Networks have become increasingly complicated to manage as a result of distributed workforces and increased volumes of data. Sue Graham Johnston, VP, and general manager, Juniper Networks, provides an overview of the current state of SD-WAN and explains why the next evolution of SD-WAN will be tunnel-free.
Companies are moving to hybrid work environments, and network reliability has stepped to the forefront of enterprise priorities. Company leaders are concerned that frustrating employee experiences could decrease productivity and that a poor customer experience could damage brand reputations.
As hybrid work environments accelerate the need to securely connect users to the cloud, SD-WAN has played an instrumental role in providing the right infrastructure. The current SD-WAN infrastructure is overly complex as it suffers the same limitations and complexity of the hardware-centric routing model it sits on top of. The next evolution of SD-WAN will be tunnel-free, making networks more scalable, bandwidth-efficient and more secure – a true client-to-cloud experience.
1. Tunnels Create a Traffic Jam
SD-WAN has shifted the networking model by evolving connectivity from static to fully flexible. As a result, users can efficiently reach services that are hosted from anywhere. Traditional SD-WAN creates virtual networks, or overlays, on top of the current transport network to solve WAN connectivity issues. To successfully create a connection between two points on the network that segments traffic for improved securityOpens a new window  and bandwidth separation, overlay-based SD-WAN relies on tunnels.
Despite the benefits of tunnels, there are also issues that can arise. For example, while tunnels can make creating overlays easier, one of the consequences is that the network transport becomes heavyweight and less optimized. This slowdown can result in network traffic jams due to poor bandwidth usage and excess fragmentation. With this in mind, tunnel-based SD-WAN becomes highly inefficient to fulfill the needs of a modern network, especially given today’s bandwidth-intensive hybrid workforce. This is where tunnel-free SD-WAN becomes an important part of enterprises’ strategies – by utilizing dynamic routing to avoid the high overhead and bandwidth usage of tunnel-based SD-WAN.
Learn More:Â The Importance of Intent-Based Networking for Distributed Enterprises
2. Scaling the Tunnel-Based Network Is a Challenge
Traditional, tunnel-based SD-WANs are difficult to scale. One of the most common issues for organizations moving to hybrid work has been scaling their VPNs to support employees working remotely. Traditional SD-WAN models make it almost impossible to spin up tunnels on short notice. Without dynamic scalability, organizations can face chronic network challenges while supporting remote employees.Â
With tunnel-free SD-WAN, enterprises have more fine-grained control over their networks. Network administrators can adjust routing policies to connect users to services, enforcing quality and security policies. Sessions on the network can be migrated in response to real-time network performance and fail instantaneously. With a tunnel-free architecture, there is no waiting time to establish a tunnel, dramatically improving the scalability and responsiveness of the network. This type of scalable, tunnel-free SD-WAN is essential to a lightweight network that can handle high-bandwidth demands for a large user base.
3. Tunnel-Free SD-WAN Mitigates Security Risks
With security threats surging in 2020 during the pandemic, it has become more important than ever for enterprises to address security risks at a foundational level. Excess fragmentation associated with tunnel-based SD-WAN can pose security risks. Fragmentation provides hackers an opportunity to target a system’s firewall and overwhelm the router, resulting in devastating latency issues, as well as network outages.Â
By taking a tunnel-free approach, organizations can mitigate these risks through network segmentation, which allows for session isolation. Session isolation assigns each user to their own secure session that can be monitored and analyzed for risk through the associated metadata and policy requirements. With remote work demanding the same network security standards as in the office, session isolation can extend from the cloud-to-home networks to ensure everyone is working safely and securely regardless of where they are.Â
Learn More: How To Make Networks Ready for a Cloud-First Era With SD-WAN
Evolving for the Future
Looking towards the future, tunnel-free SD-WAN will be the next evolution of SD-WAN. Tunnel-free networks are the ideal foundation to implement SD-WAN as they allow networks to be more scalable, bandwidth-efficient and secure. When considering SD-WAN options, enterprises should think outside of the box, research the tradeoffs between tunnels, and explore the benefits of adopting tunnel-free technology. Doing so will make their applications more resilient and responsive while delivering breakthroughs in simplicity, agility, security and cost savings.
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