Level 3 Communications, which is in the process of being acquired by CenturyLink, announced that, with rising demand for agile, efficient network solutions due to the growth in connected devices and applications in the cloud, it is launching a new SD-WAN offering, which applies software-defined networking (SDN) technology to the network edge.
Level 3's SD-WAN provides customers with the ability to create secure private networks over a mix of public and private infrastructure, with site-to-site encryption, regardless of access or backbone method, including DSL, cable, LTE, Internet and MPLS. The SD-WAN solution also provides enterprises with centralised management and control, enabling traffic steering on an application-by-application basis or by access type and the connection of disparate sites across different backbone connections.
Level 3's new SD-WAN offering is designed to enable enterprise customers to:
1. Respond to changing business demands via rapid site deployment through zero-touch configuration.
2. Optimise application performance and bandwidth utilisation utilising performance-based routing and traffic steering by application.
3. Implement centralised policy management, allowing increased governance and control of their network operations.
4. Leverage direct Internet connectivity for access to public clouds and SaaS applications to enhance the local user experience.
5. Simplify network operations and reduce administrative overhead via a single point of contact for broadband aggregation and billing.
6. Dashboard views using Level 3's 24 x 7 self-service portal, providing greater visibility and control with application monitoring and analytics.
