What is SD-WAN and How Does It Help with Internet Connectivity?
SD-WAN promises to make several WAN links behave like one manageable network, and for most businesses the blocker is what it costs to get there: appliances at every site, plus the contract to manage them.
Speedify is SD-WAN bonding software: it combines the internet connections a site already has, giving much of the same resilience without a box in every branch. That resilience needs two or more internet connections; on a single connection Speedify works as an encrypted VPN and cannot stop that connection from dropping.
This post covers what SD-WAN does, how it differs from a regular WAN, and why connectivity has become the deciding factor.
Watch now
How Speedify combines internet connections on any hardware
Get started with Speedify for your business
Speedify offers three commercial paths. They work together, and most enterprise customers use two or more.
01
Speedify Teams
Speedify on every supported OS for every team member
Centralized dashboard for billing, user provisioning, and usage analytics
CSV import/export and a RESTful management API
02
Speedify for Routers
License for supported OpenWrt routers
Powered by Speedify hardware lineup ready to deploy out of the box
Miri, GL.iNet and other partner models
Covers every device on the network, with no per-device install
03
Embed Speedify into your product
A · DIY
Build it yourself with the Speedify SDK.
Integrate Speedify into your iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux or QNX product. Full developer documentation, sample code and supported integration paths. Your team owns the build, and the Speedify SDK handles combining the internet connections.
B · CUSTOM ENGINEERING
Have the Speedify team build it for you.
What SD-WAN Does for Business Networks
SD-WAN (software-defined WAN) puts a software layer over a site’s WAN links and decides which link each application’s traffic uses, based on measured latency, jitter and packet loss. That lets a business mix cheaper broadband and cellular links with, or instead of, leased lines, and steer critical traffic onto whichever link is healthiest at the moment.
SD-WAN also offers features like centralized management, security, and visibility, making it easier for organizations to manage their WAN infrastructure. By automating many network functions, SD-WAN reduces operational costs and improves overall network reliability.
Combining Links in SD-WAN: Per-Packet vs. Per-Flow
Many SD-WAN products choose a path per flow: each connection, such as a video call or a file upload, runs over one link and moves to another link when the first one degrades. That move usually restarts the session, and a single flow can never go faster than the one link it is on. SD-WAN bonding works per packet instead: packets from the same flow are spread across every link and put back in order at a server on the far side, so one upload can use the combined capacity and a failing link does not end the session.
Speedify takes the per-packet approach in software. The Speedify client spreads traffic across every internet connection at the site, the Speedify server reassembles it, and the public IP address stays the same when one connection fails, so VoIP calls and logged-in sessions carry on. Speedify’s published figure is up to 95% of the connections’ combined speed.
SD-WAN vs. Regular WAN
Both the traditional WAN and SD-WAN have a physical connection, but the SD-WAN will have a virtualized connection that is abstracted from the physical connection and sits above. This SD-WAN virtual connection can be moved easily from one device to another or altered quickly based on the needs of the business.
SD-WAN offers several advantages over traditional WANs:
- Simplified Management: SD-WAN simplifies network management by centralizing control and automation.
- Improved Performance: SD-WAN intelligently routes traffic to optimize performance, reducing latency and jitter.
- Enhanced Security: SD-WAN can provide advanced security features like encryption and firewall protection.
- Cost Reduction: SD-WAN can reduce network costs by utilizing lower-cost broadband connections and optimizing network traffic.
- Greater Flexibility: SD-WAN allows for dynamic changes to network configurations, making it more adaptable to changing business needs.
In contrast, traditional WANs often rely on expensive leased lines and complex network configurations. They can be more difficult to manage and less flexible in adapting to changing business requirements.
SD-WAN Main Purpose: Connectivity is More Important Than Ever
It used to be that companies hosted all of their data, vital business systems and other software on a local server. More complex software and the falling cost of cloud servers have since led most businesses to move some, if not all, of their essential systems to the cloud.
That makes a fast, stable and secure internet connection more important than ever, while more and more employees work away from an office’s enterprise-quality internet. This is especially hard for:
- Entertainment companies
- News organizations
- Software developers
- B2B video service providers
- Network operators
- MVNOs
If you have remote teams or mobile customers, you also have to keep connections secure in remote places with unreliable Wi-Fi. Phones and laptops use one connection at a time, so a weak Wi-Fi network drags the whole device down even when 4G/5G cellular is available.
Hardware That Combines Internet Connections Is Expensive and Impractical
For years businesses have solved the problem of inadequate bandwidth with hardware for combining internet connections (bonding routers): boxes that join multiple internet connections into a single fast pipe. That hardware is complex and expensive to install and maintain. It can be a good solution for a permanent branch office, but it does not help remote teams with their mobile devices.
Remote Work and Security Issues Related to Internet Connectivity
Today’s mobile workforce does not sit behind corporate firewalls. Employees go straight to the internet over 4G/5G cellular or any public Wi-Fi hotspot they can find, and every laptop or phone on an open public network is a security exposure for the business.
Speedify Is Used on Millions of Devices Worldwide
Speedify has made internet connections faster and more reliable for businesses and individuals since 2014.
15M+
Speedify downloads worldwide75K+
5-star reviews for Speedify on iOS and Android82
Speedify server points of presence in 50+ cities on 6 continents500TB+
Of internet traffic carried by Speedify every weekSpeedify Partners
Speedify works with these companies to bring faster, more reliable internet and networking technology to their customers and employees.
Speedify Delivers SD-WAN that Gives Your Business a Competitive Advantage
The solution to both the issues of needing more bandwidth and increasing security of remote team’s communications is the same: Speedify.
Speedify is software that combines internet connections, and it is also a VPN that encrypts all of that traffic.
The Speedify app brings SD-WAN style management of several internet connections to every device your team uses. Platforms include Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Linux.
The Speedify mobile app can also be used by mobile network operators and MVNOs for secure and reliable network offloading. This frees up network bandwidth and makes the network’s customers happier with the performance of their network and devices.
Speedify for business delivers:
- Combining internet connections at up to 95% of their combined speed (Speedify’s published figure)
- Advanced VPN security
- Reliable mobile connections
Speedify saves your company money, increases your ability to serve your customers, and makes all of your communications and digital operations more secure.
Speedify Business Solutions
Speedify Teams
Speedify for Routers
Speedify Embedded Solutions and Integrations
Add Speedify to your own app or hardware with the Speedify SDK. Your product then combines internet connections, fails over automatically when one drops, and encrypts the traffic, using the same technology as the Speedify app.