Toronto-based Cogeco Peer 1 (CP1) announced it is partnering with Nokia’s Nuage Networks to launch a new software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) on Wednesday.
The SD-WAN provides enterprises that manage multiple branch sites and remote locations or colocation centres a way to easily connect all those sites. CP1’s data centres and all the IT infrastructure services that come with it are also baked into the equation, as the connectivity solutions providers act as the intermediary relaying the connections.
A traditional WAN is typically set up by an organization’s IT department using routers to connect multiple locations to the same private network. This allows a company to access to the same applications, services, and files across any geographic area. It’s done to avoid deploying redundant application-hosting servers or other network resources associated with managing inbound and outbound requests. End-users connect to a virtual private network (VPN) to access the WAN, which is separated from public Internet connections.
With Nuage’s solution that CP1 will now be offering, the IT teams are still deploying a box to manage the SD-WAN at each branch location. But they don’t have to be on-site to configure it. They also have the benefit of an infrastructure that’s already in place from CP1’s network of data centres. Using a web-based dashboard, the IT administrators can setup and manage new site locations.
Customers just hook the device up to their network and they get connected to the closest CP1 data centre or point of presence. Then they choose their bandwidth subscription option – ranging from 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps.
Nuage Networks further elaborates on its SD-WAN offering in this video, featuring customer BBVA Digital Bank.
SD-WAN has been added to the Cogeco Peer 1 Referral Partner Program and Referral Plus Partner Program, providing Cogeco Peer 1 partners the ability to refer optimized SD-WAN to their end-clients. Partners can access the latest SD-WAN tools and resources within the Cogeco Peer 1 Partner Portal.
