Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Reviews

The primary use case for Cisco SD-WAN is the standard configuration across all sites, facilitated by templates. This solution helps in the ease of management and compliance configuration, which is deployed everywhere. 

It also simplifies troubleshooting and provides full mesh topology for branch connectivity to data centers. All branch locations, along with central locations, are on SD-WAN and gathered in the data center. Many customers combine it with local Internet breakout for SaaS applications.

The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.

With my first client on Viptela were getting MPLS (MultiProtocol Label Service). That is a type of communications network that most of the major providers like Verizon offer. They were paying roughly $3,000 a month for each one of their 30 branches. That was giving them 10 megabits per second. We replaced that with the likes of Verizon Fios and Comcast. Each one of those business internet services cost about $200 apiece per month. The cost of the SD-WAN was maybe another $200. So for $600 a month, we replaced something that was costing them $3000 a month, and they were getting a minimum of about 50 megabits-per-second upload and download.  

Because our client uses two different ISPs at each location, the service is always up. The chances of Comcast going down at the same time that Verizon Files goes down is very, very small. The result is that the client's services are always up with much higher speeds and much lower costs. I think that those benefits are the ones that people are primarily interested in and that is what SD-WAN allowed us to achieve.  

The primary use case for Cisco SD-WAN is to connect multiple offices or branch offices across the globe or within a country securely. It facilitates branch-to-branch or office-to-office transactions and provides easy access to primary data centers.

Cisco SD-WAN is valued for its operational efficiency and ease of operation. It allows prioritization of packages based on production requirements, and integration capabilities provide comprehensive security. Integration with Cisco ISE, Cisco Firewalls, and other Cisco solutions is beneficial. Furthermore, it is appreciated for its insights, visibility, and ease of use.

We rate customers' sites in four categories, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze. Depending on the type of site, such as how many connections or internet circuits, we gather information about the site and how it is operating and place them into one of the four categories. At this stage, we will migrate the legacy site to Cisco SD-WAN. We are using three different types of devices using a template for the customer's needs.

The most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN are reliability and scalability.

Our company uses the solution to provide secure connections for customers. 

We have a hybrid data center model that bridges the gap between cloud and on-premises for customers. It is a mixed design to consolidate resources. 

We also replace expensive NBLS lines with SDN and the internet to provide cost efficiency for telecom business lines. 

We have quite a few customers who use the solution. 

The solution provides good consolidation, centralization, and manageability for edge routers. 

We use Cisco SD-WAN backup as a failover, from the MPLS circuit. We also use the solution at remote sites where we were going over cellular satellites to secure the data.

We deployed the Cisco SD-WAN FlexVPN version. At the organization I was at, the Cisco SD-WAN solution allowed us to reduce costs by getting off MPLS circuits and using a regular IP provider, cellular provider, or satellite provider for primary and backup networks. The SD-WAN solution cut costs and was well adopted by the IT department since most corporate IT departments are Cisco brand.

I'm in Indonesia, where I use Cisco SD-WAN for DC and DRC to communicate with bank branches. One customer uses traditional simple routing via VGP or SPF to communicate to the head office data center or disaster recovery center. Still, I proposed using SDN technology, Cisco SD-WAN, to improve the application experience, have visibility to the provider link, and communicate directly from the branches to the application, such as Microsoft 365.

The customer also wants to access an application in the cloud from the branches, which requires a proxy, so the traffic goes to the data center and then to the cloud. You can directly connect all components to the cloud with Cisco SD-WAN, so I've implemented the product for the customer.

The primary use case for Cisco SD-WAN is direct internet access, including onboard security. Customers don't want just a simple routing. Customers also want a firewall and IPS feature from Cisco SD-WAN.

One of the benefits of Cisco SD-WAN is cost reduction for customers. In Indonesia, it's costly to use NPLS and Metro for connection, so I always propose using an internet link to communicate between branches to the data center or disaster recovery center. Cisco SD-WAN can provide that service; the product also keeps traffic secure. Some customers may be afraid to use the internet link or connection to communicate between the branches and the data center because of some critical applications, so it may not be the best practice for some customers.

However, as my company is a partner of Cisco, I give the customer the PLC first before providing the solution, and I have customers happy about what I propose, in this case, Cisco SD-WAN.

If a customer wants access to cloud-based collaboration apps, such as WebEx, Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams, Cisco SD-WAN can integrate with Cisco Umbrella for cloud security.

With Cisco SD-WAN, customers can enjoy cost reduction. Customers also don't need to use a third-party DNS or process security solution because Cisco SD-WAN integrates with Cisco Umbrella. This is how beneficial Cisco SD-WAN is to an organization or business.

I work for a global telecom operator. I'm a system integrator. It's deployed on cloud and on-premises.

The most useful features will depend on the clients' requirements.