Businesses are increasingly dependent on cloud resources and mobile access for employees, which legacy networks like MPLS struggle to support due to limited bandwidth and high costs of upgrading. Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) provides a more flexible, affordable alternative that leverages widely available broadband internet connections. A hybrid SD-WAN solution allows businesses to incrementally transition to SD-WAN while maintaining their existing MPLS network, routing traffic dynamically between both networks. Comcast Business' hybrid SD-WAN works with MPLS networks and supports connecting multiple broadband internet connections from different providers for increased reliability and performance monitoring.

1. LAN uCPE
Cable
Modem
WAN
Router
Internet
SD-WAN
(IPSec)
MPLS
Hybrid SD-WAN
Use Case
Challenge
Businesses continue to grow more dependent on connected resources every day: IT and mission-critical
applications in the cloud, branch offices that provide services comparable to headquarters, mobile
workforces needing anytime/anywhere access. They’re also expected to provide the bandwidth needs
of customers and employees connecting with personal apps, as well as streaming music and accessing
video resources while in the workplace.
Legacy networks used by most businesses, including those built on multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)
technology, were not designed to accommodate the connected everything of today’s digital economy.
Adding capacity and speed are time-consuming, expensive initiatives that are at best temporary solutions
that cannot keep up with the skyrocketing bandwidth demands of moving massive amounts of data to
and from the cloud, enabling business-critical apps built for the internet and so much more.
Solution
Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) provides a flexible, simple and cost-effective
alternative—or complement—to traditional hardware-based infrastructures. It makes it possible for
corporate networks to realize the business benefits of today’s widely available and affordable gigabit
broadband speeds.
Hybrid SD-WAN
• Allows businesses to incrementally software define their networks, with no need to rip and replace
existing legacy infrastructures
• Enables network traffic to be routed dynamically across a new broadband
WAN or over the legacy network path
• Provides the ideal solution for businesses to unlock the price and capabilities of gigabit broadband,
with the time to comfortably migrate applications from legacy services
BEYOND F A S T
FPO

2. Use Case: Hybrid SD-WAN with MPLS
SD-WAN from Comcast Business can make MPLS networks smarter, gradually unburdening existing
connections while paving new paths to reach customers, employees and partners more quickly and
cost-effectively. Comcast Business hybrid SD-WAN can work effectively with MPLS networks now, allowing
traffic to be steered through existing MPLS connections as desired, or over best-in-class broadband
internet up to gigabit speeds.
Built on the Comcast Business ActiveCoreSM
platform, SD-WAN delivers a first-of-its-kind digital
experience that delivers actionable insights across the entire enterprise. SD-WAN is the first ActiveCore
offering, with other applications scheduled to be introduced soon.
Use Case: Hybrid SD-WAN with Multi-WAN/
Multiple Broadband
Multi-WAN on ActiveCore allows customers to connect multiple broadband internet connections from
multiple providers into the SD-WAN uCPE, making it simple for customers with another service provider
to adopt Comcast Business SD-WAN. Our Multi-WAN feature also has the capacity to support multiple
hybrid WAN links, such as from a private IP network or MPLS.
Among the benefits of ActiveCore’s Multi-WAN feature:
• Increased business continuity available with the additional links
• Automatic, prioritized multi-broadband failover
• Ability for customers to monitor and compare performance of WAN links in the ActiveCore
digital experience
Hybrid SD-WAN from Comcast Business
Bring your network into the future without sacrificing existing IT investments.
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