SD - WAN Technology: Advantages and Use Cases

Udit Patel, Sanjay Poddar

Abstract: This extensive paper examines the development, relevance, historical background and architecture, and issues surrounding WANs and MPLS in enterprise networking. It presents SD - WAN as a way of doing WAN and a subclass of Software Defined Networking (SDN) that overcomes the constraints of traditional WANs and MPLS by offering more flexibility, greater efficiency, and advanced protection measures at a lower cost. The paper also describes the main components of SD - WAN, such as edge devices, centralized controllers, and transport networks, and how the latter form a comprehensive outline of the SD - WAN?s technical solution. Furthermore, the paper also discusses the various practical applications of SD - WAN across different industries such as finance, retail, healthcare, and remote work that prove the adaptability of SD - WAN to the current and ever - evolving enterprise networking requirements. The paper also examines the future direction of SD - WAN based on AI & machine learning, edge computing, 5G, and multi - cloud, which will further expand the adoption of SD - WAN. Ending with a debate on digital transformation, the paper highlights how SD - WAN is now an essential component in the modernization process of enterprise networks.

Keywords: Wide Area Networks (WAN), SD - WAN, MPLS, Network Security, Edge Devices, Centralized Controller, Digital Transformation, AI, 5G Networks, Multi - Cloud Integration