(
Software
Defined-
Wide
Area
Network) A hybrid wide area network (WAN) that is controlled via software. SD-WAN software manages the edge routers and offers more flexibility than the protocols built into standard routers. For example, an SD-WAN can allow more traffic to traverse the less-costly public broadband side of the network and dynamically route packets to the private side when needed.
A major feature of a software defined WAN is the use of off-the-shelf hardware rather than proprietary networking devices. As x86 CPUs become faster, they can serve the majority of WAN use cases at a more affordable cost. See
software-defined networking,
dynamic and
hybrid network.