FatPipe Networks Blog

24 Sep

What’s in an SD-WAN?

What’s in an SD-WAN?

By R. Scott Raynovich, Principal Analyst Futuriom

Software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) technology combines many desired enterprise networking features – including security, bandwidth optimization, and application acceleration – and delivers them with a cloud-managed networking architecture.

One of the primary benefits of SD-WAN technology is that it implements new network services and features in software, without requiring hardware upgrades. Enterprise and service-provider buyers are interested in the multiple benefits of SD-WAN, including improving and managing broadband Internet, reducing network costs for both connectivity and operating expense (opex), and improved management and automation. Service providers are aware of this trend and are scrambling to put together managed services offerings, as their MPLS offerings will clearly be replaced by SD-WAN services in the long term.

The Network’s Cloud Evolution

One of the big trends with information technology is the move to the cloud. Enterprises now expect to buy IT services, on-demand, from the cloud. The network is moving to the cloud as well. Enterprise network managers seek the agility and flexibility of managing their network from the cloud, while at the same time getting locked into proprietary equipment on expensive private lines. Gains in Internet availability and bandwidth optimization technology, such as WAN optimization, de-duplication, load-balancing, and link balancing, have become more sophisticated, enabling enterprises to leverage Internet broadband for business applications. This is driving the rapid expansion of the SD-WAN market, which provides all of this functionality in a cloud-delivered model

The Network’s Cloud Evolution

Futuriom’s ongoing interviews with enterprise end users as well as service providers delivering SD-WAN reveals the following goals in connecting the WAN in these new cloud environments:

Optimize and accelerate WAN traffic to the cloud
Improve overall network security
Reduce costs related to WAN bandwidth
Leverage multiple access technologies such as fiber, DSL, and wireless
Increased flexibility in CPE so that management can be outsourced or updated with software-only upgrades
Improve capability to purchase, provision, and manage network services via the cloud, using software

Customers can solve all of these problems with a single SD-WAN offering that addresses these challenges with specific features. Take a look at the features that can now be typically included in an SD-WAN package:

Let’s highlight why all of these SD-WAN features are important.

Router replacement and Open CPE: Managing proprietary hardware and customer premises equipment (CPE), including branch-office routers, can be expensive and time consuming. SD-WAN can be used to simplify the deployment and management of CPE – especially if you are a retail company that has to manage hundreds or thousands of branches. SD-WAN functionality can be delivered on open, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and managed from the cloud, helping to streamline and automate management.

Enhanced Security and Cloud VPN: One of the allures of SD-WAN technology is that it can be used to deploy a virtual private network (VPN) as a software overlay using end-to-end encryption. This helps meet security requirements for businesses that may want to connect branch offices or retail outlets but also have high security requirements. But SD-WAN platforms can also be used to deliver value-added security services such as stronger encryption, malware detection, and intrusion detection services (IDS). Security is becoming an important checklist item for SD-WAN.

WAN Optimization: SD-WAN can be used to improve the performance of applications on the network. WAN optimization, once a discrete function delivered with a hardware or software appliances, is being integrated into SD-WAN functionality. Many SD-WAN technologies include WAN optimization functionality and we expect this to be a checklist item in SD-WAN deployments.

Application Performance Enhancement: Cloud WAN solutions can be built that optimize access to cloud applications by monitoring traffic and routing higher-priority business applications ahead of leisure services such as Netflix and YouTube. Additionally, many WAN services can peer directly with cloud services to offer a “fast lane” to the business applications. These techniques can be used to “offload” enterprise WAN backhaul, routing cloud traffic directly to the source using a combination of broadband technologies. This will also have the effect of challenging the traditional ADC model of providing these services as part of a discrete hardware device. In addition, some SD-WAN vendors are working with cloud vendors to set up specialized cloud gateways and POPs in cloud datacenters to provide more direct access to cloud applications.

Cloud Management: As we have outlined, SD-WAN functionality can be deployed using COTS hardware and then managed from the cloud. This means that new network features, functionality, and updates can be managed with software over the network, rather than forklift upgrades, yielding a network-as-a-service model.

The SD-WAN market is now rapidly moving to customer deployments and accelerating because it delivers a more flexible, agile, and feature-rich platform to manage the enterprise WAN. Futuriom believes that in 2019 the market will continue to accelerate and drive into the billions of dollars, as it replaces some legacy technologies for VPN, ADC, edge routers, and firewalls. The market is consolidating around software-delivered and adaptive WAN services that can connect either through thin customer clients or industry-standard CPE.

FatPipe Networks have been selling software defined networking solutions for over 20 years and have specialized in providing customers with best of breed security, (one of the only SD-WAN providers with FIPS 140-2 government certification) reliability, flexibility (can support up to 15 interfaces in one device) and is easy to manage, providing a single pane interface view of the entire network.

FatPipe Networks www.fatpipeinc.com

10 Sep

Not all SD-WAN solutions solve the problem

Buy SD-WAN – it will solve your network issues and improve your efficiencies. Really? How often have you been approached by an IT solution provider who represents a particular vendor’s product and convinces you that it will solve your problem? You trust them and buy their solution only to find it can only do 50% of you need it do.

This is very common in today’s market. Most WAN administrators want very simple things. A network that works efficiently, securely, and “autonomously” so that they can concentrate on delivering applications to their user base that help drive company profits.

So why is it so challenging to implement Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) solutions that work as desired? Research has shown that a large percentage of SD-WAN solutions deployed are either re-tooled or worst case – removed because they have not met specific needs.

Don’t buy the Hype!

Marketing plays a significant role in decisions made. Certain features and functions are marketed to solve business needs, but savvy administrators do not buy the hype. They require suppliers to prove effectiveness of the recommended solution.

Here is where the rubber meets the road.

Businesses will do Proof of Concept, and it is usually a good way to determine if the products will solve the problems. Or is it? Only if your POC has been designed to show you how the solution solves the “real” problem, not mask it with fancy screens showing how it “may” solve it without really getting to the bottom of the issue. The pressure to close the sale is always the driving force.

The truth is, most vendors want to help you solve your network problems. However, there is a flood of opportunists who simply want to make some cash. Simply put – software-defined network solutions should be simple to understand, simple to implement and above all, simple to manage!

Key Issues Facing Administrators

Now it is well known that businesses are most wary of the security of their data flowing across their network. How can they ensure that this traffic is secure from origin to destination and back? What about cloud-based applications, the internet as a reliable link, back up off-premise, and application performance? Can SD-WAN provide a comprehensive solution to ALL the issues, not just a subset?

Firewall companies will sell an SD-WAN solution, router companies will sell an SD-WAN solution, and ISPs will sell an SD-WAN solution. Which is right for your business?

It is all about the “S”

It is the “S” in SD-WAN that is critical to decision making. Without a comprehensive, integrated and simple to manage software suite, your SD-WAN may look a little like a cobbled together smorgasbord of hardware and software that is frequently difficult to navigate, difficult to remediate issues and impossible to customize. To exacerbate the problem – you need to retrain your IT staff, get new certifications or worse still, hire expensive administrators. And just wait until you have to upgrade! What happened to the SD-WAN that will solve my problems and be much more efficient?

The best approach to an SD-WAN solution is to focus your research and effort on the “S”. It is the software that drives the management of traffic on your network, not the hardware. It is the software that will give your business the flexibility and control required to ensure your data is secure, no matter which link is used, or where it is destined, and it is the software that will allow simple and easy to manage traffic management.

So, the software MUST be able to work on multiple platforms, virtual machines, large or small edge devices, and provide the user with a simple, easy to understand and use interface that provides a complete view of your entire network to enable effective traffic management.

It really is about Traffic Management

After all, it is about traffic management, isn’t it? The software you choose (the SD-WAN solution you choose) will determine the security, flexibility, reliability, and performance of your network. Can you afford NOT to look at the best of breed “S”?

FatPipe Networks have been developing networking solutions for over 20 years and were the first to sell “SD-WAN” into the market, even before SD-WAN became a buzz word. FatPipe’s software suite is unmatched in the industry with a comprehensive solution that addresses security, reliability, performance, compatibility and most importantly, is simple to install and easy to manage! Regarded as “best of breed SD-WAN” FatPipe works with any link type, including cable, wireless, 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE, satellite, broadband, and legacy systems such as BGP.

If you are serious about the “S” in SD-WAN, you must include FatPipe Networks in your evaluations.

26 Jul

12 Attributes of a Best of Breed SD-WAN

12 Attributes of a Best of Breed SD-WAN Solution & Why You Need One for Secure Traffic Management

SD-WAN is really about traffic management. Sure, zero touch deployment is not necessarily a traffic management solution, but the reason software is driving WAN deployments and configurations is simply that it is capable of managing your data links and traffic across these links.

Extensive research has established that security is the number one issue faced by WAN administrators. Hosting your data in the cloud, hybrid cloud or on premise has created the need for highly secure traffic management between users and your data. There are a lot of SD-WAN solutions out there that claim to have the capabilities to manage this traffic securely, but not all SD-WAN is the same.

If you think security, firewalls are part of the conversation. Firewalls are designed to detect and prevent intrusion, but are not WAN traffic management devices. Traditional Routers are designed to route traffic over multiple links, but have been complicated to install and definitely complicated to manage.

SD-WAN has certainly disrupted the traditional networking industry and today, software managing your data traffic is becoming much more commonplace. For SD-WAN to be successful in today’s complicated networks, it must be simple to install and, above all, simple to use and administrate. It must be able to run on popular hypervisors, be compatible with cloud infrastructures and understand multiple link types, including legacy systems, such as BGP networks, as well as the less expensive and ubiquitous broadband networks.

So how does the WAN administrator find the best SD-WAN solution when there is so much choice and marketing hype? Understanding the features and functions of pure SD-WAN is important, especially when it comes to security of your data.

Best of breed SD-WAN solutions will come with the following features:

Easy to install
Support ALL link types (existing legacy systems (BGP) as well as Internet, satellite, 3G,4G,5G, LTE, cable)
Support multiple links in one device (up to 12 interfaces is not uncommon)
Support bandwidth ranges from 10Mb up to 40 Gig.
Provide secure management of BOTH inbound and outbound traffic.
Allow customization and assignment of application traffic on certain links with instant failover
Ability to determine healthy links instantly, which allows for instant failover, of BOTH inbound and outbound traffic. This usually means the methodology used to test the links is very important. Ask what algorithms the software uses to test the links.
Cloud support with emphasis on secure traffic transmission and instant failover capabilities to multiple link types.
Zero touch branch deployment
Options to host or outsource to MSP
Opex or Capex offerings
Most important! Easy to use management tool! It must provide a simple to use traffic management tool that allows for quick, easy and intuitive changes to any link or application traffic not matter where that application or link is located on the WAN. You should NOT have to retrain your IT staff or pay for certified staff to manage your SD-WAN implementation.

Of course, this is not a comprehensive list, but if you are looking for an SD-WAN solution to sustain your systems for some time to come, you need to consider each of the features above and map them to your long-term plan. Remember, security is the number one issue, so do not look at any SD-WAN solution that cannot provide selective encrypted data flow across the network, and preferably choose solutions that incorporate stateful firewall IDS/IPS features. SD-WAN will definitely benefit the efficiency of your network, but do not settle for limited capabilities, knowing that your user count will increase and your network will expand.

FatPipe Networks has been developing and selling SD-WAN solutions for over 17 years, and are widely known as the “inventors” of SD-WAN. The software suite is extremely comprehensive, but what is most talked about is the easy to use interface, EnterpriseView™ – which is a single pane view of the network allowing administrators easy access and with simple to understand menus, administrators can make changes to traffic management, no matter the destination, starting point or route taken.

FatPipe Networks encryption is FIPS 140-2 certified, making it the only SD-WAN vendor with an encryption module approved by government agencies. To add to the security capabilities, FatPipe recently announced firewall support next generation firewall IPS/IDS features allowing users the luxury of having a highly secure traffic management solution with integrated firewalling.

FatPipe’s comprehensive SD-WAN suite is unique in the industry especially its patented SmartDNS™ which provides customers with INBOUND fail-over capabilities, not seen in other SD-WAN offerings. FatPipe also provides industry leading policy-based routing, giving administrators the ability to set thresholds based on common network issues, such as latency, jitter, and packet loss that will trigger if certain user defined conditions are met, ensuring data is not lost or compromised due to congestion or other link issues.

FatPipe is certainly a top contender if you are seriously considering SD-WAN or are upgrading your current network solution. Call FatPipe today at 1-801-683-5656 x 1224.

www.fatpipeinc.com

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29 May

LTE Intelligent Edge device from FatPipe now available

FatPipe Announces General Availability of Integrated LTE to its Intelligent Edge SD-WAN Devices

FatPipe technology allows for seamless failover of sessions including VoIP to LTE without dropping sessions.

MAY 22, 2019 (Salt Lake City) FatPipe Networks, the inventors and multiple patents holder of key SD-WAN technologies, announced the availability of integrated LTE as a WAN option in its intelligent edge SD-WANs. This innovation is designed to assist small branches in having a back up to their fixed line solutions. In addition, customers can also use multiple 4G/LTE connections in locations where they do not have fixed line options.

FatPipe’s SD-WAN provides automatic failover and intelligent load balancing from one line to another without dropping a session or VPN connection. This ensures that a session or a VoIP call is not dropped when a line fails and the session is carried over to another line.

“This is of great value to retail and financial institutions as they do not have to re-start a session or double charge a customer by mistake,” said Dr. Ragula Bhaskar, CEO of FatPipe, “FatPipe’s LTE option has been available to early adoption customers for a year and now we are formally announcing the general availability. FatPipe is also 5G ready.”

FatPipe’s Integration of LTE into its Intelligent Edge SD-WAN leverages three of FatPipe’s previous innovations:

FatPipe’s superior patented SD-WAN technology enables data to be placed on a single line and failed over seamlessly to a second line without dropping the session or packets vs other SD-WAN technologies that either drop the sessions and have to be re-started or have to duplicate the packets on two lines, which places undue burden on bandwidth by double bandwidth needs. Such duplication technology is especially detrimental to LTE and 4G transmissions.
FatPipe’s patented Dynamic IP addressing scheme technology, which can use dynamic (not fixed) IP addresses of LTE and aggregate the line with a fixed IP. This reduces monthly costs, especially for LTE cards.
FatPipe WAN Optimization reduces the amount of data transmitted by 40% to 90%, further reducing LTE costs.

FatPipe’s SD-WAN solutions simplify multi-vendor interoperability and include key features that transcend WAN failures to maintain business continuity, including zero-touch branch deployment, hybrid WAN connectivity, tuned application performance, easy integration, granular network visibility, multi-path security, secure full mesh VPN connectivity and flexible centralized policy deployments.

“FatPipe’s intelligent edge with 4G directly addresses market demand in our customer base,” said Dante Passalacqua, “FatPipe’s unparalleled SD-WAN with an integrated modem further simplifies the ease of deployment and creates a cost-effective solution for our customers, especially in retail. We are pleased that FatPipe is very responsive to market needs; FatPipe makes it easy for us to offer our customers the best in class solutions.”

About FatPipe Networks

FatPipe Networks invented the concept of software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and hybrid WANs that eliminate the need for hardware and software, or cooperation from ISPs and allows companies and service providers to control multi-link network traffic. FatPipe currently has 11 U.S. patents and more than 180 technology claims related to multipath, software-defined networking and selective encryption of broadband networks. FatPipe technology provides the world’s best intra-corporate wide area network solutions that transcend Internet and other network failures to maintain business continuity and high transmission security. FatPipe, with several thousand customers, has offices in the United States and around the world, and more than 700 resellers worldwide including almost all national resellers in the US. For more information, visit www.fatpipe.com.

19 Apr

FatPipe at Channel Partners 2019

I find most modern day IT conferences pretty much the same. Arrive, set up the booth, meet and greet, wine and dine and listen to presentations, some inspiring, some not so much. But, with so many attendees, it is important to be seen, be present and tell your targeted audience exactly what you can do for them with your solutions.

Channel Partners Expo in Las Vegas April 9-12 this year was a show to remember for several reasons. It was well attended, it had a lot of products for resellers to look at and above all, it was warm outside and that in of itself was comforting coming from a cold and snowy Salt Lake City Utah.

FatPipe Networks had steady traffic to the booth, with a large amount of interest in our current technologies. Some patrons knew about FatPipe networks and were pleasantly surprised at how our SD-WAN solutions have evolved and developed. FatPipe is known for being the first to market with networking solutions that helped shaped what SD-WAN is today, and the veterans in the reseller industry were cognizant of how FatPipe leads the industry with the concept of load balancing, redundancy and failover.

Today, however, the SD-WAN market has changed and FatPipe has too. The demand for the digital transformation which includes cloud based applications, IoT, AI, mobility, and secure management of data across the network is increasing dramatically. There is still reluctance to fully embrace SD-WAN technologies perhaps because of the legacy systems still in place, which are expensive to maintain and difficult to change. However, it is now well known that with SD-WAN, companies can take advantage of less costly connections, including the internet, but are wary of security. In fact, several recent surveys have identified security as the number 1 issue for network administrators, but what might not be apparent is that it is the talent to implement and manage SD-WAN that ranks a close number 2.

FatPipe’s highly secure, easy to manage SD-WAN solutions are once again leading the industry

It was really encouraging to talk to resellers of all shapes and sizes at Channel Partners this year and explain how FatPipe is once again leading the SD-WAN charge with solutions that meet both these, and many more, key concerns of network administrators. FatPipe’s latest software release has a patented security module that is FIPS 140-2 certified, making FatPipe a leader in secure data transmission across the WAN.

The concern about implementing SD-WAN solutions with unqualified IT staff is an interesting factoid that can be successfully addressed with FatPipe’s Enterprise View. A single pane view of the network allows FatPipe users a very simple and easy methodology to change settings, apply prioritization to application access, set automatic failover thresholds based on user defined criteria and manage the WAN traffic easily and effectively. And all this requires basic IT skills, no propriety certifications, retraining or refresh. In fact, FatPipe has installations at thousands of institutions across the globe where the skills of IT personnel varies from highly certified to very basic, and each site manages their network traffic using this easy to use tool from FatPipe.

FatPipe has developed solutions for the modern day SD-WAN environments with a suite of SD-WAN products that are secure, very easy to use and have the very best ROI in the industry.

Channel Partners was enlightening and exhausting, but at the end of the day, it was great to see old friends and meet new people, share ideas and above all, let all know that FatPipe is once again leading the SD-WAN market with innovative, industry leading solutions.