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WAN Virtualization (and Colocation) for Internet backhaul

Some enterprises choose to backhaul traffic for public Internet access from remote offices through one or more data centers, while other enterprises allow public Internet access directly from a local link at the site. WAN Virtualization makes doing Internet backhaul less expensive, higher capacity and more scalable. And by removing most of the downsides to Internet backhaul, especially in conjunction with the use of carrier-neutral colocation facilities, WAN Virtualization allows those enterprises which to date have not done Internet backhaul to take advantage of its traditional benefits, as well as additional benefits unique to WAN Virtualization.

The tradeoffs of Internet backhaul before WAN Virtualization

The traditional advantages of doing Internet backhaul are the ability to centralize to just a small number of locations places where Internet security/firewall policy needs to be maintained and enforced, lowering operational costs, and the corresponding fewer number of locations requiring specialized security hardware (e.g., Intrusion Prevention Systems, next-generation firewalls), lowering capital expenditures.

The traditional disadvantages of Internet backhaul: the need to pay for bandwidth twice at the data center (traffic comes in only to immediately go back out), the associated higher additional private WAN bandwidth needs — at both data centers and remote sites — and the higher latency and associated slower performance for remote site users accessing Internet sites.

Benefits of WAN Virtualization

Using WAN Virtualization for Internet backhaul to existing data center facilities, the cost of bandwidth for the backhaul portions of Internet access is much lower, both at the data center and at the branch, making “paying twice” for bandwidth a lesser issue. Further, bandwidth at remote sites is now affordably scalable, for both Internet as well as Intranet application use, essentially eliminating the crowding out effects of Internet access on corporate applications, and vice versa.

Benefits of WAN Virtualization plus colocation for Internet backhaul

WAN Virtualization together with one or more colocation facilities is a powerful combination with substantial benefits for network design, reliability and efficiency.

As compared to using WAN Virtualization for Internet backhaul to traditional data centers, combining it with colo facilities provides these additional benefits:

Much cheaper data center bandwidth at colo facility ($5 – $10 per Mbps per month)
Less expensive private WAN bandwidth needed at traditional data centers to where backhaul traffic had previously gone
Using a small number of strategically located, well-connected colo facilities, the higher latency (as compared to fully distributed Internet access) problem from remote sites is greatly minimized

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