How SD-WAN Addresses VoIP, UC

October 01, 2018

By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC

Enterprises have lots of choices these days when it comes to business communications and connectivity.

They may opt for a cloud-based solution or an on-premises setup. Within those two options are an array of solutions from a large number of providers.

For external calls, businesses need to tap into the PSTN. And if they use VoIP, there are a few ways to do that. Businesses can leverage SIP trunks or VoIP gateways.

Whoever owns and manages the equipment and connectivity needs to make sure voice has adequate bandwidth, and controlled latency, to avoid jitter or other performance issues. Network operators can do that in several ways.

One option is to use a dedicated connection or carve out a virtual tunnel on the network. Another way to ensure acceptable quality of service is to dynamically move the session to a higher quality link.

SD-WAN can allow for that.

It creates a network overlay that can monitor nd control multiple underlying connections. Those connections may include broadband, microwave, MPLS, or other access options. And SD-WAN can be used to assess when the desired quality is not available on a given link so the network can then move the application or service to an acceptable connection.

Edited by Maurice Nagle