✈️Reliability | How Jet Planes & SD-WAN share the same Dual Components design Philosophy for Critical Systems 👨🏻‍✈️

✈️Reliability | How Jet Planes & SD-WAN share the same Dual Components design Philosophy for Critical Systems 👨🏻‍✈️

How SD-WAN's Dual Links Keep Your Connectivity Steady, Just Like Jet Engines Ensure Safe Flights

In the world of telecommunications, ensuring reliable connectivity is paramount. Just like no airline passenger would board a jet plane with only one engine, telecommunications providers understand the importance of redundancy and fault tolerance in their network infrastructure. This is where SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) comes into play, offering a robust solution akin to the dual-engine system in jet planes.

The Concept of Redundancy & Fault Tolerance

The design philosophy of jet planes is rooted in redundancy. They typically have two engines, with each engine serving as alternates or both actively together. In the event of an engine failure, the fault tolerance mechanism automatically uses the remaining engine, ensuring that the aircraft can continue to operate safely.

Applying the Aviation Concept to Telecommunications

Similarly, SD-WAN leverages the concept of redundancy by utilizing two last mile links. These links typically act as primary and secondary channels for data transmission. Or in the case of Fusion Broadband South Africa's SD-WAN it has a jet plane mode where it can use both links actively together! If one link experiences issues or downtime, the SD-WAN system seamlessly switches to the alternate link, maintaining uninterrupted connectivity.

  1. Fault Tolerance: Just as a jet plane can continue flying with one engine, SD-WAN ensures continuous network operation even if one last mile link fails.

  2. Aggregation and Bonding: SD-WAN intelligently distributes network traffic across both links, optimizing bandwidth usage and improving performance.

  3. Automatic Failover: In the event of a link failure, SD-WAN automatically reroutes traffic to the functional link, reducing downtime and service disruptions.

  4. Improved Reliability: Having redundant last mile links increases the overall reliability of the network, minimizing the impact of potential outages.

Real-Life Example | Nationwide Airlines Incident

On 7th November 2007, a Nationwide Airlines jetliner experienced an engine failure shortly after takeoff from Cape Town. Despite the panic among passengers, the pilots were able to continue the flight using the remaining engine, demonstrating the importance of redundancy in critical situations. The details of the flight are described in the below article:

Watch and listen to one of the pilots involved in the incident:

Wrap

Just as dual-engine systems ensure safety and reliability in aviation, SD-WAN with dual last mile links provides telecommunications providers with a resilient and dependable network infrastructure. By implementing redundancy and fault tolerance, SD-WAN enhances connectivity and minimizes the risk of service disruptions, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted user experience.


Ronald Bartels ensures that Internet inhabiting things are connected reliably online at Fusion Broadband South Africa - the leading specialized SD-WAN Last Mile provider in South Africa. Learn more about the best SD-WAN in the world: 👉Contact Fusion✈️