ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Digital transformation is more than implementing incremental technology changes around the edges. It is a fundamental overhaul in how a business or sector delivers goods or services through the application of advanced digital technologies. In the space industry, the adoption of software-defined networking and software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN) is one of the changes helping to drive the digital transformation of today’s satellite networks.
What is SD-WAN?
Today, more people in the satellite industry are becoming familiar with SD-WAN technology as it is deployed in satellite and hybrid networks. Still, others may be wondering, “What is SD-WAN? Why does it matter to satellites? And why are you bothering me with another acronym?”
As the name suggests, SD-WAN deals with the management of wide area networks. Think of connecting or backhauling data links between multiple branch offices, campuses or remote sites and data centers over a large geographic distance. While both traditional and SD-WAN rely on physical components (circuits, routing endpoint hardware, etc.), the overlay for provisioning and managing the network services is entirely different. Traditional WAN requires individual components to be configured manually to change the way the network functions. WAN technology has been around since the 1980s and is highly effective but can be a poor fit for modern cloud services and responding to elasticity of demand.
SD-WAN abstracts network management functions away from the hardware with a software-based or virtual controller that sits above the physical layer. Since the control is no longer in each individual network device, operators can write rules and policies to deploy across an entire network at once, reducing time and management costs—also making this architecture ideal for cloud and SaaS applications.
The way SD-WAN looks in a satellite or hybrid network is unique, even though the concepts are the same. In a satellite network, the software-based control layer sits on top of the physical layer and eliminates much of the need for the network operator to physically manage or reconfigure network devices to create a service. Instead, the operator uses SD-WAN to monitor and manage factors such as throughput, packet loss, jitter, latency, etc. The operator or administrator uses that information to segment types of traffic—e.g. high-latency versus low-latency traffic—and implement intelligent routing policies. For example, a network operator may write a rule that directs latency-sensitive traffic through a LEO constellation any time terrestrial broadband is unavailable or over-congested.
SD-WAN boils down to the ability to prioritize and select the best pathway for network traffic or applications with as little manual reconfiguration as possible. This not only helps operators adapt to variable network changes or outages in real time, it also enables them to provide quality of service (QoS) and fulfill user experience expectations.
What the Satellite Community Is Saying
One of the satellite trends pushing more operators and ground system providers into SD-WAN solutions is the expansion into multi-orbit networks across LEO, MEO and GEO. “With the proliferation of new constellations in multiple orbits, SD-WAN can simplify network operations by acting as a dynamic manager of multiple links with varying network performance levels, such as throughput, jitter latency and ultimately optimizing application performance for a given service,” explained Kevin Tobias, Director of Product Management and Edge Solutions at Kratos.
By adopting a software-defined networking approach, the satellite network operator can combine multiple WAN connections from different networks using centrally programmed rules and policies to prioritize specific performance metrics. This, in turn, enhances an operator’s ability to provide more tailored services, Tobias continued. “SD-WAN becomes an integral part of an end-to-end solution by enabling service providers to work together collaboratively to better deliver the QoS requirements for customers.”
Will Mudge, Vice President of Engineering Operations at Speedcast, recently cited SD-WAN as one of the top changes impacting the teleport business. “I know we talk about SD-WAN as an enabler for a lot of things,” he said, “but it changes how the teleports function, too,” he said during WTA webinar on softwarization in the ground segment.
The addition of a virtual controller allows teleport operators to monitor and select the best link paths for reliable service and seamless failover. Mudge cited the security benefits of direct access through SD-WAN and noted the advantages of operators being able to manage the application layer of the network. “SD-WAN really does give you that Layer 7, so you can prioritize the applications. It expands the feature set. Your experience is so much better. And it really is that next generation for what our customers see at the end.”
Change Is Not Without Risk
Naturally, there are risks in shifting from a traditional hardware-centric approach to software. For network operators that have limited CAPEX and are ready to go to market quickly, SD-WAN can be an attractive solution. At the same time, most network operators are loathe to scrap their existing investment for an entirely new solution, which leaves operators managing a combination of legacy hardware and modern, software-based infrastructure. That’s where issues can arise with network speed and performance, explained Frank Czulo, President of Advanced Networks at Network Innovations.
“I think the biggest barrier in that world is, it has to be all software-defined,” Czulo said, pointing to situations where the value of an SD-WAN backbone is limited because of older, hardware-based configurations within the same network. “It’s hard to be half and half.”
Making the transition from hardware to a software-based network reduces overall cost of ownership, improves user experience with applications and cloud integration and greatly enhances network agility and flexibility. But making that transition is not simple. Mudge acknowledged that it takes a specific skillset and a great effort to make SD-WAN work as a network solution. At the same time, he noted, the satellite industry is in the middle of big changes “from a revenue perspective.” Satellite operators and ground providers are having to discover new sources of revenue, new services and new business models within a shifting market. This has been particularly challenging for companies in the ground segment that traditionally relied on selling dedicated circuits, switches and other hardware devices.
The satellite world may feel the software shift acutely but it is impacting other major network providers across industries as well. In late January, Verizon took a $5.8 billion write-down on its wireline business group. The move was likely the result of a yearslong shift from MPLS to SD-WAN technologies, according to Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner. Verizon’s wireline business used to generate significant revenue selling MPLS circuits. Now, that revenue is shifting to SD-WAN vendors.
Those in the satellite industry underdoing the digital transformation may look to the telco experience as a cautionary tale or learning experience. “Where the money goes has shifted away from telcos to software providers,” Entner told Fierce Telecom. “If the telcos had been the ones who provide the software we wouldn’t see these declines.”
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