Times have changed, and enterprises are using the cloud and subscribing to software-as-a-service (SaaS). Secure local internet breakout of IaaS and SaaS application traffic from the branch provides the highest levels of cloud performance while protecting the enterprise from threats. Each class of applications receives the appropriate QoS and security policy enforcement, all in accordance with business needs.
By identifying applications, an SD-WAN provides intelligent application-aware routing across the WAN. This traditional model is rigid, complex, inefficient, and not cloud-friendly and results in a poor user experience.Īn SD-WAN enables cloud-first enterprises to deliver a superior application quality of experience (QoEx) for users. Unlike SD-WAN, the conventional router-centric model distributes the control function across all devices in the network and simply routes traffic based on TCP/IP addresses and ACLs. Unlike the traditional router-centric WAN architecture, the SD-WAN model is designed to fully support applications hosted in on-premises data centers, public or private clouds, and SaaS services such as, Workday, Dropbox, Microsoft 365, and more, while delivering the highest levels of application performance. The delay caused by backhaul impairs application performance resulting in a poor user experience and lost productivity. They typically require backhauling all traffic, including cloud-destined traffic, from branch offices to a hub or headquarters data center where advanced security inspection services can be applied. Traditional WANs based on conventional routers were never designed for the cloud.