What is SD-WAN?
SD-WAN (software-defined wide-area networking) is an approach that separates the control of a wide-area network from the physical transport it runs on. Instead of configuring each branch router and relying on a specific circuit type, an SD-WAN defines routing, security and traffic policy centrally in software, then applies it across whatever links each site has: broadband, fiber, LTE or private circuits.
SD-WAN is software-defined wide-area networking: it separates control of the WAN from the underlying links, steering and managing traffic centrally over any connection.
What SD-WAN does
- 01
It centralizes control: WAN policy is defined once and pushed to every site, rather than configured box by box.
- 02
It's transport-agnostic: the same policy runs over commodity internet links, not only dedicated private circuits like MPLS.
- 03
It's application-aware: traffic can be prioritized and steered by importance, so critical apps get the best path and degrade last.
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It adds resilience: links are monitored and traffic fails over automatically when one degrades, often within seconds.
SD-WAN vs MPLS
MPLS is a private connectivity service from a carrier. It is reliable and predictable, but expensive, slow to provision and tied to the carrier's footprint. SD-WAN doesn't have to replace MPLS, but it changes its role: by making smart use of ordinary internet links, with central control and automatic failover, many organizations reduce or end their dependence on private circuits. SD-WAN is the software layer; MPLS, broadband and LTE are underlay transports it can run over.
Carrier vs software-overlay SD-WAN
SD-WAN is delivered in different ways. Carrier-managed SD-WAN bundles the service with the provider's own last-mile circuits and on-site appliances in one contract that covers both connectivity and hardware. A software-overlay SD-WAN is software you run over the internet links you already buy: lightweight gateways form an encrypted overlay and central software steers it, with no appliance to rack and no circuit contract. Both solve the same problem with very different commercial and operational models.
How this relates to Vexaro Mesh (in development)
Vexaro Mesh, now in development, is designed to deliver SD-WAN as a software overlay: lightweight gateways (VMs or containers) build a full mesh between sites over any internet link, with central policy. There is no dedicated appliance and no MPLS contract; pricing is planned per connected site, with the controller in the cloud or in your own perimeter. It targets the software-overlay model rather than carrier-managed SD-WAN that bundles circuits and hardware.
See the planned features