MPLS, VPN, Cloud Networking or SD-WAN? Which One to Go For?

Posted by Sandeep Srivastava on September 28th, 2018

Enterprise networking decisions are made keeping in mind the features like cost, performance, security and the future plans. It is moving from traditional structures to the infrastructures which can support the migration to the cloud. As a business you want to move ahead then you should be focusing on improvement of the network infrastructure to have flexibility and strength to handle not just the existing demand but the demands of the future as well. Let’s take a look at various options:

1-MPLS VPN

It is predictable, and the provider may make use of the MPLS to improve the QoS by defining the network path which meets the SLAs on the factors like:

• Traffic Latency
• Jitter
• Packet Loss
• Downtime

But MPLS traffic from the provider to the premises routers is highly expensive. But the traditional MPLS VPN may find it challenging to provide the performance that is needed by the cloud and the SaaS applications and services.

2-Internet VPN

Many global enterprise WANs have used these in the last decade. It is often used because of the necessity and has the cost pressure and which forces many businesses to deal with the limitation of the internet.

The cost of internet VPN is on the lower side as compared to MPLS. With MPLS there is no SLA regarding the performance and its guarantee during the peak hours.  Theses VPNs also need physical devices to be installed and maintained which make them difficult to implement. And you may end up dealing with appliance sprawls a common issue.

3-SD-WAN

It is the latest approach that lowers the operational cost and makes the best use of the resource usage for multi-site deployments. It allows the bandwidth to be used more efficiently and makes sure that you get the best performance without compromising on the security and data privacy. With SD-WAN the penalties of traditional networks are eliminated it leverages the internet to offer connectivity. With its usage, the remote users can see significant improvements in their experience when they are using cloud or other similar applications. But there are specific challenges like the latency that comes along with the usage of public internet.

Finally,

Thus you have the options like MPLS VPN, internet VPN, and SD-WAN to choose from. But cost vis-à-vis effectiveness comparison may be needed!