What does SD-WAN stand for?
What is SD-WAN?
SD-WAN is the application of software based network technologies that virtualize WAN connections. SD-WAN decouples network software services from underlying hardware to create a virtualized network overlay. Enabling users anywhere to connect to applications anywhere, SD-WAN offers flexibility, simplicity, performance, security, and cloud scale. It also boasts ease of deployment, central management and control and assured application performance. SD-WAN is an essential component of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture.
SD-WAN Simplified
Learn about Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) in simplified terms, why it’s being rapidly adopted, and the benefits realized by enterprises.
2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SD-WAN
For the fifth consecutive year, VMware is a leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SD-WAN.
Why VMware SD-WAN?
By optimizing traffic over multiple available connections, SD-WAN delivers a better user experience, anywhere. SD-WAN dynamically steers traffic to the best available link and remediates if transmission issues arise to ensure high performance of applications.
Performance and Reliability
Deliver high performance WAN reliability, transport, and provider flexibility to assure optimal performance even for demanding cloud and datacenter delivered applications, such as voice and video.
Realize Your Multi-Cloud Strategy
Connect users and branches securely and simply to the cloud through an optimized direct path to public and private enterprise clouds.
Build Your Foundation for Edge Digital Transformation
SD-WAN is now foundational to the distributed enterprise edge — not just for building a hybrid WAN or cloud connectivity. VMware SD-WAN enables seamless insertion and chaining of virtualized services on-premises and in the cloud to enable customers to digitally transform their business operations at the edge.
Enjoy Orchestration and Flexibility
Centralized monitoring, visibility and cloud control enable zero-touch branch deployment with support for many popular Secure Service Edge providers and VNF applications, allowing you to choose how and when you will transition to SASE.
Benefits of SD-WAN
SD-WAN solves network complexity while cutting total cost of ownership. SD-WAN simplifies operations through rapid zero touch provisioning and cloud management, optimizes app performance over any WAN link, accelerates cloud adoption through managed on-ramps, and offers robust edge security.
Enables Migration To the Cloud
SD-WAN delivers hybrid, multi-cloud, and SaaS functionality to support the needs of businesses today.
Simplified WAN Operations
Branch and remote site deployments are made simple with global WAN visibility, agility, and scale delivered through an automated platform.
Confidently Deploy a Hybrid Workforce
SD-WAN connects any device or any user to any application anywhere, in the cloud, at the edge, or in the data center with in-depth network analytics and security.
Comprehensive Edge Security
Cloud security is paramount to SD-WAN and achieved through end-to-end segmentation, advanced threat protection, and security VNFs via the SD-WAN platform.
Solution Components
VMware SD-WAN Gateway™
VMware SD-WAN™ incorporates a distributed network of service gateways deployed at top tier cloud data centers around the world, providing scalability, redundancy and on-demand flexibility. VMware SD-WAN Gateways™ provide optimized data paths to all applications, branches and data centers along with the ability to deliver network services from the cloud.
VMware SD-WAN Edge™
The VMware SD-WAN Edges™ are zero-touch enterprise-class appliances that provide secure optimized connectivity to private, public and hybrid applications, compute and virtualized services. VMware SD-WAN Edges™ perform deep application recognition, application and packet steering, performance metrics and end to end quality of service in addition to hosting virtual network function (VNF) services.
VMware Edge Cloud Orchestrator™
The VMware Edge Cloud Orchestrator™ provides centralized enterprise-wide installation, configuration and real-time monitoring in addition to orchestrating the data flow through the cloud network. The VMware Edge Cloud Orchestrator™ enables one-click provisioning of virtual services in the branch, the cloud, or the enterprise data center.
VMware SD-Access
VMware SD-Access follows the principles of zero trust to extend the benefits of reliable, optimal, and secure connectivity all the way to end user devices, without the need for a hardware appliance.
VMware Cross-Cloud Services
VMware SD-WAN is a Cloud and Edge Infrastructure service of the Cross-Cloud services portfolio that enables high-performance branch and device connections to your multi-cloud environment.
VMware SD-WAN™ is a godsend. It was incredibly easy to set up and seamless to use. It’s probably saved me about an hour of time today alone in time wasted logging into the VPN. I think as we consider remote work for our division this item should be considered mandatory for optimal business performance.
- Tim Swenson, Chief of Staff – Office of the Division Head, MD Anderson
VMware’s SD-WAN platform has helped unify a formerly disparate network, adding increased visibility and management that wasn’t present before.
- Mike Howell, Global Infrastructure Engineering Manager, Rentokil Initial
Related Resources
What Distinguishes VMware SASE?
Achieve networking nirvana! Learn about what makes VMware SASE different from other SASE offerings.
SD-WAN For Dummies
Your crash course in SD-WAN.
Frequently Asked Questions
SD-WAN stands for software-defined wide area network (WAN).
How is SD-WAN different from VPN?
SD-WAN offers flexibility compared to VPNs. It enables optimized traffic routing over multiple transport media, such as MPLS, cellular/5G or broadband, depending on the business need. VPNs are typically designed to send all traffic over a single network link.
Is SD-WAN better than MPLS?
MPLS is expensive and inflexible compared to SD-WAN. MPLS takes longer to deploy and is not built for the cloud. It requires backhaul through the data center, which slows traffic and negatively impacts the user experience.
Is SD-WAN secure?
SD-WAN adds enhanced security and control to the network. Traditional WAN is an unencrypted VPN and requires security add-ons.
What is the difference between SD-WAN, SSE, and SASE?
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) combines cloud networking with cloud security to transform organizations to better support workers in multiple locations (office, home, airport,…), applications in many locations (cloud IaS, SaaS, datacenter, edge,..) and operational transformations at edge sites.
The security side of SASE is called Secure Service Edge (SSE). The network side is provided by SD-WAN and is critical to a SASE architecture.
