What is the difference between WAN and SD-WAN

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2021 · 10 mins

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What is the Difference Between WAN and SD-WAN?

In this internet-driven era, everyone, right from school-going students to business tycoons, wants to complete tasks in an instant. The need for such speed necessitates a reliable network infrastructure. At present, companies trust SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) because it has many benefits.

If industry reports are anything to go by, the global SD-WAN market will be worth $26 billion by 2028. This statistic speaks volumes about the demand for SD-WAN.

How Does SD-WAN Work?

SD-WAN is a network that runs over an existing network. In simple words, it is an overlay to the current network. All thanks go to the tunneling technology, which has brought SD-WAN into existence to address the concerns surrounding cost savings, high speed, and customer satisfaction, among others.

After connecting with local networks, an SD-WAN device starts downloading traffic policies and custom-defined configurations to establish encrypted tunnels. Once this gets done, an SD-WAN device chooses the optimum path for outbound traffic.

The primary benefit lies in the SD-WAN device automatically choosing an alternative path in the case of a connection failure. It keeps the internet connectivity persistent and gives you an immersive user experience.

Now, it might be clear why SD-WAN is the first choice of all kinds of businesses.

Let's find out how it differs from traditional WAN:

Difference between WAN and SD-WAN

WAN	SD-WAN
It relies on the conventional approach.	It relies on the software-defined approach.
It does not offer flexibility in WAN management.	It offers flexibility in WAN management.
The configuration process is very time-consuming.	The configuration process is swift.
WAN configuration heavily depends on the availability of skilled resources.	SD-WAN configuration does not need any human intervention.
It turns out to be a very expensive option when you seek high-speed connectivity.	It promises cost-effectiveness and high-speed connectivity.
It amplifies intricacy with respect to infrastructure arrangement, configuration, and management.	It reduces complexity to a large extent, whether you consider infrastructure arrangement, configuration, or management.
It struggles to integrate with security features such as SWG (Security Web Gateway), WAN Optimization, and Firewall. It also fails to offer a secure VPN (Virtual Private Network).	It smoothly integrates with security features such as SWG, WAN Optimization, and Firewall. It also offers a secure VPN.
It is secured only over an MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) connection.	It safeguards data traffic via end-to-end encryption.
It gives low performance when connecting with cloud-based applications. This happens because it passes through an intermediary hub.	It delivers high performance because it directly connects with cloud-based applications.

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This comparison table clearly shows that SD-WAN surpasses traditional WAN in all areas of performance. SD-WAN promises agility and significant cost savings. And with further developments, it will definitely offer more phenomenal benefits.

Partner with a reliable service provider like ACT to enjoy the full benefits of SD-WAN. ACT, a broadband service provider, offers outstanding customer service and promises high-speed internet connectivity at nominal rates.

ACT has been investing in Fiber-To-The-Home technology for many years. Therefore, they are able to offer their customers an outstanding internet speed of 1 Gbps.

Thanks to ACT’s impeccable services, they have around 2 million customers. This sends a strong message about how committed they are to offering world-class internet services to their customers.

The best part is ACT’s services are not limited to a specific place, as its wide network covers 19 cities, including large places such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, etc.

Curious to know their plans? Click here.

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