Traditionally, business connectivity has been built on MPLS networks, which rely on manual configurations and static routing. SD-WAN leverages software functionality to automatically choose the best paths for data, prioritising fast and secure connections and enhancing MPLS networks.

The Uptime Institute recently reported that globally, more than 60% of network failures in 2022 resulted in at least $100,000 total losses, up from 39% in 2019. On top of this, outages that cost over $1 million increased from 11% to 15% in the same period.

A recent research paper on SD-WAN highlighted that in this current landscape, enterprises are preferring SD-WAN solutions, due to the ability to realise better visibility, uptime and security among zones, all at a relatively low cost.

In this blog we’ve focused on four key features of SD-WAN that leads to decreased downtime, including the role of automatic failover, zero-touch provisioning, load balancing, and centralised control and visibility.

The SD-WAN automatic failover feature works to ensure maximum uptime and reliability. This is huge when network-related problems are the single biggest cause of all IT service downtime incidents.

Where traditional networks may be vulnerable to single points of failure, continuous and automatic SD-WAN monitoring ensures data packets are sent over the fastest route. If a connection quality drops below an established threshold or fails unexpectedly, the route can be automatically changed to a different path.

With a managed SD-WAN service already set-up, IT teams can rest assured automatic failover execution will take place without the need for human intervention. This becomes increasingly important for critical systems such as financial applications, medical software, communications apps, or traffic control.

The power of automation comes into play once again with the virtualisation of customer premises equipment (CPE) and zero-touch provisioning (ZTP).

Relying on manual provisioning increases the chance of hardware misconfigurations or incompatibilities. Additionally, it triggers the cost of visiting sites to rectify network redundancy issues when they arise.

Removing this headache is ZTP, a process that allows a new device to be automatically configured or updated. This not only improves spending efficiency and configuration consistency, but it helps to reduce manual errors and potential failure points.

In the context of SD-WAN, universal CPE (uCPE) devices can host all virtual network functions. These functions can then be quickly deployed and integrated to the enterprise network without the need for physical deployment teams. Particularly when supported by a managed service provider (MSP), this capability empowers the network to swiftly adopt new functions as the need arises.

Bottlenecks are a major cause of network delays and prolonged periods of low service quality. With demand for speed and reliability at an all-time high, patchy network performance and slow or inconsistent load speeds can cost enterprises in sales and customers.

A key feature of SD-WAN is load balancing, which describes the ability to identify the optimal data stream for each application, and intelligently allocate bandwidth according to the needs of each application.

In the context of SD-WAN, load balancing intelligently directs data traffic based on factors such as bandwidth, latency, and link health. As a result, it helps prevent congestion on any single link, improves application response times, and maximises the overall network capacity for enhanced user satisfaction.

In addition to load balancing, network segmentation with SD-WAN involves dividing a network into isolated segments, enhancing security by restricting access to sensitive areas and making sure failure in one segment doesn’t impact the entire network. Coupled with load balancing, SD-WAN distributes traffic across various paths, optimising performance and mitigating bottlenecks for a more efficient and secure network.

Managed SD-WAN with centralised control allows network teams to configure and monitor the entire network from a single interface. It also allows for full visibility over network health and the ability to drill down on performance of individual network segments.

A unified management approach ensures consistent policies across multiple locations, simplifying maintenance and reducing errors. It also helps teams to make real-time decisions based on consistent visibility and improves management of applications.

The overall result of greater control and visibility is proactive management and streamlined troubleshooting, empowering teams to rapidly adapt to changing network conditions, all leading to less downtime.

The unique features of SD-WAN that set it apart from physical networking make it an incredibly resilient network technology with multiple redundancy layers and protocols to minimise downtime as much as possible.

With a managed SD-WAN solution, these functions can be tailored perfectly to the needs of your business to ensure that each individual application is as resilient as possible.

At Singtel, we work directly with enterprises to realise powerful network solutions.

References:

1. IDC, Worldwide SD-WAN Infrastructure Market Shares, 2022: Growth Continues, Driven by Cloud and Security

2. IDC, Worldwide SD-WAN Infrastructure Forecast, 2022-2026

3. Conference Paper via ResearchGate, A survey on Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) architectures

4. Uptime Institute, 2022 Outage Analysis Finds Downtime Costs and Consequences Worsening as Industry Efforts to Curb Outage Frequency Fall Short