SD-WAN roundup: Cisco and Azure team up; Orange adds 'vroom' to SD-WAN

In this SD-WAN roundup: Cisco and Microsoft connect SD-WAN customers to public cloud; Orange brings SD-WAN to 380 of Norauto's sites; and Aryaka combines web gateway and FWaaS under Zero Trust WAN service.

Cisco and Microsoft connect SD-WAN customers to public cloud

In an effort to further connect enterprises to public cloud applications, Cisco has teamed up with Microsoft to provide automated site-to-site connectivity over Microsoft’s global backbone network.

Cisco says it wants to improve enterprise site connections by tapping into unused global backbone capacity in the public cloud.

The networking vendor says global enterprises can build one or more overlays on top of this backbone to interconnect their offices and sites worldwide. Microsoft's backbone network includes more than 60 Azure regions and over 185 locations supporting global IP transit. In addition to connecting sites, enterprise customers can further connect the sites to workloads running on Microsoft Azure.

This new service is provided with the Cisco SD-WAN Cloud Hub for enterprises using Cisco SD-WAN. The next version of Cisco's SD-WAN, the 20.10 release, will come out in December 2022. Cisco says the update will include automated site-to-site connectivity over Microsoft's network via the Cisco SD-WAN Cloud Hub. It also includes the capability for customers to divide their SD-WAN overlay network into multiple regions.

Orange brings SD-WAN to 380 of Norauto's sites

Automotive service company Norauto is utilizing Orange Business Services' SD-WAN for 380 of its sites in France.

Norauto's network upgrade will also include IP telephony, customer check-out via a cloud-based SaaS feature, and immersive screens in waiting areas for customers to check the status of progress on their vehicle's maintenance.

Each store will also have local Internet breakout. Orange initially setup hybrid MPLS and broadband Internet links and is now migrating the sites to broadband Internet access links only.

Orange said its SD-WAN service is based on Fortinet Secure SD-WAN.

Aryaka combines web gateway and FWaaS under Zero Trust WAN service

Secure access service edge (SASE) service provider Aryaka has integrated its Secure Web Gateway and Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS) features within its Zero Trust WAN service. Aryaka says this provides enterprise customers with the ability to enforce security policies across sites and for remote users.

"By truly integrating security into our global, software-defined network and delivering it as a service, we enable enterprises to instantly 'turn-on' a SASE architecture that was built in, and for, the cloud," said Renuka Nadkarni, Aryaka's chief product officer, in a statement.

Aryaka says its Secure Web Gateway secures site-to-internet and user-to-internet traffic to prevent Internet-based attacks. The FWaaS also provides perimeter security for distributed users, devices and applications.

"Zero trust network access is an emerging security technology but enterprises are often acquiring it through point products," said Chris Rodriguez, security and trust research director at IDC, in a statement. "Convergence is the logical evolution as threats continue to target multiple channels."

— Kelsey Kusterer Ziser, Senior Editor, Light Reading