Choosing the Right ISP is Critical for SD-WAN Success

SD-WAN, the new darling of network architectures is making waves by solving challenges for WAN Mangers while cutting operational costs. This is especially true amongst enterprise organizations with multiple locations and escalating bandwidth appetites necessary for supporting cloud-based applications, shared business tools, and massive online storage. For many there’s only one choice that makes sense; move away from the hub configuration of MPLS and adopt intelligent software defined solutions.

Why SD-WAN is so popular                     

In short, SD-WAN allows organizations to fully utilize their leased bandwidth by bonding multiple WAN connections and sharing resources, reducing their dependency on expensive MPLS links. The network sharing capabilities, a top driver for SD-WAN adoption, allows Network Managers to automatically reroute voice and data applications across the fastest pipe based on chosen criteria. It effectively eliminates latency issues, which is particularly critical for VoIP solutions. But it’s not just about load balancing. It’s about back up too. If one pipe goes down, the other picks up the slack without dropping calls or packets.

SD-WAN is transport and carrier agnostic:

There are many SD-WAN providers, each with their own offerings and a myriad of pros and cons to weigh. However, one constant element exists - no matter the solution provider SD-WAN requires at least two independent transport pipes. This is a deviation from traditional MPLS configurations that require only one. The tradeoff is a reduction in equipment costs and a ton more flexibility and improved security options (to name a few).

Be wary of a transport agnostic point of view:

SD-WAN providers may say, “It doesn’t matter whether the transport pipes are Internet, MPLS, broadband, or 4G. Nor does it matter if they’re cable, fiber, satellite, cellular, or Accel Net fixed-wireless.” To a small degree that’s true but in reality the transport pipe matters a whole lot more than you might think.

Here’s why:

1. What happens if you order two transport pipes from the same carrier? Most likely they come into the point of demarcation through the same conduit routes making them equally likely to go down together.

2. What happens if you bring in two terrestrial pipes from diverse carriers? Most likely they still come into the point of demarcation through the same limited conduit routes.

This is true because most providers utilize the same limited fiber or cable “super highway” of underground conduit right-of-way’s. When transport pipes traverse the same route via the same conduit they are equally susceptible to mishaps that can take both of them out - which negates one of the biggest benefit of SD-WAN.

Choose fixed wireless for SD-WAN

Accel Net services reach where other ISPs can’t and our network doesn’t share any components or conduits with them. That’s a big reason why we’re consistently chosen for SD-WAN implementation. Of course, the other reasons include our 99.999% SLAs and our ability to deliver exceptional bandwidth speeds with low latencies.

When looking at SD-WAN, it’s important to choose the right transport provider. For true redundancy with a completely diverse gateway, super quick installations, competitive costs, and superior service levels, Accel Net is a strong choice for SD-WAN applications.

 

For more information on our solutions and to find out why fixed wireless is better than fiber and cable, visit our blog. To find out if we’re available in your area, simply enter your zip code into our converge finder or contact us directly.  We actually answer our phones.