SD-WAN Information

Question 1

Fundamental principles of SD-WAN.

Answer 1

• Use of SW to control connectivity
• Separation of Control Plane and Data Plane
• Virtualized Customer Premise Equipment (vCPE)
• Manages multiple connections from MPLS, Frame Relay, DSL to LTE to 5G.
• Hence it is an overlay technology
• Ability to segment, partition and secure traffic
• Handles policy, security and networking functions
• Provides the best mix of Performance, Price and Flexibility
• Policy based orchestration of network traffic.
• Different apps get different levels of service.

Question 2

Gartner definition of what a SD-WAN must do.

Answer 2

1. Must support multiple connections (MPLS, Internet, LTE, etc.)
2. Can do dynamic path selection
3. Provide a simple interface for managing WAN (e.g. zero touch provisioning at a branch)
4. Support VPNs.

Question 3

How does SDWAN improve network security?

Answer 3

• Mission critical traffic can be partitioned and protected against vulnerabilities in other parts of the enterprise.
• SDWAN incorporates NG-FW, IPS, URL filtering, malware protection and cloud security

Question 4

What are the problems with MPLS?

Answer 4

• Too expensive
• Complicated to setup.

MPLS will be around for a while. SD-WAN will not replace MPLS. It is an overlay that uses MPLS with other access technologies.