Microsoft's Azure Virtual WAN connects global branch offices, point-of-sale locations, and sites using Azure and the Microsoft global network. With it the user can plan, configure, and seamlessly deploy new connections.
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Cisco Meraki SD-WAN
Score 8.9 out of 10
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Cisco Meraki SD-WAN is a cloud-managed solution that simplifies and secures wide area networking across branch, campus, and remote locations. Built on Meraki’s dashboard, it delivers centralized visibility, automation, and traffic optimization without the complexity of traditional WAN deployments. The solution improves application performance by dynamically routing traffic based on real-time conditions, integrating advanced security, and providing seamless multicloud connectivity. With support…
Azure Virtual WAN provides single functional interphase for routing, monitoring, connectivity and security operations. The connection of hubs in Azure virtual WAN makes it simple for us to use Microsoft as the pillar of our spoke connectivity. The platform provides us with robust connectivity features that allow for transitive connectivity across different spokes. However, you should always ensure you have understood your total cost of ownership to avoid potential price bombshells.
At our level, we had to optimize our 3 internet links (MPLS and LTE) with applications like O365, SAP, Microsoft CRM Dynamics and our collaborative work tools like Teams. We also had to ensure that both client workstations and servers could communicate with minimal latency with our Microsoft Intune infrastructure.
AutoVPN sites to site firewall rules needs to be improved
there is no logging or any insights which would be able to tell you what are the hit counts or actual usage for site to site firewall rules
SD-WAN plus license includes Smart breakout which has only few applications and those do not work properly, so it is quite useless
VPN exclusions (local internet breakout) for TCP/UDP type of traffic can not be specified with port ranges
VPN exclusions (local internet breakout) can be defined only for destinations, but not the sources. It is policy based routing which should support also Source definition
We implemented Meraki in most of our organization sites, so we are always looking for ways of improving its usage, add more features and discover characteristics that we do not know we already have. As it is an easy to use tool and we are growing, hiring new employees, it is really simple to onboard the new joiners.
Fast and efficient. The only issue currently is that the support is only overseas support and not in South Africa, which causes delays in resolution for some cases. Escalating issues is quite simple and the opening of new cases from the dashboard is easy. I have never had a support issue that could not be resolved.
As we were already using Azure as a cloud platform, it was easy setting up a Virtual WAN inside Azure as users/developers and DevOps engineers were familiar with the user interface and functioning as compared to going to some other portal for just the VWAN solution. The umbrella of features provided by Azure Virtual WAN made it the right choice for our infrastructure.
We did a very stringent valuation a few years ago. And we evaluated probably about a dozen suppliers on paper that we evaluate just by capabilities. And, we of some other business criteria, and we whittled that down to a list of five. And out of those five, we brought four of those into our lab environment where we ran approximately 350 different test cases on, we really beat on it pretty heavily. And some of those other suppliers would've been companies like Fortinet Versa Networks Silver Peak, which is now owned by Hewlett Packard.
Being a cloud-first solution, Meraki Dashboard will scale as needed without any effort for the client. The Meraki cloud will provision (upscale and downscale) the resources as you grow or shrink in size. You only have to physically install the MX on your site, all the management is one through the Internet via Meraki Dashboard. Worth noting that you can fully-configure the MX prior to the physical installation on site.
It was mostly around logs. I mean I understand because the aim is to provide the simplified solution to the people as an end user, be it an IT manager or the oil team. So I understand where you don't have lots of tools assigned where you can actually take help from the track. But in terms of having that logging information, I think that's where it's been a bit of a kind of journey where struggling, we have been struggling there.
