WAN - how to choose a WAN technology
When an enterprise or organization has many remote sites, a Wide Area Network technology must be chosen to safely, securely, and reliability interconnect the site networks. There are various choices that can be used, but each has its advantages and disadvantages.
The following describes some of the characteristics that are useful in making such a decision.
| Technology | Provided by | Complexity | Security | Cost | Scalability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPLS | ISP | Moderate | Moderate | High | High |
| SD-WAN | Enterprise | Moderate | High | High | Very High |
| FlexVPN | Enterprise | Moderate | High | Moderate | High |
| DMVPN | Enterprise | Hard | High | Moderate | High |
| GRE | Enterprise | Simple | Very Low | Low | Moderate |
| MetroEthernet | ISP | Moderate | Low | High | Moderate |
| Frame-Relay | ISP | Moderate | Very Low | Low | Low |
| IPSec Tunnel | Enterprise | Moderate | Very High | Low | Low |
| Site to Site VPN | Enterprise | Moderate | Very High | Low | Low |
Note the following:
- The level of security indicated is that which is inherent to each of the WAN technologies listed. Actual security may vary depending upon how the technology is implemented and what additional measures are taken to secure communication.
- Costs are indicated based on the nature of the service (subscription based from an ISP for example) and the potential cost of equipment.
Links
https://networklessons.com/cisco/ccna-200-301//introduction-to-wans-wide-area-network https://networklessons.com/cisco/ccnp-encor-350-401/introduction-to-sd-wan https://networklessons.com/mpls/introduction-to-mpls