Legacy WANs feature a protocol called Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) for distribution between, for instance, headquarters in St. Paul, a branch office in Fresno, California, and a factory in Lynchburg, Virginia. MPLS is pricey. But, until SD-WANs came along, it was the best option. The expense of MPLS is justified if what is being transferred is the gross sales for the day or other mission-critical and sensitive data. It isn’t if the content is the final standings of the company softball league.
SD-WAN solves this challenge by enabling the less demanding data to be transported by less expensive broadband. SD-WANs agilely segregate data so that sales receipts still get MPLS treatment -- while the details of how the accounting department victory over the shipping department are sent over far cheaper broadband connections.
There is a related benefit. Traditional WANs are routed through data centers because that’s where data and applications historically are stored. Many corporate functions are migrating to the cloud, however. SD-WANs are not burdened by this legacy topography and can connect remote users directly to those assets.
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