Four Reasons Why SD-WAN Makes Sense

Virtualization has revolutionized the data center, and now the next step is revolutionizing the network. Central to the networking revolution is software-defined networking (SDN), which allows network administrators to virtualize their networking hardware and bring added agility and cost savings.

Although all networking of all types can benefit from SDN, one area ripe for adoption is the wide area network (WAN). SD-Wan, as software-defined WAN is called, can enable businesses to harness virtualization and reap the benefits not only of improved agility and cost, but also other benefits. Companies such as CloudGenix are pushing forward with SD-WAN technology and giving businesses an easy adoption path.

Here are four reasons why SD-WAN makes sense.

1. Improved Transport Options

What SD-WAN gives businesses is true transport independence. Since the WAN is virtualized, it can take advantage of any transport protocol that is needed. This includes 3G, 4G LTE (News - Alert), MPLS, Internet, Ethernet, Serial or Wi-Fi. Businesses that use SD-WAN have total transport flexibility.

2. Better Security

Unlike traditional WAN solutions, which handle security through multiple appliances at each branch office, SD-WAN can include all of these functions in-box and at lower cost. SD-WAN can integrate with a cloud web content filtering service, too, and offer malware defenses and botnet command-and-control intervention for every branch and remote devices.

3. Intelligent Pathway Control

One of the most important advantages of SD-WAN is that it can provide intelligent path control that steers traffic based on application. This traffic-forwarding capability can be set in place at the centralized controller level and then pushed out to all SD-WAN devices. Policies can be based on IP addresses, application profiles, port number, quality-of-service markings, time of day, or any other number of variables.

4. Automatic Provisioning

Deploying WAN systems is so last year. SD-WAN enables businesses to send SD-WAN devices to branches un-configured. The device then can download its policy, crypto certificate and keys and automatically start to learn traffic patterns. Provisioning is dramatically easier with SD-WAN.

These are just some of the benefits of SD-WAN, but there are many more. Virtualization is a revolutionary technology, and WAN networking is no exception.