Many companies tout the benefits of upgrading to software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN). It offers a high level of visibility, traffic optimization, improved security and bandwidth management. But is it truly better than virtual private networks (VPNs)?
In this blog, you’ll gain a better understanding of what VPN and SD-WAN are, as well as how their benefits or drawbacks might influence your networking decisions.
VPN is a solution that secures the traffic moving between two points, protecting against man-in-the-middle attacks and cookie theft with encryption. VPN is the solution that many companies turned to for equipping remote workers with encrypted network access. This method of creating a tunnel between two points encrypts data at the highest level, but it can come with some performance challenges.
SD-WAN is a virtualized networking approach that overlays the physical network. It provides a centralized dashboard that increases control over traffic prioritization, bandwidth consumption, and troubleshooting. While VPN is a simple connection that encrypts data from point A to point B, SD-WAN is an enterprise-level solution for managing network optimization.
Is SD-WAN Always Better Than VPN? It’s not always an upgrade to move from a VPN to SD-WAN. It depends on your company’s circumstances, performance and bandwidth requirements, and security priorities. Here are some of the considerations:
VPN: A VPN offers secure access for remote workers trying to connect the network, offering an anonymous IP address for privacy. They are low-cost, low-maintenance and can be centrally deployed and managed.
VPNs also have a few drawbacks. They can be slow, especially when the user is attempting to work in a setting that has low bandwidth access. Also, when security becomes cumbersome for VPN users, they have a tendency to find workarounds, utilizing a less-secure method to work efficiently. There can be hidden costs with VPN because it increases data expenses and bandwidth usage.
SD-WAN: This approach uses a virtualized software solution to connect multiple LANs. It is ideal for companies that have multiple environments, such as a mix between remote and branch locations, multi-cloud and hybrid cloud. Instead of requiring specialized routers, SD-WAN can route traffic over standard Internet connections. Some of the advantages are optimizing bandwidth usage and costs, zero-touch provisioning, troubleshooting and maintenance and improved Quality of Service (QoS) over a VPN. It also offers granular network insights and superior security features.
There are some downsides to choosing SD-WAN, such as increased costs over some types of VPNs, as well as a potentially complex implementation and deployment. Some companies find it necessary to outsource network migration to SD-WAN, as well as the ongoing management of it.
Choosing between VPN and SD-WAN is easier when you have an experienced guide. Contact us at Cloud Source to gain insights into the selection and implementation process, as well as assistance in identifying the right network technology for your company.