Let us briefly review how an SD-WAN works and its benefits. SD-WAN gateways constantly monitor the health of WAN links and can quickly redirect traffic if the link becomes congested or fails. Traffic redirection is essential to SD-WAN because it improves application performance and availability. In addition, SD-WAN is flexible enough to optimize performance depending on application needs.
Real-time Traffic Management
SD-WAN architectures generally share some fundamental requirements for real-time packet handling. Real-time traffic requires a mechanism for detecting packet issues and switching to alternate paths when appropriate. A key component of real-time traffic management is measuring packet loss, jitter, and latency. Though these metrics are not architectural requirements, they are critical for effectively managing real-time traffic.
As the use of UCaaS services increases, so does the need for a reliable and robust cloud connection. However, end-to-end network performance is compromised when users cannot access real-time services. Real-time traffic is sensitive to latency and loss, making real-time traffic management essential for cloud-based SD-WAN explained solutions. While premise-based SD-WAN solutions run in edge appliances, they rely on a third-party network for data exchange.
Centralized Management
The benefits of centralized management of SD-WAN are numerous. For one, it can improve the user experience. If traffic problems occur, users can be diverted to alternative locations. Modifications are synchronized across the entire network automatically. With all of these advantages, centralized management of SD-WAN is well worth the money. If you plan to implement SD-WAN, knowing what you need to do to implement it effectively is essential.
Another benefit of centralized management of SD-WAN is that you can scale up or down your network as needed. For example, a company with many remote offices can increase its network by adding more PoPs or reducing its capacity to save on costs. Before, companies would have to configure each remote office separately, but with centralized management, adding more bandwidth is easy. Moreover, this system enables companies to scale up or down their network capacity based on their needs.
Link-load Balancing
Traditional load balancing works by distributing network traffic among several connections using an algorithm. When a link is saturated, it suspends all activity and starts a new one using another connection. While this works, the network traffic is interrupted, including voice calls. In addition, the process takes several seconds. Hence, it can be inconvenient for a business that needs constant network connectivity.
There are two ways to implement link-load balancing in SD-WAN: per packet and connection. The first one involves determining the priority of traffic flows. However, it can be complex because the order of packets may vary based on the configuration. Moreover, this option requires additional intelligence in the routers. However, some SD-WAN implementations offer this feature. In addition, it is easier to implement and provides better performance than other options.
WAN Simplification
SD-WAN simplifies the configuration process for WANs. SD-WAN is orchestrated via a cloud-based “single pane of glass,” allowing administrators to prioritize critical applications by type of traffic and circuit. The orchestrator then tunes the circuits to optimize performance. With the growing global workforce and digital workplace demands, network resources are becoming overloaded. The SD-WAN takes the same approach to routing. With SD-WAN, users at branch locations no longer need to access the corporate data center but should be routed to the internet instead.
In addition to streamlining WAN management, SD-WANs provides significant cost savings to organizations. Since network experts no longer have to travel to remote locations, they can get more done at the office. This centralized management also allows IT teams to meet aggressive schedules. Network engineers can respond more quickly to requests or make updates to existing services, and tasks that take hours can be completed within minutes. The benefits of SD-WAN are numerous, and the technology is rapidly becoming an essential part of the IT infrastructure.
