Adtran has added to its portfolio of SD-WAN services for small and medium-sized businesses with the addition of its 934 SD-WAN edge platform.
Adtran, which first announced it was entering the SD-WAN sector in October, said the on premise 934 edge platform works in conjunction with its cloud-based SD-WAN solution.
The 934 solution is based on Intel's x86 architecture, which enables an open, virtualized approach to expand applications and networking functions regardless of the developing vendor. Unlike first-generation customer premises equipment-based solutions, Adtran is using intelligent cloud software and a dedicated backbone network, which enables control of traffic to and from software-as-a-service applications.
While there are more than 60 SD-WAN vendors in the market today, Adtran is seeking to carve out a space with managed service providers (MSPs) and retail service providers (RSP) that have at least several branch locations. According to an email to FierceTelecom, RSPs and MSPs requested a platform like the 934 for some time.
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By using Intel's x86 architecture, Adtran can integrate the 934 device with existing security solutions while adapting to changes in network or application usage.
"The SD-WAN market continues to rapidly grow, reaching over $1 billion in annual sales, and we're seeing many managed service providers add this type of service to their portfolios. It is critical they have the ability to easily and quickly add and provision new services in order to stay competitive and optimize customer experience," said Lee Doyle, principal analyst at Doyle Research, in a statement. "Platforms based on the Intel x86 architecture will support multi-vendor environments, making it easier to add any virtualized feature that will add value to the service bundle."
Adtran said its SD-WAN cloud approach supports active-active WAN links, inbound QoS, single IP failover and a cloud gateway component for control of cloud-based content. It also uses multiple gateways across the continental U.S. with redundant connections, upstream feeds, and each location provides multiple entry points to maximize performance and provide failover protection.
Adtran faces a laundry list of competitors in the SD-WAN space including: Zenlayer, VMware/VeloCloud, Aryaka, Cisco/Viptela, CloudGenix, TeloIP, EthoStream, and NS1. Cisco and VMware have spent the past several years integrating the Viptela and VeloCloud technologies across their product portfolios.
Like Cisco and VMware, Adtran will be able to bank on its worldwide sales force and partnerships with telcos, service providers and managed service providers to sell its SD-WAN solutions. The 934 SD-WAN edge platform will be available in the coming weeks.