In our SD-WAN FAQ video series, we answer the most frequently asked questions about SD-WAN adoption.
In the third video in the series Mark Hall, Daisy Corporate Services’ connectivity expert, discusses whether SD-WAN is a replacement for MPLS.
Question 3 | Is SD-WAN a replacement for MPLS?
SD-WAN is often marketed as a replacement for MPLS. However, this has come about because of how much more expensive MPLS is than internet access in places like the USA and also for connecting international sites. In the UK, the cost difference between internet access and MPLS is relatively limited.
The type of network designs that we’re seeing is hybrid designs incorporating both MPLS and internet access, with SD-WAN operating as the network overlay managing the wide area network design. This type of design offers the best of both worlds resulting in a high performance network that makes the best use of the available bandwidth and available wide area network technologies. Ultimately, this allows users to connect to the applications that they need to in what is an increasingly varied application landscape.
Daisy works with Cisco to provide Meraki SD-WAN as a fully-managed service. Cisco is a leader in the Gartner 2018 Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure.