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What is SD-WAN and Why you need it

A useful analogy to understand SD-WAN is where VPN’s are like manual gearboxes in a car; SD-WAN is an automatic radar-guided cruise-control solution. Both can achieve the same result: connectivity between 2 remote locations, but SD-WAN can automate much of the complexity in tunnel monitoring, redundancy and fail-over configurations. Full SD-WAN combines all data transport types into a single overlay connection that is intelligently managed to route network traffic through optimal physical network connections (fiber, DOCSIS, MPLS, 4G, etc).

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Founded in 2006, Zift Solutions is the only Partner Relationship Management (PRM) and Through-Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA) tool built as one to work as one. The company’s ZiftONE platform manages the flow from onboarding to enablement, lead generation to marketing, all the way through sales. Backed by the most experienced team in the industry, Zift was named the only leader in both Channel Marketing Automation and Partner Relationship Management by Forrester Research and a market leader in Partner Management Software and Through-Channel Marketing Software by G2.

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flexiWAN Launches With Open Source SD-WAN Architecture

SDxCentral | April 09, 2019

A new startup is joining the SD-WAN space with an open architecture. The Israel-based company, flexiWAN, is seeking to solve some of the problems created by the crowded SD-WAN market today. flexiWAN CEO and co-founder Amir Zmora first saw the need for an open SD-WAN architecture when he was working as a consultant for enterprises and service providers in the SD-WAN and Voice-over-IP (VoIP) space.In conversations, he realized that SD-WAN had a few problems that openness could solve: IT managers have limited control of their networks and the elements and technologies that comprise them; and networking (especially SD-WAN) requires expertise in a number of domains. So no single vendor can provide in-depth expertise across all domains. And while service providers have some opportunity in these two areas as they can prioritize and optimize different parts of an enterprise’s network, this requires a multi-vendor approach and they are forced to sell closed, vendor-specific services that don’t interconnect, Zmora said. This is not a valid long-term solution, as future enterprise requirements are unknown and will evolve and current services will be rendered useless. So flexiWAN is breaking the vendor lock-in and “monopoly” that exists today with a “decomposed” SD-WAN architecture. “Enterprises and service providers were locked to use all networking applications from a single vendor. With flexiWAN, they will be able to pick and choose [the] best of breed,” said Zmora. flexiWAN officially launched today, though it is still in the development phase. Its software is available now to only enterprises and service providers for private proof of concept (PoC), which it has already been conducting. It plans to launch an open source, production-ready version toward the end of this year.

Read More

AT&T Works With VMware to Combine SD-WAN, 5G Capabilities

SDxCentral | February 24, 2019

AT&T and VMware are partnering to implement 5G capabilities into the carrier’s SD-WANoffering. AT&T called this a “transformative combination,” claiming that it will bring better control to both the SD-WAN software and the cellular network. AT&T has two SD-WAN offerings: its network-based SD-WAN, which it initially launched in the U.S. in 2017 and expanded to over 150 countries in 2018, and its over-the-top SD-WAN offering, which is based on VMware’s VeloCloud SD-WAN. Both offerings will use VMware technology. The carrier launched its mobile 5G service in 12 markets at the end of last year. AT&T later said that alongside mobile 5G, fixed wireless and edge computing will comprise its three service pillars of its 5G strategy. This extension of AT&T’s partnership with VMware is part of its fixed wireless pillar in that it will add the SD-WAN services as part of its nationwide Wireless Broadband offering. Starting now, businesses will be able to leverage SD-WAN alongside its cellular network, and will be able to upgrade that to 5G connection — when it’s available — by changing the modem. The 5G capabilities will extend its current SD-WAN offerings where it’s deployed. AT&T says that combining SD-WAN and 5G will work on two levels to provide flexibility to manage applications at the network edge. One, it will be able to tell applications which transport to use, and two, it will control the policies for traffic moving over 5G. One use case that the carrier identified was in the manufacturing industry. It said that the 5G network would be able to isolate a slice of the network to handle certain floor robotics that rely on ultra-low latency, and run the less time-sensitive edge compute services across a parallel path.

Read More

128 Technology Is Starting a Revolution for Secure SD-WAN, Networking

SDxCentral | February 21, 2019

As SD-WAN matures, the more critical its security is becoming for enterprise customers. And while vendors are working on various strategies to secure the technology, 128 Technology believes that the best way for enterprises to protect themselves against threats is by eliminating tunnel-based approaches to SD-WAN. 128 Technology is a 4-year-old networking startup that developed a pure-software service to simplify routing and offer a different approach to the SD-WAN use case. Instead of using tunnels to connect different areas of a network, it uses something it calls multi-path secure vector routing. The software routes traffic across public and private networks, and then metadata communicates how to route packets from one private network to another. In addition, it doesn’t require overlay networks nor restrict the WAN to just one vendor. And while 128 is a pure software company, it has partnerships with a number white box companies to create universal CPE (uCPE) hardware to deploy. This includes Lanner, which it partnered with in October 2017, as well as Silicom, Advantech, and Kontron. When it first launched, it didn’t want to be referred to as an SD-WAN company. Patrick MeLampy, 128’s chief operating officer, has now backtracked a bit on that sentiment.

Read More

flexiWAN Launches With Open Source SD-WAN Architecture

SDxCentral | April 09, 2019

A new startup is joining the SD-WAN space with an open architecture. The Israel-based company, flexiWAN, is seeking to solve some of the problems created by the crowded SD-WAN market today. flexiWAN CEO and co-founder Amir Zmora first saw the need for an open SD-WAN architecture when he was working as a consultant for enterprises and service providers in the SD-WAN and Voice-over-IP (VoIP) space.In conversations, he realized that SD-WAN had a few problems that openness could solve: IT managers have limited control of their networks and the elements and technologies that comprise them; and networking (especially SD-WAN) requires expertise in a number of domains. So no single vendor can provide in-depth expertise across all domains. And while service providers have some opportunity in these two areas as they can prioritize and optimize different parts of an enterprise’s network, this requires a multi-vendor approach and they are forced to sell closed, vendor-specific services that don’t interconnect, Zmora said. This is not a valid long-term solution, as future enterprise requirements are unknown and will evolve and current services will be rendered useless. So flexiWAN is breaking the vendor lock-in and “monopoly” that exists today with a “decomposed” SD-WAN architecture. “Enterprises and service providers were locked to use all networking applications from a single vendor. With flexiWAN, they will be able to pick and choose [the] best of breed,” said Zmora. flexiWAN officially launched today, though it is still in the development phase. Its software is available now to only enterprises and service providers for private proof of concept (PoC), which it has already been conducting. It plans to launch an open source, production-ready version toward the end of this year.

Read More

AT&T Works With VMware to Combine SD-WAN, 5G Capabilities

SDxCentral | February 24, 2019

AT&T and VMware are partnering to implement 5G capabilities into the carrier’s SD-WANoffering. AT&T called this a “transformative combination,” claiming that it will bring better control to both the SD-WAN software and the cellular network. AT&T has two SD-WAN offerings: its network-based SD-WAN, which it initially launched in the U.S. in 2017 and expanded to over 150 countries in 2018, and its over-the-top SD-WAN offering, which is based on VMware’s VeloCloud SD-WAN. Both offerings will use VMware technology. The carrier launched its mobile 5G service in 12 markets at the end of last year. AT&T later said that alongside mobile 5G, fixed wireless and edge computing will comprise its three service pillars of its 5G strategy. This extension of AT&T’s partnership with VMware is part of its fixed wireless pillar in that it will add the SD-WAN services as part of its nationwide Wireless Broadband offering. Starting now, businesses will be able to leverage SD-WAN alongside its cellular network, and will be able to upgrade that to 5G connection — when it’s available — by changing the modem. The 5G capabilities will extend its current SD-WAN offerings where it’s deployed. AT&T says that combining SD-WAN and 5G will work on two levels to provide flexibility to manage applications at the network edge. One, it will be able to tell applications which transport to use, and two, it will control the policies for traffic moving over 5G. One use case that the carrier identified was in the manufacturing industry. It said that the 5G network would be able to isolate a slice of the network to handle certain floor robotics that rely on ultra-low latency, and run the less time-sensitive edge compute services across a parallel path.

Read More

128 Technology Is Starting a Revolution for Secure SD-WAN, Networking

SDxCentral | February 21, 2019

As SD-WAN matures, the more critical its security is becoming for enterprise customers. And while vendors are working on various strategies to secure the technology, 128 Technology believes that the best way for enterprises to protect themselves against threats is by eliminating tunnel-based approaches to SD-WAN. 128 Technology is a 4-year-old networking startup that developed a pure-software service to simplify routing and offer a different approach to the SD-WAN use case. Instead of using tunnels to connect different areas of a network, it uses something it calls multi-path secure vector routing. The software routes traffic across public and private networks, and then metadata communicates how to route packets from one private network to another. In addition, it doesn’t require overlay networks nor restrict the WAN to just one vendor. And while 128 is a pure software company, it has partnerships with a number white box companies to create universal CPE (uCPE) hardware to deploy. This includes Lanner, which it partnered with in October 2017, as well as Silicom, Advantech, and Kontron. When it first launched, it didn’t want to be referred to as an SD-WAN company. Patrick MeLampy, 128’s chief operating officer, has now backtracked a bit on that sentiment.

Read More

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