As more businesses adopt SD-WAN as their go-to networking solution, its numerous advantages become increasingly clear.
SDWAN Meaning
SD-WAN or Software-Defined Wide Area Network is a transformative technology that helps businesses manage network traffic.
It leverages the speed, reliability, and affordability of the internet. SD-WAN securely connects users to applications, improving communication and efficiency.
SDWAN Architecture and Technology Explained
How Does SD-WAN Work
By using a digitized WAN architecture, businesses can combine broadband internet services like LTE and MPLS to create networks that balance performance and cost.
A key benefit of SD-WAN is its ability to route branch office traffic over regional internet connectivity, avoiding the need to send all traffic through a central data center.
This reduces costs, delays, and inefficiencies, especially for global enterprises.
The traditional WAN router-centric model uses TCP/IP addresses and ACLs to direct traffic, but it’s rigid, complex, and inefficient—especially in cloud environments—leading to poor user experiences.
SD-WAN offers a better solution for cloud-first businesses, delivering superior application quality of experience (QoE).
By identifying applications, it enables smart, application-aware routing, ensuring proper quality of service (QoS) and enforcing security policies.
It secures local internet breakout for IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) and SaaS (Software as a Service) traffic from branch locations, boosts performance while protecting against threats.
SDWAN Architecture
With centralized control, SD-WAN securely routes traffic to trusted SaaS and IaaS providers like Salesforce, Workday, Dropbox, and Microsoft 365.
This delivers faster speeds, better user experiences, and greater productivity while reducing IT costs. SD-WAN uses multiple transport technologies for faster, more reliable connectivity.
It enables precise traffic routing to ensure critical applications perform smoothly, boosting agility and efficiency.
SD-WAN also simplifies network management by acting as an overlay solution, reducing the complexity of managing or even replacing WAN edge routers.
SDWAN Technology
Often referred to as a boundary router, SD-WAN focuses on delivering packets within a network while intelligently managing traffic.
SD-WAN technology uses software to optimize network traffic over long distances.
By routing data through efficient, cost-effective channels, it creates a seamless system that adjusts dynamically based on application priorities and performance.
As the technology evolves, SD-WAN is becoming essential for enterprise networking and should be part of any network upgrade strategy.
Benefits of SDWAN
SD-WAN offers powerful benefits for businesses looking to improve networking and embrace cloud technologies.
By adopting SD-WAN, companies can streamline operations, boost agility, and enhance performance. Key advantages include:
- Cost Efficiency: SD-WAN lowers network maintenance costs with secure remote management, upgrades, and maintenance. It removes the need for extra staff across locations, making it a cost-effective solution for scaling operations.
- Enhanced Agility: With real-time traffic management, SD-WAN monitors WAN link health and reroutes traffic during congestion. Network admins can quickly deploy or adjust services to meet changing business needs, ensuring flexibility and responsiveness.
- Optimized Performance: SD-WAN improves application performance by reducing latency for SaaS and cloud-based apps, bypassing backhauling through centralized internet access points.
- Simplified Operations: SD-WAN automates complex tasks like deployment and management, letting IT teams focus on strategic goals. This improves operational efficiency and productivity.
- Improved Traffic Handling: SD-WAN redirects traffic from congested or failing pathways, minimizing delays and improving reliability. Automated failover ensures seamless operations and uptime.
- Secure Remote Connectivity: SD-WAN ensures reliable zero trust network access (ZTNA) for remote teams and cloud apps, crucial in today’s digital-first era. With growing adoption—56% of organizations piloted or upgraded SD-WAN and secure access service edge (SASE) solutions last year—it’s clear businesses rely on SD-WAN to meet the demands of digital transformation.
SDWAN versus MPLS
Image via fortinet.com
The differences between SD-WAN and MPLS come down to three factors: cost, security, and performance.
Overall, SD-WAN outperforms MPLS in all three. Here’s a summary table of the key distinctions:
| SD-WAN | MPLS | |
| Cost | Integrated services greatly reduce costs. | Higher cost to own, build, and maintain. |
| Security | Secure SD-WAN from Fortinet is deployed as an integrated function within an NGFW. | Require deploying a firewall and additional security functions. |
| Performance | Recognizes applications and can adapt bandwidth accordingly. | Provide a fixed level of bandwidth. |
| Complexity | If no built-in security, an add-on is required. | Web traffic back flowed to the data center. |
| Visibility | Broad application visibility. | Limited due to packet routing. |
| Scalability | Scalable with full mesh. | Take a longer process (up to months) to scale. |
SDWAN vs. VPN
SD-WAN and VPNs both provide secure connections but work differently.
VPNs create secure point-to-point links between devices, while SD-WAN connects SD-WAN devices for greater flexibility.
Unlike VPNs, which route all traffic through one link, SD-WAN improves efficiency by dynamically routing data across multiple paths.
Best Secure SDWAN Solutions
FortiGate firewall offers fast, scalable, and flexible Secure SD-WAN solutions for cloud-focused, security-driven enterprises.
Powered by Fortinet’s Security-Driven Networking, it combines SD-WAN, next-generation firewall (NGFW), and advanced routing for high performance and simplicity.
Key benefits include:
- Exceptional user experience at any scale.
- Simplified WAN architecture by unifying network and security.
- Consistent security and network policies organization-wide.
- Improved efficiency with automation, analytics, and self-healing features.
SDWAN Solutions Provider: Empower Workforce to Work Remotely
Image via fortinet.com
SD-WAN delivers cost-effective bandwidth, centralized WAN management, full visibility, and flexible connectivity.
Spectrum Edge offers top solutions like Fortinet in Malaysia for fast, scalable, and secure network connectivity.
Whether your business is cloud-first, security-focused, or global, our SD-WAN ensures performance and flexibility. Contact us today to optimize your network.