SD-WAN Overview
VMware Special Edition
The wide area network (WAN) is the last
frontier to undergo the transformation
enabled by virtualization technology
and cloud delivery models, which have
ushered in new levels of IT flexibility,
efficiency, and cost benefits for the
enterprise. As mobile devices and
modern cloud-native applications have
proliferated, enterprise networks
have struggled to keep pace with
traditional architectures that cause
performance bottlenecks and are based
on hardware-centric, proprietary, and
outdated technologies.
A software-defined wide area network
(SD-WAN) extends the benefits of the
software-defined networking (SDN)
architecture beyond the data center to
the enterprise WAN. SD-WAN abstracts
network hardware into a control plane
and multiple data planes that can be
used with cloud-based management and
automation to virtualize enterprise WAN
connections and simplify the delivery of
services between remote and branch
offices to data centers and the cloud.
SD-WAN Trends
Enterprises have traditionally used
dedicated, private Multiprotocol Label
Switching (MPLS) networks to connect
headquarters and branch offices, and
to access applications and data in data
centers. However, MPLS networks are
bandwidth-constrained, expensive,
and complex. Broadband networks
were often installed as a backup, but as
cloud-hosted applications (such as Sales-
force, Microsoft Office 365, and Cisco
Webex) became more prominent, these
broadband networks have increasingly
been leveraged for direct Internet access
from branch offices to avoid inefficient
backhauling and congestion on the MPLS
network. However, this slow evolution of
the enterprise WAN has created numer-
ous challenges, including the following:
• Increased access costs for
MPLS-based bandwidth to support
application performance
• Growing complexity in branch and
remote deployments such as routing
configuration and security manage-
ment
• Architectural issues with traditional
WAN designs that are both static and
private, inhibiting migration to dynamic
and public cloud environments
These challenges are driving enterprises
to transform their traditional WAN
architectures by using SD-WAN. Addi-
tionally, several key trends associated
with digital business transformation
are increasing SD-WAN adoption in the
enterprise, including the following:
•T
 he cloud is the network. According
to a leading industry research firm,
30 percent to 50 percent of large
enterprise traffic is shifting to the
cloud, changing traffic flows and
making traditional WAN suboptimal.
•E
 nterprise apps are moving to the
cloud. IDC expects 80 percent of new
applications to be deployed to the
cloud by 2030.
•B
 andwidth requirements are
increasing. IDC reports that enterprise
WAN bandwidth increases an average
of 20 percent per year at the branch
and network traffic doubles approxi-
mately every three years.
•S
 ecurity is top-of-mind. Seventy-
one percent of large enterprises cite
network security as their biggest
challenge, according to ZK Research.
Why SD-WAN?
As growing companies become more
dispersed, mobile, and global, their IT
infrastructures inevitably become more
complex. In large enterprises, with
hundreds or even thousands of remote
and branch locations, this complexity can
cause IT to lose visibility and control. To
regain visibility, flexibility, and control, IT
organizations need to take a fresh
approach to architecting and managing
their networks and infrastructures. It’s
time to shift toward a cloud-delivered,
software-defined model for WAN and
branch locations that extends from the
data center and the cloud, across the
WAN, and to the edge.
SD-WAN leverages cloud-hosting to
simplify deployment and management
of network devices and employs traffic
steering to applications in the data center
and the cloud. It combines the bandwidth
of broadband with existing WAN
connections to more efficiently and cost-
effectively connect users to data center
and cloud-based applications from any
location in the network.
SD-WAN optimizes traffic over multiple
available connections, such as MPLS,
broadband, and Long-Term Evolution
(LTE), to deliver traffic across the network
and deliver a better user experience to
any location. SD-WAN will dynamically steer
traffic to the best available link, and if
the available links show any transmission
issues, it will immediately apply remedia-
tion for jitter and packet loss based
on predefined policies to ensure quality
performance of high-priority applications.
An effective SD-WAN architecture has
the following attributes:
•D
 eployment flexibility: Every organi-
zation has unique needs; an effective
cloud-delivered SD-WAN solution
provides complete flexibility and a
choice of deployment options. Its
logical overlay network will enable
any WAN transport, whether private,
public, or even LTE wireless broad-
band environments, while providing
simplified configuration and ongoing
management.
• Support for highly secure access:
Strong security is essential for diverse
cloud environments. A cloud-delivered
SD-WAN solution helps safeguard
sensitive data with pervasive, embed-
ded security controls that align with
applications, both in the cloud and
on-premises.
•A
 utomation and abstraction:
Choose a WAN architecture that will
drive automation and abstraction,
with a focus on business outcomes
and performance. This lets you improve
operations and enable business
policies implemented across the logical
overlay, to support abstraction of
application flows from the underlying
physical transport.
•R
 obust analytics: A successful
cloud-delivered SD-WAN solution
provides rich visibility across every
environment, spanning from the WAN
to the public and private cloud.
The architecture should also include
analytics capabilities to help you gain
insight into the network and tune
performance where needed.
•S
 implified operations: To help offset
the complexity of diverse multi-cloud
WAN environments, the new architec-
ture should enable low-touch IT to keep
operating expenditures (OpEx) in check
and enable CIOs to better justify their
investments. Simplified operations also
free up your team to focus on more
strategic priorities, such as driving busi-
ness growth and innovation.
Features and Benefits
of SD-WAN
SD-WAN delivers many features and
benefits for the enterprise, including
the following:
•N
 etwork agility: Because SD-WAN is
cloud delivered and software based,
it can be quickly adapted to address
changing needs, including adding
access to cloud-based services,
standing up new branch or remote
offices, and dynamically steering all
traffic for optimized application and
data delivery.
•A
 ssured application performance:
SD-WAN enables the enterprise to
deliver a superior user experience,
regardless of location or device, with
policy-based application prioritization,
improved application performance
and reliability, and transport-agnostic
performance.
•E
 ase of deployment: SD-WAN sup-
ports various deployment options for
the edge device, including dedicated
hardware, a virtualized appliance, or
a hybrid solution (cloud/software and
 hardware) providing the flexibility to
deploy on-premises, in the cloud,
or in a hybrid environment. In each
instance, the components connect to
a central orchestrator when brought
online, and configurations are pushed
from the central orchestrator to the
edge device. There is no need for a
specialized technician to install and
configure equipment, which saves
time and money.
•C
 entral management and control: A
centrally located orchestrator monitors
all network activity, alerts when
there are problems, and enables the
remote remediation of issues. The
orchestrator can automatically push
updated configurations and application-
specific policies to each network
node, quickly and efficiently. In
addition, it delivers real-time analytics
and reporting that can be used for
performance monitoring and trouble-
shooting.
•D
 ata segmentation: The SD-WAN
controller can be used to create virtual
network segments to isolate data,
such as Payment Card Industry (PCI)
or other sensitive data, to ensure
data integrity and support audit
compliance. Segmentation also allows
for overlapping IP addresses, which
makes it easy to incorporate multiple
networks into the system.
•C
 ost reduction: A leading industry
research firm reports that an SD-WAN
deployment is two and a half times
less expensive than traditional WAN
architectures. This cost reduction is
attributed to the following features
and capabilities:
• Augmenting existing infrastructure,
such as MPLS and leased lines, with
broadband, cellular and other con-
nection types to increase agility and
reduce bandwidth costs.
• Reducing problem identification
costs and associated remediation
costs with central management and
control of network activity. This
capability eliminates the need to
send out specialized technicians
to assess and repair issues.
• Offering pay-as-you-go plans
(subscription models) that defray high
upfront investment costs and ongoing
maintenance and upgrade fees.
•E
 nabling zero-touch provisioning Check out the following
that allows quick branch deploy- resources from VMware to
ments and time to accessibility. This learn more about SD-WAN:
increased agility is made possible • VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud website
because all deployment functions •S
 D-WAN Enterprise For Dummies iPaper
are managed from the central IT
•S
 D-WAN Deployment For Dummies iPaper
home office.
• SD-WAN Future For Dummies iPaper
• SD-WAN For Dummies e-book
• Eliminating the need to deploy appli-
cation-specific hardware or software
at each branch location because
the SD-WAN edge devices can host
virtual services and direct access to
cloud-based services.

For Dummies is a trademark of John WiIey & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-119-68769-6