SD-WAN vs MPLS: Which Is Right for Your Business?

If your business has more than one office, warehouse or branch, those sites need a reliable way to talk to each other and to cloud applications. The two options people compare most often are MPLS and SD-WAN. They solve the same problem in different ways, and the right choice depends on your sites, applications and budget.

What MPLS is

MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) is a private network service sold by a carrier. Your sites connect to the carrier’s network, and traffic travels along defined paths. It has been the standard for connecting sites for many years.

• Traffic stays on the carrier’s network rather than the open internet
• The carrier manages the paths, and the service is usually tied to a contract term
• Adding or moving a site often means ordering a new circuit, which can take time

What SD-WAN is

SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network) is a software layer that sits on top of one or more connections, such as business internet, broadband or mobile data. A central controller decides which connection each type of traffic should use, based on rules you set.

• It can use several connections at once and move traffic between them
• Policies are set centrally instead of device by device
• Security features such as a firewall can be built into the same device, depending on the product

For a deeper explanation, see SD-WAN Explained for Multi-Site Businesses.

How they compare

	MPLS	SD-WAN
Connection type	Private carrier network	Any mix of internet and private links
Changes and new sites	Usually need a carrier order	Often configured centrally
Cloud applications	Traffic may route via a central site	Can send cloud traffic directly
Management	Mostly handled by the carrier	Handled by you or a provider
Failover	Depends on the circuits ordered	Can fail over between links

Neither is better in every situation. Some organisations use both, keeping MPLS for a few critical sites and SD-WAN elsewhere.

Questions to ask before you choose

1. Where do your applications live? If most are in the cloud, sending all traffic through a head office adds delay.
2. How many sites do you have, and will that change? Frequent changes favour a model that is easy to reconfigure.
3. What happens when a link fails? Ask how each option fails over, and test it.
4. Who will manage it? SD-WAN gives you more control but also more to configure.
5. What are the contract terms and total cost? Compare circuits, devices, licences and support, not just the monthly line price.
6. How will security be handled? Traffic leaving each site directly needs protecting at each site.

A sensible starting point

Before choosing, it helps to know what your current network actually carries and where it struggles. NetworkAE offers a complimentary infrastructure assessment, and designs and deploys SD-WAN on Fortinet through Network Design & SD-WAN. Scope and any equipment or carrier costs are agreed with you in writing before work begins.