First Cisco SD-WAN implementation in Poland

We are very proud to announce that Grandmetric succesfully delivered the first Software-Defined production network in quarter 1 2019 for Pfeifer & Langen Polska S.A. The implementation was part of a network and IT operations optimization project for one of the largest sugar manufacturer in this part of Europe. The aim was to reduce costs of MPLS-based WAN links by migrating Wide Area Network to Software-Defined WAN solution where based on medley of fiber and radio Internet links, application traffic flows within SD-WAN overlay network in controlled and optimal manner. The migration resulted in Internet and WAN links bandwidth increase while lowering the costs and in the same time, user experience increased significantly making business operations more efficient.

How does SD-WAN work?

SD-WAN is the adoption of Software Defined Network idea where control plane traffic (WAN routing process) is on the SD-WAN controller which is located in the cloud and is out of path of user traffic. Data plane (exact traffic between the sites) is on the SD-WAN routers that are instructed by mentioned SD-WAN controller engines. SD-WAN uses WAN interfaces identificators named TLOC’s for flexible traffic distribution across the available links. Thanks to TLOC, traffic between customer sites can be balanced using mutliple links in the same time effectively utilizing given links. The quality of application transport can be assured based on real-time, end to end WAN links condition check process. What is worth to mention, SD-WAN routers make DPI (Deep Pakcet Inspection) operations for application recognition. Thanks to application visibility the traffic can be send out the links that meet the configured quality policies. More on the SD-WAN you can read in previous post.

SD-WAN meets business requirements

Pfeifer & Langen S.A. was originally struggling with high costs of MPLS links and low efficiency of application traffic across the WAN. Besides the MPLS links costs, link speed was not enough to handle growing demands of business. Also there was no monitoring available of MPLS links in particular locations.

“Taking the decision of MPLS to SD-WAN migration project, we were convinced that employing new technology that builds secure overlay network over the Internet links will:

• Increase the links speed thus improving application performance
• Provide single point of management using vManage SD-WAN controller
• Introduce monitoring of the WAN conditions “out of the box”
• Increase user’s experience using application and browsing the Internet
• And last but not least decrease operational costs”

Says Marcin Jaźwiec – IT Manager of Pfeifer & Langen Polska S.A.

Cisco SD-WAN & Grandmetric research

After the Cisco’s acquision of Viptela – the top world’s SD-WAN player, Cisco Systems expanded its portfolio of WAN solutions in August 2017. Taking Viptela, Cisco SD-WAN is highest class solution of software defined network where there are SD-WAN controllers: vManage, vSmart, vBond and vEdge routers in the virtual and hardware edition. Grandmetric has been involved in Software Defined WAN research since 2016 making first tries of Viptela solution. Engineers were following all Cisco activities related to Viptela acquision and solution transformation. Grandmetric has own SD-WAN laboratory where many scenarios have been tested and validated. Clients can request Proof of Concepts of SD-WAN using Grandmetric PoC lab and vEdge Cloud or cEdge routers.