Barracuda Re-engineers SD-WAN for Cloud-native
- By Winston Thomas
- August 17, 2020
Going cloud-first has just gotten a whole lot more secure with SD-WAN.
The new Barracuda CloudGen WAN service is the first SD-WAN solution that runs inside Azure Virtual WAN hubs.
“It can optimize network performance and minimize cost in easy and flexible deployment,” said Dr. Klaus Gheri, vice president for network security and general manager for network security business at Barracuda Networks.
The SaaS service can be deployed directly from the Azure Marketplace. The “zero-touch deployment” removes the need for local expertise while addressing local requirements. The Azure Virtual WAN hubs can also be interconnected via the Microsoft Global Network.
“Since the Microsoft Global Network is automatically provisioned as the backbone for anywhere, anytime application access, CloudGen WAN enables enterprises to create a pragmatic Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution in the public cloud tailored to their specific needs,” said Dr. Gheri.
Before this service, companies faced several hurdles in using SD-WAN for keeping public clouds secure. In the recent report “Secure SD-WAN: The Launch Pad into Cloud,” Barracuda Networks highlighted the top two: lack of access control and backhauling traffic.
Lack of access control of existing SD-WAN solutions made it complex to use for public clouds. “But now users can easily deploy and manage Barracuda CloudGen WAN via the CloudGen WAN management portal for all regions and all sites across the global WAN, regardless of the number of cloud entry points or locations. The central cloud portal offers the highest degree of automation and ease of use to enhance user experience,” said Dr. Gheri.
Backhauling traffic through data centers increases latency and can break cloud apps. It has long, inflexible contract terms and is not available everywhere, and can be costly. “Barracuda CloudGen WAN as a secure SD-WAN service built natively on the cloud that combines ease of use, full security, and cloud-scalable SD-WAN connectivity to use the Microsoft Global Network as the WAN backbone instead of leased line. It helps to optimize site-to-site and site-to-cloud connections while reducing latency,” said Dr. Gheri.
While the current Barracuda CloudGen WAN service is optimized for Microsoft Azure, it can be extended to other cloud platforms. “It is important that the integration at the cloud end is native to deeply integrate into the cloud routing fabric and also get the benefit of stringent SLAs from the cloud platform providers,” said Dr. Gheri.
Barracuda Networks is also no stranger to creating multi-cloud SD-WAN mesh networks on Azure, AWS and Google. “But the difference now is that this is no longer an overlay network that the cloud providers are agnostic of. Cross-cloud connectivity for this new offering is thus a top priority on our near-term roadmap.
Customers are already lauding the new announcement. “A cloud-first strategy asks for a fresh approach on connectivity,” said Leon Sevriens, program manager, IT at Humankind, a large organization in the Netherlands that offers daycare and after-school care, with over 3,000 employees and over 450 locations.
“We have invested heavily in Microsoft Office 365 adoption across the organization, and traditional connectivity doesn't fit the bill anymore. We need a solution that is focused on delivering application performance, not just 'plain' connectivity. That’s why we’re moving forward with Barracuda CloudGen WAN.”
Photo credit: iStockphoto/Natali_Mis
Winston Thomas
Winston Thomas is the editor-in-chief of CDOTrends. He likes to piece together the weird and wondering tech puzzle for readers and identify groundbreaking business models led by tech while waiting for the singularity.