China Telecom Global has launched its SD-WAN service portfolio for multinational corporation (MNC) customers, selecting Versa as its primary vendor.
This service offering is now available and is expected to grow to over 30 global cloud gateways (PoPs) by the end of the year across the Asia Pacific region, Europe and North America.
The service provider has built nodes to support the SD-WAN and SD-Security services in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris, Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Mumbai.
CTG will also extend the service coverage to major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, using China Telecom's domestic resources.
This coverage enables CTG’s customers to connect to the international branch offices or to the headquarters in China, as well as catering to other MNCs who have headquarters in other areas like Malaysia and branch offices in China.
“CTG has set up hubs on a high speed link with Versa in Asia, EMEA, America, and Australia,” Kumar Mehta, founder and CDO for Versa Networks, said in an interview with FierceTelecom. “The branches connect to this hub and the hubs of the branches are managed through the SD-WAN controller and the Versa director.”
Creating express routes
CTG’s SD-WAN service is designed to enable direct access to public third-party services such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon via backbone networks, creating what is effectively an express route.
“CTG wanted to give their customers agility by providing the ability for them to get a good migration alternative to cloud services such as Microsoft Azure, AWS and Office 365,” Mehta said. “Using Versa’s technology, MNCs can get one-stop access to any of these cloud services from the hub site.”
Mehta added that Versa had to accommodate network requirements specific to China.
“If it’s Office 365 or Azure, they are accessing it through the hub site,” Mehta said. “But if it is a Chinese website, the MNC will access the website directly from the branch or the hub site depending on the security posture.”
Additionally, the service will be accessible via mobile devices. Using Versa's NFV software, CTG offers an on-the-go network diagnostics service to its customers who are now able to check the quality of its connectivity.
Multiple access options
As a unit of China Telecom, CTG can get access to its parent company’s cable and wireless assets, delivering connectivity to its customers with the possibility of establishing a hybrid network with MPLS VPN.
While the initial SD-WAN focus for CTG will use broadband connections, the service provider will also allow MNC customers to get access to MPLS at a future date.
“Right now, the whole network is set up on broadband and they will add MPLS later,” Mehta said. “When they add MPLS to the network, it can failover to the MPLS underlay if the broadband link fails.”