Verizon offers SDN-based managed WAN service

Verizon Enterprise Solutions says it will offer a new Managed Software Defined Wide Area Network (Managed SD-WAN) service this month. The service is the first in Verizon's (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) previously announced foray into software-defined networking (SDN; see "Verizon announces major SDN transmission technology partners").

The service will offer customers greater policy compliance, lower cost, and better security while offloading complexity, says Shawn Hakl, vice president of enterprise networking and innovation at Verizon Enterprise Solutions. It also will enable network managers to give users of its network a more uniform experience, regardless of their location.

The service will maps applications on the network to a customer-defined routing policy; network managers can apply policies on an application-by-application basis, Hakl says. As network conditions change, the SDN-enabled flexibility of the network will support real-time automated and manual route changes to ensure each application continues to run over the best available transport option based on its customer-defined policy.

Verizon also will offer a suite of consulting services to help customers use the new offering. The services cover Design & Implement; Network Assessment; Network Strategy & Roadmap; and Lifecycle Management, among other aspects.

Verizon has partnered with Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) to create the offering using Cisco's Intelligent WAN (IWAN) platform. IWAN leverages Cisco's ASR and ISR routers (the former in Verizon's network, the latter on the customer premises). A Cisco source says the company plans to port the capability to virtual routers in the future.

Verizon and Cisco will co-market the new offering. In addition to the impending North American deployments, Verizon expects to offer the service to its Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) customers by the end of the year.

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