This section describes network topologies for branches and data centers.

Branches to Private Third Party (VPN)

Customers with a private data center or cloud data center often want a way to include it in their network without having to define a tunnel from each individual branch office site to the data center. By defining the site as a Non SD-WAN Destination, a single tunnel will be built from the nearest SD-WAN Gateway to the customer’s existing router or firewall. All the SD-WAN Edges that need to talk to the site will connect to the same SD-WAN Gateway to forward packets across the tunnel, simplifying the overall network configuration and new site bring up.

VMware simplifies the branch deployment and delivers enterprise great application performance or public/private link for cloud and/or on-premise applications.

Data Center Network Topology

The Data Center Network topology consists of two hubs and multiple branches, with or without SD-WAN Edge. Each hub has hybrid WAN connectivity. There are several branch types.

The MPLS network runs BGP and peers with all the CE routers. At Hub 1, Hub 2, and Silver 1 sites, the L3 switch runs OSPF, or BGP with the CE router and firewall (in case of hub sites).

In some cases, there may be redundant data centers which advertise the same subnets with different costs. In this scenario, both data centers can be configured as edge-to-edge VPN hubs. Since all edges connect directly to each hub, the hubs in fact also connect directly to each other. Based on route cost, traffic is steered to the preferred active data center.

In previous versions, users could create an enterprise object using Zscaler or Palo Alto Network as a generic Non SD-WAN Destination. In 4.0 version, that object will now become a first-class citizen as a Non SD-WAN Destination.

The Cloud-Delivered solution of VMware combines the economics and flexibility of the hybrid WAN with the deployment speed and low maintenance of cloud-based services. It dramatically simplifies the WAN by delivering virtualized services from the cloud to branch offices. VMware customer-premise equipment, SD-WAN Edge, aggregates multiple broadband links (e.g., Cable, DSL, 4G-LTE) at the branch office, and sends the traffic to SD-WAN Gateways. Using cloud-based orchestration, the service can connect the branch office to any type of data center: enterprise, cloud, or Software-as-a-Service.

SD-WAN Edge is a compact, thin Edge device that is zero-IT-touch provisioned from the cloud for secure, optimized connectivity to applications and data. A cluster of gateways is deployed globally at top-tier cloud data centers to provide scalable and on-demand cloud network services. Working with the Edge, the cluster delivers Dynamic Multi-path Optimization so multiple, ordinary broadband links appear as a single, high bandwidth link. Orchestrator management provides centralized configuration, real-time monitoring, and one-click provisioning of virtual services.