Do you want to have private networks within the data center infrastructure? Read more about the Cisco SD WAN Solutions Viptela to achieve better security and performance without having to invest in new hardware.
Cisco SD WAN Solutions Viptela
SD-WAN is a new type of technology that helps the user to avoid the expensive and complicated to manage the WAN. It provides essential features that help the business to grow their sales and services better by connecting their branch offices. Viptela provides SD-WAN solutions for Cisco devices, which are used for Internet connectivity.
This article will give you information about Cisco SD-WAN Solutions Viptela and how it works when you connect your branch offices through Cisco devices.
How Does Viptela Work?
There are two ways to run Viptela on your network. Viptela can be installed as a virtual appliance on VMware virtual machine. Also, you can install it on physical hardware. It is a software solution that runs within a hypervisor.
Viptela can be installed as a physical appliance on Cisco UCS hardware or other hardware. It is a software solution that runs on physical hardware. The physical version of the appliance is available in two models: one based on Intel Xeon E3 and another based on Intel Atom C2558 processor.
It focuses more on the technical aspects of the software product rather than comparisons between the two models of physical appliances. A Viptela system consists of at least three components. These are Edge devices, Cloud Controller, and Management Center (MC).
All these components are deployed in a single data center and are connected over the internal LAN or external network. The Edge devices are located at remote sites and work as edge routers or firewalls with SD-WAN capabilities built into them. They are responsible for data plane functions like packet forwarding, routing, NAT/PAT, and a firewall.
Moreover, the Cloud Controller is responsible for management plane functions. These are such as policy configuration, device management, and monitoring/alerting. So, this is while MC is responsible for orchestration capabilities like dynamic routing optimization and application awareness.
Now, all these functions work together to provide an end-to-end SD-WAN solution. But without any manual intervention required by network administrators!
The Edge to Viptela Edge Devices
The Edge device resides at remote sites (branch offices) and performs any functions. Edge devices are deployed in pairs at each site (primary and secondary edge devices). So, the primary edge device handles all traffic going into the site while the second edge device takes over if the primary fails.
Also, the primary is under maintenance. In such cases, the second edge device takes over the traffic from the primary and continues to handle the traffic without any interruption. Hence, the Edge device has two management interfaces named Management Interface (MI) and Service Interface (SI).
Moreover, the MI is used for deploying and monitoring the device. This is while SI is used for configuring/managing the services provided by the device (like VPN, firewall, etc.). So, the Viptela component gathers data plane statistics which are used by Cloud Controller to provide orchestration and optimization capabilities.