Software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) has the attention of a lot of companies these days, and with good reason. The sheer array of benefits SD-WAN offers a business—particularly one with multiple locations—is broad. Yet while many companies are eager to set up SD-WAN operations to take advantage of these benefits, they’re often putting the cart before the horse and not getting the most out of SD-WAN’s abilities. Get the most out of SD-WAN by starting with a proper network.
What Preparations Should Businesses Make for SD-WAN?
Enough bandwidth. Make particular note of bandwidth demand at peak periods, and don’t forget to consider needs going forward. Use proper WAN performance measurement tools like Cacti or NTOP to ensure that your network has enough room to handle the traffic that will move through the wide-area network.
Enough latency. Don’t just consider the overall size of your available bandwidth. Consider how quickly traffic moves through the system, or latency. You want the lowest latency possible in the system, as the lower the latency, the faster the data will move through the system. A connection that can adjust latency for different circumstances can help, but in order to get the best user experience, reduce latency to its lowest levels where possible.
Carriers and connection types. There’s something to be said for redundancy. A certain amount of redundancy helps ensure that a connection is always available when it’s needed. Consider the carriers and connection types available in your area to see if you can get the best of what’s available, and if it may be a good idea to have a backup option ready.
Network infrastructure. SD-WAN is capable of optimizing available bandwidth by directing WAN traffic along best routes. This requires the user to not only have multiple traffic routes available, but also the ability to switch between these. If your network hardware isn’t capable of performing such switches, it may be time to upgrade.
How Do I Get Started Readying My Business for SD-WAN?
It may seem like a big task to get a network ready for SD-WAN, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. That one step, in this case, is to drop us a line at eXemplify. Our Granite Telecommunications options can handle network needs across a wide range of carriers and access types—from DSL to wireless and most everything in between—and give you a complete network strategy even up to project management. We’ve got the SD-WAN solution for you, so start the ball rolling and get in touch with us.