Telecommunication Department

Analytics of SD-WAN

By:
Osama mohammed aldawdi ID: 161315
Hadeer Mohammed AlJanzore ID: 162007
Mohammd Khalifa Ben Ashour ID: 161221

Supervisor:
Eng.Hadil Younis

Fall 2021
 1. Abstract

This research is going to focus on the future of Wide Area Networking (WAN) technologies
and in particular on the emerging, high potential Software-Defined WAN technology. The
previous and existing WAN technologies will be discussed in order to point out their weak and
strong points and later compare them to SD-WAN. The technological principles of SD-WAN
and its impact on the WAN market. It defines the term, presents one of the different variations
available on the market and contrasts it to a typical traditional network, based on criteria such
as management, capabilities and price.

Simulations tests are conducted to different capabilities to show the performance of the SD-
WAN and compare it to the capabilities of the traditional network and view proof of concept
of the SD-WAN technology.

2. Introduction

In recent years, company network traffic has shifted from a primary branch-to-branch and
branch-to-datacenter pattern to a more internet-oriented communication pattern. This is mostly
due to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the shift to the cloud, both of which demand
internet connection in all locations. The movement began with small and medium businesses
(SMBs), but it has already spread to larger corporations. Vendors devised a new software-based
approach to networking in response to the issue of providing effective ubiquitous internet
access, and Software-Defined Wide Area Networks were born (SD-WAN). SD-WAN appears
to be a promising solution, yet many businesses have yet to use it due to apprehension about
change and apprehension about the technology [1].

SD-WAN brought a single point of management to all your branches with different type of
connections and with deep packet inspection per application level, which give a great power to
network administrator to admin and control the entire network with less effort. SD-WAN is a
necessary for multinational businesses that use the cloud and IoT devices. It is a suggested
solution for businesses looking to increase redundancy, improve performance, or reduce
expenses, figure (1) shows the SD-WAN concept.

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 Figure (1): The SD-WAN concept

3. Objectives

The major objectives of project could be summarized as below:

1) Present different options and parameters which are relevant for a company considering
an SD-WAN transition by implementing a simulation environment for a company and
the test the features of the technology with the results.
2) analyze the SD-WAN technology and its impact on the WAN market. A comparison
with other WAN solutions, such as MPLS VPN, IPsec VPN and DMVPN, is intended
to show the advantages and disadvantages of the SD-WAN technology and the
traditional network.
3) Ensure that the research is implemented as planned.
4) Complete the project in the allotted time.

4. Project Requirement
- Server with at least 40 GB of Memory and atleast 25 virtual CPUs.
- Eve-NG or GNS3 software.
- ISO images for the Cisco Viptella component.
- Routers and Switches images for the mentioned softwares.

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5. Time Plan

The expected time between 10 to 14 weeks

6. References

[1] T. Corbett, L. Pierce and D. Young, “SD-WAN Early Findings Yield Surprises”,
Gartner Survey, ID: G00343588, Nov. 2017