Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) is an overlay connectivity option that utilizes broadband Internet, 4G/LTE, or MPLS access.
By centralizing control in the cloud and combining functions at the edge, customers gain greater flexibility and performance combined with better economics. SD-WAN can also be delivered as-a-service, so networking can be consumed the same way as cloud services.
Because SD-WANs are software controlled, it is easier to add features and functions from a central location, while also reducing the need for edge appliances (e.g., WAN optimization and firewall boxes). SD-WANs delivered as a service over a private network also make it possible to deploy a global enterprise WAN without sourcing and procuring MPLS providers around the world.
MPLS never got the memo about the speed of business changing, because adding new locations can still take weeks, if not months. With SD-WAN, new locations can be brought up in days. What’s more, Aryaka’s Global SD-WAN encrypts traffic end-to-end, which isn’t offered with MPLS and may be an important compliance consideration.
Speed up your applications no matter where they are hosted. An SD-WAN, with built-in WAN optimization, improves performance for all mission-critical applications, hosted on-premises or in the cloud. And if you choose an SD-WAN delivered as a service over a private network, you can realize consistent application response times for users anywhere in the world, and sidestep the performance problems that plague SD-WANs that use Internet transport.
Instead of the typical WAN construction model, which requires you to procure, deploy and manage equipment at locations scattered around the world, SD-WANs delivered as a service over a global private network enable you to turn up WAN services just as you do cloud resources, with a click of a button.
MPLS has served enterprise WAN needs reliably for more than two decades, but age is catching up to it. MPLS networks are too expensive and too hard to modify for modern business needs, two of the most critical factors SD-WANs address.
MPLS was designed before cloud services rose to prominence, and typically only provide pipes directly into only a small portion — 1%-2% — of the cloud/SaaS resources available today. SD-WANs can be used to directly access most all cloud/SaaS options.
To overcome MPLS limitations, enterprises typically need to procure and deploy WAN Optimization appliances to achieve desired application performance levels. This counteracts the need to simplify the enterprise WAN and create solutions that are easily portable.
The most common approach is to use the public Internet to complement legacy infrastructure, such as MPLS. While that approach can be adequate within specific regions, longer links connecting to international locations – are prone to packet loss and congestion, which will severely hamper performance, especially for cloud/SaaS applications hosted halfway around the world.
In order to ensure the best performance for their most essential applications anywhere in the world, IT leaders in global enterprise must deploy a global SD-WAN solution with a cloud-native private network, such as Aryaka.
A global test was conducted to see how SD-WANs that use the Internet for transport compared to an SD-WAN delivered over a global private network. Download the full report to see how the approach you choose will determine how enterprise applications perform in different cities around world.
SD-WANs that use the public Internet can be acceptable for regional deployments as long as end-users are accessing cloud/SaaS applications in the same geographical area.
However, user experience will deteriorate significantly with an increase in distance because the latency, packet loss and jitter that plague the public Internet become more exaggerated.
Next-generation solutions, that rely on a global private network for the long-distance transport, make it possible to consistently deliver the performance required by mission-critical applications, whether they are on-premise or in the cloud, from anywhere in the world.
The predictive nature of such solutions takes the guesswork out of global deployments while retaining the agility and management options common to SD-WANs.
"Aryaka’s ‘cloud-native’ private network is intended to appeal to globally distributed enterprises that may be reluctant to rely on the Internet for application delivery over long distances (especially for sites in remote geographies) … It’s looking to offer all the promise of SD-WAN – flexibility, agility, reduced cost, simplified management and optimized access to the cloud – but with a dedicated transport underlay that makes it possible to support SLAs for business-critical application delivery globally."
Aryaka rides 2017 SD-WAN momentum into 2018
Platform Specialty Products, a global specialty chemicals company with 190 locations, moved from MPLS to SD-WAN in a matter of months and realized a 20x improvement in file transfer speeds and projects savings of $2-3M annually.
The State of SD-WAN Connectivity
This report examines the shortcomings of utilizing the Internet for mission- and business-critical applications by comparing the public Internet to Aryaka’s global private network.
What IT Leaders Should Know About the SD-WAN Market
Read this white paper to understand industry analysts’ predictions about the growth of the SD-WAN market and why and they matter to IT leaders preparing for digital transformation initiatives.
Aryaka Global SD-WAN:
Company Brief
Aryaka’s global SD-WAN provides fast, reliable, secure, and scalable connectivity, and application acceleration to globally distributed enterprises.