SD-WAN vs VPN

While a huge debate within the computing and IT sphere have been SD-WAN vs MPLS, another equally important question is SD-WAN vs VPN. Though comparing SD-WAN and VPN is important, the real take away is figuring out which technology is the best fit for your business.

Definitions of SD-WAN and VPN

SD-WAN: Software-Defined Wide Area Network, dynamically routes traffic across branches, data centers, and clouds to achieve maximum WAN coverage.

VPN: Virtual Private Network, a secured network that transmits data in an encrypted form between two end junctures, normally a site and individual devices.

Comparing SD-WAN and VPN

VPN is not as complex as SD-WAN; thus, a VPN has fewer features and is often outranked by SD-WAN in various categories.

When it comes to performance, VPN will normally experience significant latency over long geographical distances. For SD-WAN, geographical distance does not pose as great an issue. SD-WAN has features like performance optimization, dynamic path selection, QoS, and application-aware routing, things VPN does not have. SD-WAN performance is also more reliable than VPN because the ladder is reliant upon the public-Internet.

Comparatively, SD-WAN requires less configuration than VPN which often entails extensive manual set-up. SD-WAN offers a ‘self-healing’ feature as well, in that it can automatically repair outages. Whereas VPN is limited in its scope of offerings, SD-WAN provides optimal network flexibility, ideal speed, and full-fledged security over multiple networks all at relatively low costs.

Determining Which Technology is Right for Your Business

As stated early, SD-WAN is much more comprehensive than VPN. Though on pen and paper SD-WAN is largely better than VPN, both can be better suited for different types and sizes of businesses.

Before wholly dismissing VPN for SD-WAN, consider the following. Are you a small business or a larger company? Is your business spread out over multiple locations, or only a few?

If you’re a small enterprise that only needs to connect a couple of sites, VPN can be a viable option. Furthermore, if your clients usually ask for remote access and less secured networking, VPN is again a reasonable choice.

The Verdict

That being said, when it comes to optimal scalability, performance, reliability, and flexibility, there is simply no comparison. SD-WAN, unless considering specific conditions, is the better choice for most businesses. SD-WAN has far more features, wins in every category, and provides all of these things at a practical cost.

The Conectrix team desires to actively work towards the advancement of our clients’ goals. As your personal technology negotiator, your success is our reward. Please connect with us today if you have any questions concerning SD-WAN, VPN, or computing and collaborating technology.