Technology often overwhelms and intimidates business owners. It iand intimidatesing technology. push and pull of ever-evolving technology. deployment. .ess or betern your business and remote ls simply not their strength. The problems it presents to business owners who are fully aware that it can drive their success or failure adds to their daily stress.
SD-WAN vendors stand ready to tell you their service is the only way to go for today’s information technology. And, they are right about that. But, picking your vendor takes some familiarity with SD-WAN and the problems it solves.
Decreasing Packet Loss
Data flows in a grouping called a “package” or “packet” along specific network paths. Each packet holds a payload of raw data plus headers, metadata, routing information, and trailers. The configuration of data packets has been standardized to facilitate internet data flow along and across diverse networks.
As SmallBizTrends says, “A network ideally should never lose a packet. But that’s just an ideal condition which never occurs in the real world.” Too frequently and when it counts the most, those traveling data packets can fail to arrive where they should—your PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or remote location. Such packet loss can upset videoconferencing, drop audio communication, and produce repeated errors. The loss may mangle other data, break up images, and garble speech as the results of low signal strength, outside interference, corrupted hardware, or simply too much traffic.
Improving Latency Rates
The Latency Rate is a metric gauging the speed of your computer’s data flow. An optimized speed depends on the data taking the shortest route possible. So, the lower the latency rate, the better your performance. And, in an era, when we expect maximum performance, any latency in loading or transmission is noticeable.
Typically, wired connections boost speed and reduce latency while wireless connections slow performance even if not noticeably. They measure latency in milliseconds, but it is most evident in the stuttering reception you might experience in video calls or video games.
If you are depending on consistent speed and volume in the data moving around your business or between your business and remote locations, latency can be very disruptive.
SD-WAN Solutions
SD-WAN vendors offer a variety of options, including services, equipment, software, and even DIY ability. But, for the overwhelmed business owner, SD-WAN can mean improved network performance, optimized routing, increased network reliability, brown-out protection, reduced management costs, network visibility, and encrypted security.
A good quality SD-WAN can “see” the potential for packet loss, correcting it with software to reconfigure lost packets with a loss recovery packet. SD-WAN visualizes your network layout. With a clear dashboard view of the system at work, you can detect problems in real-time. Then, you can better target and fix traffic delays and roadblocks.
A 2016 State-of-The-WAN Report argued, “for the first time in a decade, network organizations have an opportunity to make a significant upgrade to their WAN architecture and design.” That architecture works particularly well in multi-site business enterprises. But, its main attraction lies in its simplicity, visibility, and zero-touch deployment. SD-WAN offers flexibility and scalability to businesses confused and overwrought by the push and pull of ever-evolving technology.