The WAN Manager Podcast

As we dig into technical standards and definitions, MEF has come up several times on this show. It was only a matter of time before we put them in the hot seat. In our latest conversation, Greg welcomes MEF CTO Pascal Menezes to walk us through the work the MEF is doing on standardizing the enterprise network. Why is SD-WAN certification a good idea? How is the WAN developing? What is MEF doing in the Zero Trust Security and SASE space? Listen in to find out. From this Episode: Episode...

Listeners know that we've covered middle mile and NaaS on this show. And we've touched on the various companies that are emerging around these issues. Today we're getting extra perspective from one of those companies. Greg welcomes Dave Ward, CEO of PacketFabric, to talk through the bigger picture of how these services are emerging in the enterprise network market. From This Episode 5G Cloud Core: Slice as a Service Isn’t Just for PizzaNailing Down Network-as-a-ServiceMegaport vs....

When TeleGeography started tracking the SD-WAN market in 2017, we found dozens of vendors with a service they were calling "SD-WAN." But are all of these services created equal? What does it take for your solution to qualify as SD-WAN? Today we pull back and discuss SD-WAN definitions and certification. Greg aims to better understand the exact definition of SD-WAN and how related certification can benefit both end-users and managed service providers. And for that, we're so glad to welcome...

Are you like the (approximately) half of our survey respondents who have not yet adopted SD-WAN? Or perhaps you're in the midst of deployment and want to know what to look out for. Or maybe you're working out whether or not to keep MPLS? Today we'll share some perspective on these questions with another case study, this time with Mark Williams, Sr. Manager of Global Networks at BorgWarner. From This Episode Trends in Cloud Infrastructure and Global NetworksFour New SD-WAN Findings for...

Today we're living on the edge! Whether we're talking security and SASE, NaaS, or cloud computing—or many other topics, honestly—edge networks and edge computing are likely to make it into the conversation. Greg welcomes two experts from Catchpoint to help us dig in: CEO Medhi Daoudi and VP of Operations Tony Ferrelli. Medhi's recent blog post Monitoring at the Edge of the Third Act of the Internet sets the tone for a great conversation, spanning enterprise apps, network monitoring, and...

It's another case study episode of the WAN Manager Podcast. Today we welcome Ian Calderbank, Enterprise Network Architect at PageGroup, to the hot seat. In his conversation with Greg, Ian details the network transformation process for a multinational staffing agency. An environment packed with knowledge workers and downtown office space, it sounds like an enviable position to be in as a WAN manager, no? But there's no shortage of lessons learned as the pair gets into pre-SD-WAN solutions,...

In this episode, we dig into sourcing. Our listeners know that we often discuss the migration of large enterprises away from one or two global suppliers for a mostly MPLS network to a novel mix of transport types and suppliers. This is especially true due to changing trends in cloud migration, SD-WAN, and security. May it be local internet breakouts from a variety of ISPs alongside MPLS or sourcing a backbone between data center nodes, many enterprises have taken on a “telco-like” role in...

Our data shows that a majority of enterprises have more than one IaaS provider. For SaaS, that number can be dozens, hundreds, even more. And most have moved the majority of their data centers off corporate premises to some kind of shared facility. This means most companies are dealing with multi-cloud connectivity in some shape or form; WAN managers of course have to handle that from a performance and cost perspective. Today we hear from a data center insider, diving into...

We often say that we'll be taking a "deep dive" into an issue at the beginning of our WAN Manager Podcasts. Today we almost mean that literally, as Greg welcomes TeleGeography Research Director Alan Mauldin to talk about submarine cables. Whether you're joining us from the vendor side or enterprise side, you might want to know why submarine cables—usually thought of as a wholesale telecom issue—are relevant to the corporate WAN. From This Episode The Utopian Future of International...

We're going back to the middle. The middle mile, that is. Like many telecom terms, this is one that you might have to follow up with “what exactly do you mean by that?” Greg dives into how one approaches the mysterious middle mile with Ciaran Roche, founder & CTO of Coevolve. What are vendors doing? How does Coevolve advise clients on all things middle mile? How is the middle mile space developing? Listen and learn. From This Episode What is Internet Middle Mile? Episode 203: Stuck in...

The average enterprise network had MPLS running at 82% of sites in 2018. That fell to just 58% in 2020. About one-third have active backups—and a quarter have passive backups—for their MPLS service. Okay, we have to ask: what is the role of MPLS in the WAN moving forward? Industry expert and independent consultant Keith Langridge joins Greg to discuss the many different ways you can try to answer this question. Is MPLS dead? Dying? Here to stay? Too complicated to say? From This...

Greg is joined by Analyst Elizabeth Thorne to dig into TeleGeography's latest WAN Manager Survey data. From SD-WAN adoption stats to network configuration preferences and MPLS trends, the pair covers a lot of ground. If you want to learn more about the survey, those who take it, how we run it, and what the top-level findings are from our latest batch of data, punch that play button. And if you like information like this, we hope you'll enjoy the WAN Forum, a new content subscription for...

Our latest episode of the WAN Manager Podcast is all about network monitoring. Greg is joined by Kentik Co-founder and CEO Avi Freedman; they discuss the history of network monitoring, where it's going, and get a little philosophical in the process. Most of the enterprises we interview are running dozens or more SaaS applications. And most of our WAN Manager Survey respondents have moved their data centers off-premises—the majority are connecting to multiple IaaS providers. Further,...

Most of our listeners are probably familiar with network interface cards (NICs, if you're savvy). But what about SmartNICs? Fiserv's Michael Wynston is back with a full explainer on what SmartNICs are and how they differ from your run-of-the-mill network interface card. Greg and Michael look closer at this emerging technology and why WAN managers and those who serve them might want to take note. From This Episode The WAN and Working from Home WAN Managers Weigh Greatest Challenges of...

It's a case study episode! Greg is joined by Johan Ihse, product owner of global connectivity at H&M. As with previous WAN manager interviews, we'll focus on the story behind the network. This includes learning about H&M's network set-up, the transformations they've undertaken, and some goals for where Johan would like to see their network go. The duo dips into WAN security, the benefits of having a telecom background in the WAN management space, and the makeup of a network that supports...

When our new WAN Geography Benchmark got a bit of buzz earlier this year, we thought it'd be cool to invite Principal Analyst Patrick Christian back to the pod to explain how this tool was developed. It's one of those origin stories where a major customer needed to use several of our databases to run a bespoke analysis of their network. The project sparked a bright idea for how to help other enterprises with their data center decision-making. In this episode, Greg also asks about the data...

Greg sits down with Daniel Remarc Bognár—the Head of Network Architecture at Norsk Hydro. In this episode, you'll go behind the scenes of a network and walk through the main considerations and major challenges that went into designing it. We'll also ask the all-important question: if you could go back and change anything about your network design, what would it be? From This Episode Four New SD-WAN Findings for 2021 Search SD-WAN Vendor Profiles in Our Free Downloadable Guide Five Years...

A new class of network provider has emerged, optimizing connectivity between the office and the cloud. What do they offer? How do they do it? And what’s happening between the core backbone and local access? TeleGeography Principal Analyst Erik Kreifeldt is in the house and Greg is asking the big questions about internet middle mile. Erik has spent much of the last year developing new research tools dedicated to the mysterious "middle mile" and he comes bearing insight on provider types, the...

What do you think of when you think of integrating security into the WAN? WAN Dynamics' Jason Gintert sees a changing connectivity landscape that presents no shortage of challenges to security teams. If you've got WAN security on your mind—or if you want to hear Greg and Jason exchange pre-quarantine concert stories—listen in on this week's episode. From This Episode WAN Manager Podcast 101: A Zero Trust State of Mind WAN Managers Consider Zero Trust Security About the SD-WAN Research...

What is open source SD-WAN and how is it different from other "open" platforms we've already seen? This was the right question for flexiWAN CEO Amir Zmora, who wanted to get into the SD-WAN space, but only if he could do something totally different. Greg sat down with Amir to take a closer look at his open-source model. From This Episode More SD-WAN Adoption, More Data on a Changing Marketplace SD-WAN Management Costs, Wargamed The Dollars and Cents of SD-WAN About the SD-WAN Research...