Data center interconnect over SD-WAN

In the sixth post in an interconnection-focused blog series, Flexential VP of Network, Tim Parker, discusses private, secure connectivity. Read the previous blog, “IP Bandwidth that Keeps Pace with the Growing Need for Internet Presence”.

Why secure, private connectivity is fundamental to your business
In our distributed world, transport of data between instances and locations is critical to any IT strategy. Whether for disaster recovery, pushing content or managing your applications, connectivity is key to your success. Understanding the business requirements and key factors such as security, latency and bandwidth can make the difference in having a good or bad experience with your chosen provider. There are many solutions out there, and at Flexential, we want to ensure you have the best.

The trade-offs of SD-WAN
Software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) has quickly gained the spotlight recently. There are hordes of companies touting it as a replacement for Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) networks, and every time you turn around, someone new enters the market with a cheap and fast solution you “just have to have.” While there are some great benefits, and it certainly has a place in the IT world, it’s not always the right solution.

Sending traffic over the internet comes with its perils and reliability concerns. Ironically, we’ve been using an SD-WAN solution for years called VPN tunneling, but it requires manual configuration. VPN tunnels aren’t as elegant as state-of-the-art solutions, but they work, albeit with the same security and reliability issues as today’s ordinary use of the internet.

Would you trust your company’s most precious data or customer’s private data transmitted over the internet, beyond your control, susceptible to a whole host of possible issues? How important is it to your company’s brand or reputation that your data remains secure and confidential? These are some of the dangers of using the internet for critical company data, and while there are mechanisms to secure that data, why go to the trouble if there are better solutions?

Dedicate, private, secure connection with Flexential data center interconnect
Take Flexential’s data center interconnect product, for example. It brings a dedicated, private and secure connection between any of our 40 data centers via a cost effective and highly reliable service that eliminates the risk of SD-WAN or traditional internet solutions.

With Flexential’s 100G MPLS backbone between our data centers, we can provide you with a highly reliable, private and secure connection with built-in fault tolerance and the most reliable latency possible. With the capability to scale and reroute, Flexential can deliver a better solution with a 100% uptime guarantee. Your bandwidth is dedicated for your traffic and doesn’t compete with the multitudes of internet traffic, malicious threats such as DDoS attacks or congestion issues. It’s also offered with a committed rate that your company and its traffic uses, and we’ve built it so that we can provide you a low cost solution not found anywhere else.

While SD-WAN is still valuable for connectivity to remote offices or retail branches as a low-cost solution, I wouldn’t recommend it for critical business operations. The cost of poor performance or loss of data could quickly exceed any savings. So, why wouldn’t you choose a secure, private network with a 100% uptime commitment versus a best effort internet solution? It’s your business—choose wisely.

Do you want more information about Flexential’s interconnection capabilities? Visit www.flexential.com or call (877) 448-9378 to speak to an expert today.