So, why would a business want to use SD-WAN vs VPNs (virtual private networks) or traditional WAN architectures?
When comparing SD-WAN vs VPN connections, it’s important to consider the scale of the connections your business needs. VPN connections, as noted by TechTarget, “cannot be prioritized from the provider network perspective, as the header is encrypted and can’t be viewed. What’s left is a best-effort network that supports traffic at a reasonable performance level.” This is valuable for a small business with low-impact resource demands, and is highly secure.
Meanwhile, an SD-WAN provides, “the capability to sense network conditions and locally prioritize applications,” according to TechTarget. This prioritization helps with network stability and performance for larger organizations while making it easier to connect to cloud services. Additionally, SD-WANs are “connectivity agnostic,” meaning that they can support multiple types of interfaces, which may provide an edge for some users.
