SD-WAN Benefits: What You Need to Know About Software-Defined WAN
SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network) is revolutionising how businesses connect their sites and users.
Citrix NetScaler SD-WAN gives you the ability to intelligently consume multiple network paths, delivering highly resilient and high-performance connectivity. Thanks to the low cost of modern bandwidth, SD-WAN solutions are now accessible to businesses of all sizes.
How SD-WAN Leverages Low-Cost Bandwidth
Previously, most SMB’s battled to ensure that every last ounce of their 2,3,4 or 10Mbps (if they were lucky!) network connections were utilised to the maximum. User expectations were managed carefully and bandwidth was a precious resource.
Many WAN optimisation solutions emerged, such as WanScaler and CloudBridge, to compress and schedule as much traffic as possible.
Today, the world has changed – a user can install an exclusive 200Mbps broadband connection for £50 a month. They can stream movies, browse rich media sites and use social media from as many devices as they please.
However, on Monday morning they return to the office and the handcuffs go back on. No video streaming, restricted internet access – “I’m sorry, my system is running slowly today, please bear with me”.
Bandwidth got cheap, but the business world is yet to catch up. NetScaler SD-WAN can get you up to speed and take the handcuffs off.
SD-WAN vs MPLS: Superior SLAs Through Path Diversity
“I need my MPLS because I have great SLAs!”
A 99.9% SLA on your MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) equates to over one minute of downtime every day. One minute every day in business hours would not satisfy users. If you aggregate multiple lower SLA connections, combined they can potentially have an even higher availability.
Unlike traditional MPLS networks, SD-WAN offers dynamic path selection, application-aware routing, and the ability to use any transport type (broadband, LTE, MPLS). This makes SD-WAN solutions both more flexible and cost-effective.”
SD-WAN Performance Benefits & Network Resilience
NetScaler SD-WAN provides the ability to consume multiple network paths, delivering a highly resilient and high performance WAN.
Imagine having an MPLS circuit fail, but no user disruption; or being able to use your MPLS for VOIP traffic – and cheaper bandwidth for bulk data transfers. NetScaler SD-WAN makes this simple.
Key SD-WAN Benefits with NetScaler:
- MPLS circuit failover without user disruption
- Intelligent traffic routing (VOIP over MPLS, bulk data over broadband)
- Transparent bandwidth addition without network redesign
- Faster branch provisioning without waiting for MPLS installation
- Application-aware routing for data centre, SaaS, and cloud workloads
SD-WAN represents the future of enterprise networking. By implementing NetScaler SD-WAN solutions, businesses can achieve better performance, improved resilience, and significant cost savings compared to traditional MPLS-only networks.
SD-WAN: Frequently Asked Questions
SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) is a technology that uses software to manage and optimise wide area network connections.
SD-WAN intelligently routes traffic across multiple connection types (MPLS, broadband, LTE) to deliver better performance, reliability, and cost efficiency than traditional networking.
While MPLS provides reliable but expensive connectivity through a single path, SD-WAN uses multiple connections simultaneously, offering dynamic path selection, better resilience, and typically 30-50% cost savings.
SD-WAN also provides application visibility and control that MPLS lacks.
Key SD-WAN benefits include: improved application performance, network resilience through multiple paths, reduced costs by using broadband alongside or instead of MPLS, faster deployment of new sites, centralised management, and built-in security features.
SD-WAN solutions benefit any organisation with multiple locations, remote workers, or cloud applications.
It’s particularly valuable for businesses looking to reduce MPLS costs, improve application performance, or accelerate digital transformation initiatives.
SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) is a technology that uses software to manage and optimise wide area network connections.
SD-WAN intelligently routes traffic across multiple connection types (MPLS, broadband, LTE) to deliver better performance, reliability, and cost efficiency than traditional networking.
While MPLS provides reliable but expensive connectivity through a single path, SD-WAN uses multiple connections simultaneously, offering dynamic path selection, better resilience, and typically 30-50% cost savings.
SD-WAN also provides application visibility and control that MPLS lacks.
Key SD-WAN benefits include: improved application performance, network resilience through multiple paths, reduced costs by using broadband alongside or instead of MPLS, faster deployment of new sites, centralised management, and built-in security features.
SD-WAN solutions benefit any organisation with multiple locations, remote workers, or cloud applications.
It’s particularly valuable for businesses looking to reduce MPLS costs, improve application performance, or accelerate digital transformation initiatives.