Hello, SD-WAN watchers. Here’s our weekly news update on all that’s been happening in the world of SD-WAN over the past week. Below we look at:

• Spectrum SD-WAN: The World’s Longest Beta?
• Citrix Upgrades Security After Breach
• SD-WAN: The Road to Intent-based Policies
• Untangle Unveils Framework: Security Meets SD-WAN —  Again
• CRN Profiles Cato Networks Customer
• It’s Time for SD-WAN….No Kidding
• SD-WAN Perfect for Multi-Cloud

Let’s get started

Spectrum SD-WAN: The World’s Longest Beta?

Charter Communications’ Spectrum unit has joined the SD-WAN world. The company took its platform out of a two year beta program, according to Multichannel News. The site says that Charter’s new SD-WAN service is a soup-to-nuts affair, including design, installation, monitoring and support. Customers can see what is going on through a portal. The vendors are Cisco (services orchestration), Fortinet (security), Netcracker (VNF management), Nokia Nuage (SD-WAN).

In the press release announcing the service, Charter said that it has the capability of “stitching together” SD-WAN and Ethernet networks. The service is available in Layer 2, Layer 3 and hybrid configurations and can service multiple connections at client sites’. An integrated virtual security service also is available.

Citrix Upgrades Security After Breach

On March 8, the FBI notified Citrix Systems that cyber criminals had gained access to its internal network. Three days later, according to Virtualization Review, Citrix said that it has enhanced the platform’s security. Citrix said that the FBI believes that the criminals used password spraying in the attack. The company announced that it has added capabilities for easier administration of policies and integration with third party APIs to security products such as the Zscaler Cloud Security Platform.

SD-WAN: The Road to Intent-based Policies

ITProPortal has a good bit of commentary describing why SD-WAN is a hot technology. The article begins by making the technical case for SD-WAN. The most important element of the piece, however, deals with the ascendency of the technology from good idea to marketplace success.

The piece, which was written by LiveAction CEO R. Brooks Borcherding, points out that service providers are pushing SD-WAN and that it is the best way to provide the agility necessary to implement intent-based policies. He also wrote that there is a tightening relationship between SD-WAN and security vendors and the category is being pushed by a new generation of network monitoring tools.

Untangle Unveils Framework: Security Meets SD-WAN —  Again

Untangle introduced its Network Security Framework. The platform is comprised of a micro-firewall, an SD-WAN router and a Linux-based next-gen firewall and command center. The SD-WAN router is a lightweight device that intelligently inspects and routes traffic to WAN links and offsite security processing, according to SDxCentral.

CRN Profiles Cato Networks Customer

An article at CRN — another that suggests that SD-WAN has hit the mainstream — starts with a paraphrase of a comment from an IT manager at a tier-1 automotive company. The man says that mid-market companies need to start using the technology or risk falling behind competitors who do. He explains that his company’s previous MPLS network had major problems. It’s installation of a Cato SD-WAN resulted in five to 20 times more bandwidth, less downtime, better redundancy, better QoS and easier management.  

It’s Time for SD-WAN…No Kidding

Tom Brannen wrote a column at NoJitter that describes why he feels that SD-WAN is a true transition and not a likely-to-fade hot technology flavor of the year. He writes that SD-WAN is not carrier-centric and is at its best in the multi-carrier/multi-access environment that has emerged. It is agnostic as to the underlying technology and provides the same level of control and management regardless of the underlying carrier. He writes: “So here is the revolution: The user now controls what mix of carriers and access technologies they want. The user now has a choice over the network management tools and UI they want to deploy.”

SD-WAN Perfect for Multi-Cloud

The theme suggesting that it is SD-WAN’s time to shine continues at Seeking Alpha. The piece focuses on a specific vendor – Cisco – but the overall point can to some extent be extended to the entire category. The story says that multi-cloud environments that have emerged lend themselves to the SD-WANs.

Are you considering building a new global SD-WAN?  Contact SASE Experts for help — today.

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