CATO Networks

JUNE 19, 2018

WAN optimization has been with us for a long time. Born alongside the expensive MPLS data service, WAN optimization appliances allowed organizations to squeeze more bandwidth out of thin pipes through compression and deduplication, as well as prioritizing traffic of loss-sensitive applications such as remote desktops.

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WAN MPLS Network Security Bandwidth 52

Kentik

JUNE 14, 2023

Enterprise WAN in 2023 Enterprise networking in 2023 is very much the same. I recently had the privilege of attending the WAN and AWS Summits in London. Not many years ago, all my WAN projects were IPsec tunnels to a headend, dual hub DMVPN designs, coordinating MPLS handoffs from last mile providers, etc. User to the cloud.

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WAN Data Centers DNS Internet 59

Kentik

JANUARY 6, 2021

Data center : Leaf and spine switches, top of rack, modular, fixed and stackable. Internet and broadband infrastructure : The internet itself that connects the clouds, applications, and users. Traditional WAN : WAN access switches, integrated services routers, cloud access routers.

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CATO Networks

APRIL 12, 2018

The widespread adoption of Software-Defined Wide-Area-Network ( SD-WAN ) in recent years has caused many to wonder whether WAN optimization is still necessary. More specifically, t he rise of WAN optimization began around 2004 and addressed the limitations of the limited capacity of costly MPLS and leased line connections.

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CATO Networks

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

The market for SD-WAN has been driven in part by its ability to reduce bandwidth costs and improve the performance of cloud access. Traditionally, Wide Area Networks (WANs) and network security were loosely coupled entities. This amicable live-and-let-live separation falls apart with todays SD-WAN.

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CATO Networks

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

It had risen as a response to the business need for a reliable and predictable network performance across the wide area network (WAN). For example, remote office employees needed access to latency sensitive enterprise applications like ERP, CRM and Virtual Desktops that were hosted in the companys data center. How can that be?

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CATO Networks

MARCH 29, 2022

The SD-WAN contract renewal period is an ideal time to review whether SD-WAN fits into your future plans. While SD-WAN is a powerful and cost-effective replacement for MPLS , enterprises need to make sure it answers their evolving needs, like cloud infrastructure, mitigating cyber risks, and enabling remote access from anywhere.

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CATO Networks

MARCH 7, 2019

Companies evaluating which SD-WAN approach is best for them will have to decide between deploying an Over the Top (OTT) SD-WAN or having their SD-WAN bundled with the underlying network. The decision certainly has a big impact on SD-WANs complexity, performance, and affordability. Is Cato an OTT SD-WAN?

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CATO Networks

OCTOBER 22, 2018

To establish their facilities, companies need reliable and high-performance network connectivity to global data centers both in-region and out-of-region. Internet infrastructure is often less developed, which can lead to problems such as packet loss over the last mile. Cloud networks revolutionize global connectivity.

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WAN MPLS Internet Data Centers 52

CATO Networks

JULY 26, 2022

Happy To Announce the Birth of a New Technology – SD-WAN It wasnt that long ago that we oohed and ahhed over the brand-new technology called SD-WAN. But just as were getting used to the toddling SD-WAN, along came yet another even more exciting newborn, the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). Thats so yesteryear or is it?

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WAN SASE MPLS Internet 52

CATO Networks

APRIL 2, 2019

In 2014, Gartner analysts wrote a Foundational Report (G00260732, Communication Hubs Improve WAN Performance) providing guidance to customers on deploying communication hubs, or cloud-based network hubs, outside the enterprise data center. Also, companies need the ability to prioritize certain types of traffic across the WAN.

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CATO Networks

JUNE 27, 2016

Figure 1: Backhauling all locations to on-premise global SAP instance in the datacenter While the benefits of HEC are obvious, migrating SAP from the data center into a Cloud-based hosted instance isn’t trivial. It is backhauling traffic to that data center from manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout the world.

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WAN Firewall Data Centers Internet 52

CATO Networks

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

That means making sure the wide area network (WAN) that connects branch offices, data centers, cloud services and SaaS applications can handle the connectivity needs of digitally empowered global organizations. Software-defined Wide Area Networks ( SD-WAN ) can get the job done.

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MPLS WAN Cloud Wide Area Network 52

CATO Networks

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

One of the key requirements of Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) is the ability to connect to service providers via the Internet. As I discussed in my previous blog , few companies, especially global organizations, have Internet access at every branch. Another option is the use of WAN-Cloud exchanges.

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WAN Internet Cloud Network 52

CATO Networks

FEBRUARY 27, 2017

Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WANs) promised to address the high costs, rigidity and limitations of private MPLS services. Like so many technologies, though, there are the promises of SD-WANs and then there are the realities of SD-WANs. Internet performance has improved significantly over the years, no doubt.

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WAN MPLS Bandwidth Internet 52

CATO Networks

APRIL 11, 2016

Backhauling is a way a network team is solving a security problem: providing secure internet access for all locations. Backhauling moves the traffic to a datacenter where firewalls are deployed and a secure Internet access is available. Backhauling had a better cost/performance vs. distributed security appliances.

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WAN MPLS Internet Network Security 52

CATO Networks

JUNE 17, 2018

Although MPLS circuits are considerably more expensive than general Internet circuits, businesses have relied on MPLS networks for their dependability. Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) is making organizations rethink their WAN infrastructure. Internet backup may be used but that adds complexity to the network.

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WAN MPLS Internet Bandwidth 52

Akins IT

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

Luckily, SD-WAN can be configured to prioritize business-critical traffic and real-time services like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and then effectively steer it over the most efficient route. Performance MPLS was the top dog in enterprise WAN before cloud-computing and mobile smart devices exploded in popularity.

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WAN MPLS Digital Transformation Bandwidth 52

CATO Networks

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

So in the spirit of the season, weve decided to create a curriculum for learning everything you wanted to know about SD-WAN. SD-WAN Curriculum and Resource Materials Here are five resources of information to understand SD-WAN, but also about other technologies that impact SD-WAN.

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WAN MPLS Network Networking 52

CATO Networks

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

For several years now, the network evolution spotlight has been on SD-WAN , and rightfully so. SD-WAN provides big advancements in connecting branch locations into central data centers in a cost-effective manner. However, SD-WAN appliances sit atop the underlying network infrastructure.

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WAN SASE Cloud Network Security 52

CATO Networks

JUNE 5, 2018

IT organizations are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN). According to a July 2017 report from market-research firm IDC , SD-WAN adoption is seeing remarkable growth as companies look to streamline their WAN infrastructure and move toward more cloud-based applications.

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WAN Wide Area Network Data Centers Application 52

CATO Networks

MARCH 21, 2019

For global companies still operating with a legacy WAN architecture, WAN modernization is mandatory today for a variety of reasons. SD-WAN is a very broad category. If a company chooses the wrong SD-WAN, it can be detrimental to the business. Global companies have unique networking needs. Frankfurt to Shanghai 1.99

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WAN Firewall Internet Digital Transformation 52

CATO Networks

MARCH 5, 2017

Changes in our applications (cloud migration) and where users work (mobility) are driving the shift to software defined wide area networks ( SD-WANs ), but theyre also forcing us to rethink how we securely connect our users, application and data and deliver a compelling quality of experience.

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WAN Network Networking Internet 52

CATO Networks

MAY 6, 2018

Companies needing to connect their users to the services in the cloud, who have been using a wide-area network (WAN) with MPLS for security, are seeing the benefits of using a software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) for connectivity. Bandwidth-intensive traffic, bound for the Internet and cloud, are backhauled across the MPLS WAN.

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Kentik

MAY 16, 2021

In today’s digitally transformed world, everyone from internet service providers to enterprises depend upon high-performing and secure networks for business success. It doesn’t matter if you’re Zoom or Major League Baseball, if you’ve got a problem with your network… you’ve got a problem with your business. Hail to the Network.

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CATO Networks

JUNE 5, 2019

SD-WAN certainly provides companies with a lot of flexibility, and one aspect of that flexibility is how to manage the networking solution. One management model is the Do it yourself (DIY) approach, which has long been popular with enterprises that purchase and deploy the SD-WAN appliances themselves.

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WAN Wide Area Network Network Networking 52

Kentik

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

This week, we learned the SD-WAN market is forecasted to reach $3.3 Facebook uses Open/R to support its wide-area networks, data center fabric and wireless mesh topologies. Here are those headlines and more: Cisco, VMware in SD-WAN market ‘two-horse race’ (SDxCentral). AT&T makes its SD-WAN ‘dynamic’ (SDxCentral).

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WAN Network Networking Data Centers 40

CATO Networks

NOVEMBER 19, 2017

However, when it comes to SD-WAN technology it is difficult to ignore its obvious benefits. Dont take our word for it, heres what 9 leading industry experts have to say on the benefits of SD-WAN for enterprise networking: Is SD-WAN the future of networking? Enterprise networking experts often disagree on many things.

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WAN Network Networking Wide Area Network 52

NW Kings

JANUARY 4, 2025

Understanding the OSI model and routing protocols is crucial; because routing is the backbone of internet connectivity. Advancing into SD-WAN Once you have a good grasp of firewalls, the next step is to explore SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network). Dive into SD-WAN, focusing on architecture and security.

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Engineering Network Networking Data Centers 52

CATO Networks

JUNE 16, 2022

5 Questions to Ask Your SASE Provider | eBook Use Case #1: MPLS Migration to SD-WAN SASE can support running MPLS alongside SD-WAN. In this first use case, enterprises leverage SASEs SD-WAN functionalities, while turning off MPLS sites at their own schedule. Existing security and remote access solutions remain in place.

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CATO Networks

JULY 2, 2017

WAN infrastructure is also changing with adoption of SD-WANs. They require direct Internet access to minimize the latency of accessing cloud- and Internet-based resources from across MPLS services. Increasing SSL traffic volume puts pressure on firewall appliance processing capacity, often forcing unplanned upgrades.

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Kentik

DECEMBER 8, 2020

The digital experience became the make or break of the modern business betting on clouds, internet delivery and — with the pandemic — a distributed workforce. Some network infrastructure may be owned, like in your data centers and corporate WAN/SD-WAN, and others shared, like in public clouds and over the internet.

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CATO Networks

MAY 21, 2018

Todays business lives and depends on the Internet. More and more companies rely on the Internet for voice and video. The public Internet, though, is a challenging environment to deliver business-quality real-time services. The public Internet reorganizes to solve issues without regard for the impact on applications.

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Internet MPLS WAN Media 40

CATO Networks

MAY 26, 2022

The modern enterprise network is internet-bound, which makes it bandwidth-intensive. Enterprises need a solution that is priced in an internet-friendly manner since counting every megabit is counter-productive. Redundant circuits, resilient routing and WAN optimization drive the bill even higher.

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MPLS WAN SASE Network 52

CATO Networks

NOVEMBER 21, 2021

While BCP is a company-wide effort, IT plays an especially important role in maintaining business operations, with the task of ensuring redundancy measures and backup for data centers in case of an outage. Can you provide access to data and applications according to corporate security policies during an outage?

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CATO Networks

AUGUST 18, 2022

You may be familiar with the concept of localized versus centralized policies that exist within legacy SD-WAN architectures, but Catos cloud-native SASE architecture simplifies configuration and policy delivery across all capabilities from a true single management application.

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CATO Networks

JULY 28, 2019

Areas that will be in focus are reducing reliance on MPLS in favor of internet access, automation, different business models/sourcing options and taking advantage of open standards where possible. From MPLS to Internet and routers to SD-WAN The network of the future will reduce its reliance on MPLS in favor of Internet with SD-WAN.

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