Top Tips for SD-WAN Migration

Software Defined Wide Area Networks are becoming an increasingly enticing option for many enterprises. From offering cost savings, centralized control, improved network agility to more efficient use of low-cost Internet, the SD-WAN approach offers innumerable benefits. If your business has decided to take the route of SD-WAN, here’s a few pointers to make the transition a bit easier for you.

SLA-Driven Hybrid WAN Services

The primary reason for SD-WAN is to efficiently use a mix of public and private network services to decrease wireless network connectivity costs. A managed SD-WAN provider should be allowed to support a wide range of of WAN services. Service level agreements for packet loss, latency, network availability, and jitter are extremely important because the performance guarantees are not the same as MPLS-based WAN.

App Performance Monitoring and Visibility Tools

Many businesses looking to purchase an SD-WAN solution usually already have some sort of a private WAN service already in place in their network environment. Enterprises often recommend MPLS and Ethernet approaches for their ability to prioritize network traffic, access to app performance monitoring tools, and more. As your business begins to make the transition to SD-WAN, the managed service provider should be able to support path conditioning and dynamic path control.

Service Chaining

Security is always at the top of most network professional’s minds. It’s also highly important during the deployment of any SD-WAN approach, because it  links well alongside private networks. It’s critical that an SD-WAN service offers a flexible approach to network security. It’s important that the managed service provider shows expertise and the flexibility across a number of security solutions to support service chaining and service insertion.  Service chaining with micro-segmentation provides businesses with the ability to add network functions such as security and WAN optimization at specific regional locations.

Flexible Managed SD-WAN

Based on the size of your business, your SD-WAN network requirements are going to vary. That being said, the managed SD-WAN provider should offer tiered services that support a range of on-prem and cloud based applications. These tiered offerings include non-disruptive services to improve network visibility and and performance.