VarianceM

SD-WAN vs. MPLS

—

by

VarianceM
in ,

As businesses increasingly rely on cloud services and distributed workforces, the debate between SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Networking) and MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) has become central in networking.

What is MPLS?

MPLS is a private, reliable, and highly secure network service often used by enterprises to connect branch offices or data centers. It provides guaranteed quality of service (QoS), making it ideal for time-sensitive applications such as VoIP, video conferencing, and other real-time services. However, MPLS comes at a high cost and typically involves long provisioning times for new sites or changes in bandwidth.

What is SD-WAN?

SD-WAN is a newer technology that virtualizes WAN connections, allowing organizations to use a variety of lower-cost internet connections (broadband, LTE, 5G) alongside or in place of MPLS. SD-WAN intelligently routes traffic based on real-time conditions and application needs, offering flexibility, agility, and cost savings, especially when scaling to multiple locations.

Key Differences

1. Cost

  • MPLS: Expensive, as it relies on private circuits, and costs increase with bandwidth and distance.
  • SD-WAN: More affordable, as it uses public internet connections, reducing the dependency on costly private MPLS links.

2. Performance

  • MPLS: Provides predictable performance with guaranteed SLAs for critical applications.
  • SD-WAN: Delivers high performance by dynamically routing traffic through the best available link but does not offer the same level of SLA as MPLS.

3. Flexibility

  • MPLS: Less flexible, as changes to the network can take weeks to implement.
  • SD-WAN: Highly flexible, allowing for rapid changes, easy scaling, and quick provisioning of new sites.

4. Security

  • MPLS: Inherently secure as it operates on a private network.
  • SD-WAN: Uses encryption to secure traffic over public internet connections and integrates easily with cloud-based security tools.

5. Cloud Integration

  • MPLS: Typically requires backhauling cloud traffic to a central data center, increasing latency.
  • SD-WAN: Optimized for direct cloud access, offering lower latency and better performance for cloud-based applications.

6. Management

  • MPLS: Managed by service providers, giving businesses less control over configurations and changes.
  • SD-WAN: Offers centralized, cloud-based management, giving businesses more control and visibility over their network.

Use Cases

  • MPLS is best suited for large enterprises with highly sensitive applications that require guaranteed performance.
  • SD-WAN is ideal for businesses looking for agility, cost savings, and optimized cloud access, particularly for distributed offices or remote workers.

Conclusion

While MPLS is a proven technology that offers high reliability, SD-WAN delivers flexibility, lower costs, and enhanced cloud performance, making it a popular choice for modern businesses. Depending on your organization’s needs, SD-WAN could serve as a supplement to MPLS or as a complete replacement, especially in cloud-heavy environments.