There are three basic types of SD-WAN deployments: Internet-based SD-WANs, Telco and MSP Managed Service SD-WANs, and SD-WAN as-a-Service. The performance needs of your global users and applications, the skillset of your in-house team, and your appetite for taking on the job of building and managing an SD-WAN will determine which deployment option is best for your business.
Internet-based SD-WANs, also known as DIY, use appliances at each company location, either behind routers or replacing them as the branch connection to the enterprise network and to the internet (SD-WAN appliances can also collapse the typical branch stack by replacing appliances for WAN optimization and firewalls).
Network traffic is forwarded over legacy MPLS links or the internet depending on performance considerations and established policies. While using the internet to complement MPLS offers a low-cost, flexible, and rapid deployment option, and makes it easier to connect users to cloud/SaaS applications, performance of the public internet is often spotty, particularly over longer distances and in parts of the world where the internet is less reliable. Latency, packet loss and jitter are inherent to the internet and these issues are aggravated with distance.
Internet-based SD-WANs also leave the burden of managing the WAN on IT, and you still may have to invest in WAN optimization and other technologies to have a fully functioning network.
With a managed service SD-WAN, the customer pays a service provider to install and deliver connectivity, as well as any appliances the service may require. The managed SD-WAN is a value-added service and may come with service level agreements (SLAs), but the managed service is typically deployed using some of the same hardware to support internet-based SD-WANs and will typically rely on the public internet for access to cloud/SaaS applications, meaning the same caveats apply: application performance and user experience will suffer over greater distances. In addition, the telco or MSP (Managed Service Provider) offering the managed service will rely on hardware and software from one or more networking and security vendors, creating support handoffs that result in a less than stellar experience.
With SD-WAN as-a-Service, which we call a Cloud-First WAN, companies acquire SD-WAN much the way they buy cloud services today, using a consumption model. Instead of constructing their own SD-WAN using the internet, or having a service provider deliver that same tech, next-generation networks such as Aryaka’s Cloud-First Managed SD-WAN combines the security and reliability of a private network with the flexibility, low cost, and quick deployment of the internet to deliver a superior connectivity solution and support experience.
Businesses can rely on a fast and secure private core network without having to build out a heavy infrastructure and manage additional hardware at the edge, making it simple to expand branch offices or move locations as they please, without compromising on reliability, and application performance, or security.
Enabling this faster connectivity through a global private network layered with WAN optimization ensures every employee around the world has seamless access and gets consistent performance when accessing mission-critical applications anywhere in the world.
Not sure which SD-WAN is right for your business? Here’s a look at the pros and cons of the different deployment options.
Managed SD-WAN as-a-Service:
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Telco or MSP SD-WAN:
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Internet-based SD-WAN
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SD-WAN supports a set of critical enterprise use cases. Most organizations leverage the technology or managed service for more than one.
