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December 19, 2024

Intelligent Traffic Management & Auto Traffic Shaping using AI in SD-WAN

SD-WAN is a powerful networking solution that provides control, security, and end-to-end visibility to enhance your online presence. It integrates software-defined networking and high-end security services in a single platform. SD-WAN leverages seamless network management and optimised performance. The introduction of AI has transformed SD-WAN solutions, and this blog discusses the key features and benefits of using AI in SD-WAN to aid in Intelligent Traffic Management, Auto Traffic Shaping, and Network Healing.
SD-WAN solutions use artificial intelligence to manage the organisation’s network, thereby automating the network process. Service providers enhance network performance through SD-WAN solutions.

AI in SD-WAN
AI can identify traffic patterns and enable SD-WAN to maximise decision-making capability. SD-WAN can instantly adapt to changes in user behaviour without human intervention, thereby improving network performance. It improves predictive network maintenance and employs AI to identify anomalies and proactively address issues. AI offers greater visibility to SD-WAN connections, offering easier central management of distributed networks. It tightens security, offers quick threat detection, and mitigates attacks proactively.
SD-WAN vendors have started integrating AI into their solutions to make quick decisions, detect threats, and increase visibility. In the future, AI can be integrated with a number of network aspects.

Benefits of AI in SD-WAN

  • Traffic optimisation: You can analyse real-time network conditions, user behaviour and application performance using AI algorithms. It provides optimal reliability and performance, giving the ability to adapt to the changing environment without manual help.
  • Simplified network management: Routine tasks like path selection, configuration, and troubleshooting can be automated. Manual supervision would be impossible in the case of large-scale deployment.
  • Intelligent troubleshooting: AI can reduce the time needed to discover and resolve an issue. Using historical data and patterns, AI can predict potential problems even before they occur and assist IT teams in resolving them proactively instead of reactively.
  • Security features: SD-WAN implements advanced threat deduction and response capabilities to improve security protocols. It identifies threats and risks and, through automated corrective action, can remove threats that can turn out to be security breaches.
  • Predictive maintenance: AI assists in predictive maintenance by automatically diagnosing network faults and identifying security issues. Your IT team can focus on more complicated issues instead of spending their time and effort on troubleshooting.

Intelligent Traffic Management
SD-WAN intelligent traffic routes traffic depending on real-time conditions. Factors like bandwidth availability, latency, and link reliability are needed for optimised path selection for every data packet. Application performance and use experience can be enhanced using AI in SD-WAN. Fine-grained QoS controls allow network administrators to shape and prioritise traffic, allowing enforcement of SLAs for data flows. The application-aware routing intelligently moves traffic depending on administrative policies and real-time conditions. Automatic steering selects the best network path for applications at the right time.

Auto Traffic Shaping
Traffic shaping is a quality of service (QoS) technique that enables high-priority traffic at optimal levels. It can be automated in SD-WAN with AI. Traffic shaping can help optimise network performance by allocating bandwidth and prioritising traffic. It is a technique that controls traffic to prioritise business applications. Using AI, SD-WAN can automate manual tasks like event correlation, root cause analysis, and anomaly detection.

Network Healing
AI in SD-WAN helps network heal, thereby monitoring, analysing and correcting network issues. SD-WAN can automatically rectify issues. It can steer traffic through the best available path around underperforming links. Self-healing SD-WAN can minimise disruption to higher-layer services. It offers four functions: monitoring, detecting, taking action and adapting. Self-healing SD-WAN protects from component failures like hard disks or supporting appliances’ power supplies.

Future of AI in SD-WAN
The role of AI in SD-WAN technologies is expected to improve further. AI-enabled SD-WAN helps organisations scale effectively with their growing demands. Businesses can remain agile even without significant infrastructure investments. Moreover, it offers an enriched user experience by personalising content delivery depending on user behaviour and preference. AI can play a great role in customer satisfaction and increase customer loyalty through customised network experience.

SMOAD SD-Branch solutions combine WAN connectivity, wired, and wireless LAN. They offer security and surveillance with AI-driven analytics. SMOAD SD-WAN delivers seamless business operations by using diverse WAN links, intelligent routing, and quantum secure communication. AI-driven SD-WAN can take software-defined routing to a whole new level. It delivers excellent enterprise performance with optimised user experience.

For more information on AI-driven SD-WAN solutions, call us for a demo.