ORLANDO, Florida—Spectrum Enterprise, Charter Communications’ business arm, has revealed plans to offer a hybrid SD-WAN solution, offering business customers the option to use a mix of Ethernet and traditional internet access.
Spectrum Enterprise Hybrid SD-WAN solution will allow businesses to leverage the performance of Ethernet, ubiquitous broadband internet connectivity and SD-WAN to create what the service provider calls Hybrid WANs by stitching together native Ethernet WANs and Internet-based SD-WAN connections.
RELATED: Charter sets plan to enter the SD-WAN game
Specifically, the new hybrid SD-WAN product will allow business customers to achieve three main goals:
SD-WAN overlay: A customer could carry the new SD-WAN solution over any access technology for new locations or over their existing WAN.
Ethernet WAN extension: Businesses will be able to extend their current native Ethernet WAN by rapidly stitching in remote sites using SD-WAN over Internet access.
Customers will be able to get a look at Spectrum Enterprise’s SD-WAN offering during a networking proof of concept (PoC) at this year’s MEF17 global conference. During the PoC, customers can see how Charter can activate and stitch SD-WAN overlay locations into an existing Ethernet WAN connected to the public cloud, applying business policies and traffic routing, activating a virtual firewall in real time along with setting firewall policies through a user portal.
Spectrum Enterprise Hybrid SD-WAN solution will provide users with various software-controlled features, including a client portal, application-level use of business policies at each site for routing traffic, predefined network security templates and policies and automation of connectivity to the cloud.
The cable MSO’s entry into SD-WAN should not be any great surprise. During the service provider’s third-quarter earnings call, Charter CEO Tom Rutledge said it is going to offer the SD-WAN service, but he did not provide a specific timeline or specify in what markets it would initially be available.
Being able to leverage the existing HFC-based DOCSIS infrastructure as well as the growing fiber and Ethernet networks will allow cable operators to quickly scale and potentially steal MPLS market share from incumbent telcos.