Partner Article

Automating business intent with an SD-WAN

David Hughes, CEO of Silver Peak

Automation in the wide area network (WAN) is a powerful tool for organisations. Indeed, it is one of the revolutionary ideas embodied in software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) technology. With the complexity inherent in legacy WANs and the move to cloud applications, businesses are being forced to rethink their networks. This is not least because there is the assumption that legacy WAN configuration happens at the device level, and that networking professionals must focus their skills and time on learning and applying complicated command-line interface (CLI) commands device-by-device. However, the reality is that CIOs – and their enterprises – do not really care about individual network devices. What they care about is application connectivity and connecting applications to users consistently, and in accordance with the service level agreements (SLAs) for quality and reliability that reflect business-level intent.

The job of an SD-WAN

For most organisations, instead of configuring the network in a device-by-device manner – whether via CLI or graphical user interface (GUI) – they would ideally capture its business-level intent for a new application, or class of applications, with a simple, one-page GUI. From there, a central orchestrator works in conjunction with devices at the network edge to achieve the application connectivity objectives, all without any human configuration of the edge devices. This is essentially the main objective of a SD-WAN.

Automation: An SD-WAN requirement

Automation can quickly and consistently configure a network of devices. It eliminates tedious tasks and the inevitable human errors associated with doing the same thing 10, 100, or even 1,000 times over. However, the truth is that it is rarely precisely “the same thing.” Although each branch office location may follow a general template, there are differences and exceptions at each location, from things such as site-specific IP addressing, to more complex security configuration. These differences have historically made WAN automation quite difficult. However, focusing on the idea of business intent, and rethinking the devices themselves with an “orchestration-first” mindset, today’s SD-WAN can translate business intent into action.

A basic automation example

When considering an SD-WAN solution, it’s critical that business look to support Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) technology. When opening a new branch office, on-site personnel can simply plug in power, as well as the local area network (LAN) and WAN connectivity. With ZTP technology, SD-WAN will automatically contact the enterprise’s orchestrator, which configures the device automatically in accordance with the business intent policies for the network. In addition, if there is a change in business policy later down the line, it can be made centrally with the orchestrator, and the edge devices will be reconfigured automatically. To put it simply, at no point does anyone need to log in and configure an individual edge device. However, most enterprises need an SD-WAN that goes beyond these table-stake capabilities.

Implementing business intent

The problem with automation is that it has its limitations. Indeed, it is not good at dealing with anomalies and unpredictable events; trying to write automation scripts that anticipate all manner of failure scenarios could very quickly turn into an organisations nightmare. Therefore, a different kind of intelligence is required to complement automation.

By using learning algorithms that continually monitor the quality of all available paths such as MPLS, broadband or LTE – and intelligently combine error correcting algorithms with packet-by-packet multi-path load balancing – organisations will be able to deliver a consistent user experience, even when the underlying physical networks experience loss and jitter. With this business intent concept, the administrator does not need to know the details of these algorithms. Instead, all the orchestrator needs to capture is the business intent.

Ultimately, the combination of automation with dynamic learning and adaptation capabilities can deliver consistent performance for organisations, without being stymied by the limits of automation. To put it simply, enterprises need SD-WAN architecture that is more than just software defined – it must become self-driving, and machine learning is an essential ingredient for building an SD-WAN that can dynamically adapt to changing network conditions.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Silver Peak .