MPLS vs SD-WAN

[erhanevgin]

Hello Great Team.

These days we are getting the same questions from our customers. Why should we to choose SD-WAN instead of

the MPLS.

Common answers are;

You can get cheaper DSL service from ISPs and optimize your line costs.

You can see and optimize your internet traffic and application priorities (QoS) 

You do not need to carry your branch office internet traffic to the headquarter. Every location can access the internet or cloud services directly and securely.

Could you please add another reason for choosing SD-WAN solutions? 

Thank you. 

[alemabrahao]

https://meraki.cisco.com/product-collateral/meraki-sd-wan-overview/?file

[BrandonS]

I actually don't agree with all three points you wrote.  I have customers that have or had MPLS over DSL.  MPLS doesn't care what transport it goes over. There is no particular reason you can't manage and monitor your MPLS unless the provider refuses portal access and features. MPLS does not imply all traffic goes through HQ, it can be configured as mesh topology too.

Besides that, I would think the main considerations are the same as just about anything in networking and technology-  Save money and improve reliability (assuming 2 or more WAN connections) Maybe improved bandwidth as well.

[PhilipDAth]

This will depend on what country you are in.  I'm based in New Zealand.  We pretty much only have fibre now.  I don't think you could order a new DSL connection at most properties - copper is being actively decommissioned.  For the very few sites left where there is still copper - it will cost you more than a fibre connection.

In New Zealand, weather you order MPLS or use SD-WAN - it's probably going to be delivered over the exact same fibre.  You can get the same SLAs weather it is MPLS or Internet (same fibre ...).  The fibre tends to be very reliable.  Much better than copper.

The only difference is - the MPLS will cost you more.

It doesn't make much business sense to buy MPLS in New Zealand ...

[Fady · Accepted solution]

My 2 cents 

SDWAN is not a replacement for MPLS. In my humble point of view SDWAN

- Will keep the architecture simple (i.e. whether you have MPLS or internet or migrating from one to another, basically SDWAN will keep the architecture simple and scalable as it will build tunnel over whichever service you choose).

- Will not need to exchange your LAN routes with your ISP (simplify operation).

- Will expand easily to public cloud services (like AWS, Azure, GCP, Alibaba) - Scalable again.

- Will secure your internet access as the SDWAN appliance is also a UTM.

- Will also allow you to easily integrate with cloud security services (like Umbrella) as SDWAN is step one of SASE deployment.

[cmr]

We are a 24/7 business that needs 100% connectivity uptime (or as close as you can get) so we run SD-WAN over mainly MPLS circuits, with a few direct internet ones.  We added the SD-WAN layer for load balancing that doesn't drop traffic when one of the circuits goes down for maintenance.

The MPLS has guaranteed latency between sites, whereas the internet connections do not.