SD-WAN has emerged as a powerful solution for optimizing network performance, but can it make the internet faster for an enterprise?
Does SD-WAN affect the Internet Speed?
SD-WAN doesn’t directly increase the internet speed in terms of raw bandwidth or latency. It can significantly improve the network’s performance and efficiency, which often translates to a faster internet experience for users, however, it’s important to note that SD-WAN is not a magic solution for slow internet. If the underlying internet connections are poor, SD-WAN can only do so much to improve the performance. Additionally, the effectiveness of SD-WAN depends significantly on proper design, configuration and management.
How SD-WAN improves the application performance
1. Intelligent Traffic Routing
SD-WAN can use dynamic path selection to route traffic over the best available path in real-time. This means that data is sent through the most efficient route based on current network conditions, reducing latency and improving overall performance.
2. Bandwidth Aggregation
One of the key features of SD-WAN is its ability to combine multiple internet connections into a single, more robust connection. This aggregation of bandwidth can lead to faster download and upload speeds, especially when handling large amounts of data.
3. Quality of Service (QoS)
SD-WAN allows enterprises to prioritize critical applications and traffic. By deploying application-aware QoS policies, enterprises can ensure that important data, such as voice and video communications, receives preferential treatment. This results in better performance for these applications, which can feel like faster internet speeds for users.
4. Efficient Use of Available Bandwidth
SD-WAN makes more efficient use of available bandwidth by load balancing across multiple connections. Using bandwidth more efficiently results in faster perceived speeds.
5. Reduced Latency
By intelligently routing traffic and avoiding congested paths, SD-WAN can significantly reduce latency. Lower latency translates to quicker response times, which can make the internet feel faster, especially for real-time applications.
What SD-WAN cannot control
The public internet is unreliable and causes latency variations (jitter), which can be particularly problematic for real-time applications like voice, video, and business-critical services. While SD-WAN can route around those impairments where alternative paths are available, it cannot make those problems go away completely.
Pairing SD-WAN with a middle-mile network
An evolved design to eliminate the reliance on the Internet as a global WAN backbone is one where the Internet (Broadband or DIA) is used as a very a short hop to get on a private middle-mile network.
A private middle mile, combined with SD-WAN and Internet for last mile offers a highly predictable, reliable and secure end-to-end experience. Private middle mile solutions (like Apcela Arcus Network) use direct, high-speed, highly resilient connections for the long haul, reducing the number of hops data must take. This minimizes the chances of data being routed through congested or suboptimal paths, thereby reducing latency, and providing overall highly available, SLA backed solution.
Conclusion
While SD-WAN doesn’t literally increase the internet speed, it can significantly enhance your network’s performance, leading to a faster and more efficient internet experience. For businesses looking to improve their network performance without necessarily increasing their bandwidth, SD-WAN offers a compelling solution. The key to maximizing SD-WAN’s benefits lies in designing a solution with integrated private middle mile technology, proper implementation and management.
About Apcela
Apcela provides software-defined, cloud-optimized networks for the digitally transforming enterprise. Delivered as a service, we enable enterprises to easily deploy and operate a software-defined network and security architecture that was built for a multi-cloud world.
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Media Contact:
Jason Ameris
Apcela
Jason.Ameris@apcela.com
845-414-4573
