are going to continue to increase, the number of
applications you have to support will continue to grow, and the different
devices that access your network will continue to multiply. SD-WAN gives you
the ability to bring simplicity to the complex environment you’re managing,”
says Nel.
Extreme Network’s SD-WAN facilitates the ability for
organisations to extend the level of connectivity and security on-site
employees have traditionally enjoyed to remote workers located on the extended
edge. This capability is fundamental to the infinite distribution and at scale
tenets of the Infinite Enterprise, the industry’s response to new ways of
working accelerated by the global pandemic.