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Many independent research companies conduct detailed studies every year to predict the direction and future of technology. One of these studies is carried out in the field of network and infrastructure. Below is the "2019 Network Hype Cycle" published by Gartner in this field. Before starting the review, it would be useful to briefly look at how we should interpret the Hype Cycle.
“SD-WAN being described as high impact means that this technology plays a role in helping organizations increase revenue and/or reduce costs.” The area located on the far left, called the innovation trigger, can be interpreted as technologies that are being developed and will gradually begin to manifest themselves. After the peak, where expectations reach the highest level, we see technologies that are in the proving phase, where PoCs are made with customers. The area that continues from the bottom point to the end of the chart can also be interpreted as the increase in maturity level and usage.
When we look at the 2019 Hype Cycle, we see that SD-WAN, one of the SD technologies and the title of our article, is now starting to mature in the market. With SD-WAN, many different technologies are becoming widespread in our lives.
So, do all technologies have the same effect? While some of them are described as transformational, the impact of others may remain at lower levels. In the same study, the impact of SD-WAN was shown to be high. If we look at the definition of effectiveness, which Gartnet defines as high, we can see that there are technologies that will help organizations increase revenue and/or reduce costs.
The study we briefly mentioned above is just one of the studies carried out in the SD-WAN field. SD-WAN is one of the technologies that will leave its mark on the networking field in the coming years. It is estimated that more than 10,000 customers around the world have tried SD-WAN in their own environments, and manufacturer revenues will increase by an average of 35% annually.
After understanding the role of SD-WAN in network technologies, we can now come to the real question. “What is SD-WAN? and “General features and benefits?”
In order to talk about a network network, we first need the devices in the locations where communication will be established, the access lines connecting these devices, and finally the data passing through this line (perhaps it would be more accurate to call it application data today). SD-WAN delivers unprecedented innovations in all of these areas. Let's briefly see the innovations in these areas.
New generation devices and central management platform: Old type network devices were devices that required you to remotely access them one by one and you had to connect and intervene one by one to control them. With SD-WAN, the control and management of devices was transferred directly to central structures. In other words, control and data planes are separated. This transformation enabled devices to be monitored, controlled and changed via a single management cockpit (SD-WAN Controller). However, this is not something that only happens with SD-WAN technology; in order for this transformation to occur, it was also necessary to add new types of devices to the device portfolio. Here the concept of UCPE came into our lives. In fact, it would be more accurate to call them box-shaped computers. Since these devices are programmable, they can work in full compatibility with SD-WAN controllers. Of course, device manufacturers have also worked to make their devices programmable and more manageable, resulting in a wide range of products that can work with SD-WAN management platforms.
Flexible Line Usage: SD-WAN is often perceived as an alternative to connection types such as internet and MPLS. We can say that SD-WAN is the technology that allows these lines to be used more flexibly and hybridly. SD-WAN, with the overlay network layer it creates, enables the creation of an access network between all lines, regardless of internet or mpls, mobile or dsl or fiber.
Application: Application recognition was not previously a feature of ordinary network devices. Therefore, in ordinary networks, line speed and line slowness were discussed, and viewability of applications could not be ensured. SD-WAN offers us a structure that centers the application in line with today's application needs.
Each manufacturer's SD-WAN solution differs from each other, and manufacturers are adding new features to their SD-WAN solutions every day. In line with the needs of today's businesses, we can list the basic SD-WAN features as follows.
Plug and play installation: Those who dealt with computers in the late 90s or early 2000s will know. In those days, in order to introduce a new device to your computer, you were expected to research its drivers, and if you could find the correct one at once, you would be expected to introduce them to the computer. However, now almost all computer components are installed directly into our computers automatically. SD-WAN finally brings the plug-and-play feature, which is overdue for the network world, to IT managers. In this way, you can add a new device to your network within minutes. With the templates you create, you can directly load the configuration that previously worked smoothly and prevent human errors. This has the advantage that you can have as many branches as you want, and when you want to make a change in these branches, you can change your structure with a few small changes instead of working through the CLI screens one by one. With this feature, you can get your branch up and running with any line within minutes and prevent human errors. It brings agility, ease of management and cost advantages, especially for customers with locations abroad.
Applications, not devices or lines: All our business now takes place through applications. No customer or employee will ever say the line is slow or there is a problem with the device. The most critical point for them is whether they can access certain applications and the performance of the applications. Then our first feature is that the applications are recognized by the network and used with maximum and accessibility.
SD-WAN sees the applications passing through end devices and the lines connected to these devices, and monitors these applications in real time, providing you with the necessary management capability to follow the most performant path.
To give an example: Your data going to SAP is very important, and you cannot tolerate delays and interruptions. You can choose which line SAP will go on with simple and instantly changeable rules that you will define over SD-WAN. If you wish, SD-WAN will instantly select the most performance line for you. If the line on which SAP is passing is interrupted, it automatically switches to the other line and applications passing through this line. It also ensures that it receives first priority (Application QoS). This feature directly affects the customer and employee experience and prevents revenue losses.
Higher speed, lower cost: Video and audio usage is increasing day by day. In the face of this increase, symmetrical metro Ethernet connections remain costly. With SD-WAN, you can combine multiple lines or use them redundantly whenever you want. For example, 2 DSL and 1 mobile lines can be easily combined, so you can increase your speed at low costs and have the opportunity to use these lines as backup. With this feature, you can reduce your direct costs. The right application is on the right line: MPLS networks, that is, connection type closed to the internet, are widely used by corporate companies. Mostly unimportant internet etc. connections are made over these lines, which are preferred for security and performance. data is also passed. Is there really a need to incur this cost for migrating unimportant data? With SD-WAN, you can reserve your MPLS lines for applications that are critical to you. For other unimportant applications, you can use your less costly internet or mobile lines. Well, I can hear you say security, we'll talk about that in a moment. As for its benefits, with this feature you will provide a direct cost advantage by reducing your MPLS line speeds.
Security: According to INAP 2019 research (INAP 2019, The state of IT Infrastructure Management Survey), security is still the number one priority of companies, and they are not wrong in this priority today, when the cost per leak can reach astronomical levels (Ponemon: Cost of Data Breach).
SD-WAN makes different network features previously available on hardware available to be installed on devices located in locations. What this actually means is this. You can remotely activate or remove firewall or utm features in all your locations using software. To express it with an analogy, this is as big as the difference between carrying a calculator and a mobile phone loaded with a calculator. Why should I carry a separate device when there is a solution that I can install and delete and does not take up space?
With this feature, you minimize the security risks in your branches. At the same time, you do not have to make on-site installations.
Monitoring and management: When IT managers were asked about the top 6 WAN problems they experienced, it was stated that the first place was the management difficulty of the branch network and security devices. (Dimensional Research – SD-WAN for Addressing Branch Network Complexity & Security 2016 Q4) SD-WAN allows you to monitor and manage your entire network from a single point with powerful real-time visuals. Thanks to the overlay network created, changes that would take days can be made in seconds via operators.
In this way, you do not need to invest in different monitoring tools, and at the same time, you can work together with less human error and higher efficiency.
Direct access to cloud services: The majority of the applications we use today run through cloud structures. In order to access these applications efficiently, the shortest and most efficient path must be followed. While you can access cloud applications at the headquarters in traditional methods, your branches can now directly access different cloud providers with security features. At the same time, of course, your applications on the cloud become traceable.
Summary and Conclusion: Above, we briefly tried to examine the future of network technologies and, in parallel, the SD-WAN solution, which is slowly starting to affect our lives. There are some factors that companies should pay attention to and consider before switching to SD-WAN technology. First of all, many manufacturers offer different solutions under the SD-WAN title. Since SD-WAN gathers many different categories under its umbrella, manufacturers' maturity levels in this area may vary. Considering that companies' priorities are different, it is very important to see manufacturer solutions through demos or PoCs.
There are more than 25 companies providing SD-WAN solutions on a global scale. In order to choose the right solution among so many manufacturers, a serious time and labor cost must be incurred. As KoçSistem, we are ready to support you in comparing SD-WAN solutions, finding the most suitable solution for your needs, and establishing, maintaining and managing this structure.