There are several easy ways to implement SD-WAN in your organization. These tips include selecting the right SD-WAN solution provider, identifying candidates for SD-WAN deployment, and migrating from MPLS to direct connectivity. Wood also offers recommendations on how to design your SD-WAN network to take advantage of SASE capabilities. But be careful: SASE capabilities can become an architectural nightmare, resulting in high costs and awkward integration.
Identifying Candidates for SD-WAN Deployment
You may want to consider SD-WAN if you’re looking to implement a new WAN architecture. Designed to deliver seamless on-ramps to the cloud, SD-WAN can simplify your network and reduce costs while offering significant application performance and security. Depending on your network requirements, SD-WAN can either be self-managed, outsourced to an MSP, or co-managed with a managed service provider (MSP).
The first step in your SD-WAN deployment is to identify candidates. This will help you determine if your network needs an upgrade. It would help if you started with a test network without impacting production applications. Using product automation systems will help you create and run production network tests. An experienced SD-WAN MSP will be invaluable in this step. However, it is critical to note that implementing an SD-WAN solution requires significant planning. You should seek a vendor with a proven track record of deploying such a solution.
Besides determining which applications are best suited for SD-WAN deployment, you should also consider how much capacity each device needs. As SD-WAN scales, you will need more vSmart Controllers and bonds to accommodate the additional power. It would help if you also looked into high availability (HA) capabilities, which are often built into SD-WAN ports. You can ensure your network’s high availability by clustering multiple bonds and vSmart Controllers with these options.
Choosing an Agnostic Solutions Provider
When implementing SD-WAN, it is essential to choose a vendor-agnostic solution provider so that the implementation is smooth and the quality of the end-user experience is improved. Then, what is SD-WAN vendor’s role? Furthermore, an SD-WAN vendor should be able to support and integrate multiple technologies, making it easier to make comparisons and test various SD-WAN solutions. In addition, an agnostic solution provider can integrate SD-WAN with other business applications.
An agnostic solutions provider will be able to provide the highest quality of services for SD-WAN while allowing for flexible deployment. This is important because SD-WAN services can be highly customized to meet a company’s unique needs. In addition, the best provider should be able to manage all aspects of the SD-WAN deployment, including security, application performance, and network availability.
Migrating from MPLS to Direct Connectivity
The migration from MPLS to direct connectivity for SD-Wan is a common question. While it will likely eventually replace MPLS, this won’t happen shortly or even in the next five to ten years. Therefore, most MPLS users may continue to use this technology for a long time. However, plans are often subject to change in this fast-changing tech world.
To make the change, an enterprise must find a viable alternative that matches the service levels of MPLS and avoids the common pitfalls. For example, MPLS is expensive and not available in all areas. On the other hand, Broadband Internet is available globally but is less reliable and has variable latency. Still, the cost savings are compelling. And since a company’s network costs money every month, an MPLS alternative should be able to match the benefits of the MPLS service.
SD-WAN adoption is growing as the WAN market continues to become more diverse across geographies. However, MPLS remains the dominant networking technology. Its growth is fueled by cloud computing, data center migration, and local internet breakouts, according to TeleGeography. However, plan carefully if you’re considering moving from MPLS to SD-WAN. You’ll want to avoid costly mistakes and delays during the migration process.
