AI Driven SD-WAN Solutions

Short answer: AI-driven SD-WAN applies AI and machine learning to running an SD-WAN. It detects small anomalies early, automates changes to reduce human error and downtime, and gives analytics, intelligent alerts and capacity-planning recommendations. Nexapp's NexParth AI answers from live fleet data and proposes a fix, but waits for approval before acting.

The last decade has brought with it changes that have now become a part of our day to day lives now. Terms that used to seem alien to us at first, are something that is understood by every second person today. Terms like Machine Learning (ML), IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence), AR (Augmented Reality) so on and so forth. This list of words has slowly yet suddenly become an essential part of our vocabulary. So much so that, unconsciously we use these very terms without even thinking twice about it.

With SD-WAN growing in the market and making a place for itself in a world that trusted MPLS with closed eyes for so many years. It is no surprise when AI, ML, IoT join hands with SD-WAN.

SD-WAN is required to keep pace with the constant change in technology and the constant need for traffic management. Hence, AI and ML are being used in various spaces. Quickly and efficiently being deployed to IT industries, bring in a significant change in the way humans use and see technology.

How is AI-driven SD-WAN changing network operations?

• AI Driven WAN has the capability to detect even the smallest anomaly, which helps in identifying and fixing problems much faster.
• Helps saves time for deploying changes and effectively managing networking issues, as well as helping SD-WAN adjust to new situations.
• Automation eliminated human error, which in turn reduces the downtime
• Helps simplify network operations as well as performance
• Deeper understanding of network application performance, in turn helps in resolving issues.  
• Provides with automated statistical planning which helps in capacity planning.
• Smart analytics including intelligent alerts and recommendations
• Helps in providing higher visibility which is essential for network security and application performance management.

Is AI-driven SD-WAN available today?

AI Driven WAN is not a thing of the future anymore. It is here and happening as we speak. Nexapp, for example, offers NexParth AI, which answers questions from live fleet data and proposes fixes that wait for approval before they are applied.

To conclude, deployment of AI systems over SD-WAN solutions is helping save a lot of time, along with helping detect and fix network problems even before they start to hamper the business. The COVID-19 pandemic also brought a huge shift in the way we see and use technology, and together with the rise in IoT devices it accelerated AI adoption.

Related: NexParth AI assistant for network operations, Nexapp SD-WAN Enterprise controller and SASE vs SD-WAN vs SSE explained.

Frequently asked questions

What is AI-driven SD-WAN?

It is SD-WAN that uses AI and machine learning to monitor the network, detect anomalies, automate routine changes and give recommendations, so problems are found and fixed faster.

How does AI reduce network downtime?

AI can spot small anomalies before they affect users and automate changes that would otherwise be done by hand, which reduces human error, a common cause of downtime.

Does AI in SD-WAN make changes without human approval?

It depends on the product. Nexapp's NexParth AI answers from live fleet data and proposes a fix, then waits for approval before acting.

Where does the AI run, and does network data leave the company?

NexParth AI runs on an open-weight model on the customer's own GPU host, so fleet data never leaves the deployment.

To find out more about SD-WAN and how AI plays a role in today’s networking, see Nexapp SD-WAN Enterprise.