In recent years, "AI" has become a buzzword in nearly every industry, often thrown around as a solution to any and all challenges. While artificial intelligence can offer exciting advancements in many areas, its relevance to SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Networking) is often overstated or misunderstood. In fact, the core of SD-WAN technology is driven by more traditional, well-established principles of networking, automation, and optimization, rather than the kind of AI many envision.
The Buzzword Effect
AI, as it’s typically marketed, refers to advanced machine learning algorithms, deep learning models, and systems that can self-learn and evolve. While these technologies have their place, particularly in analytics and big data, their direct influence on SD-WAN is limited. Vendors often tout "AI-powered SD-WAN" solutions, but upon closer inspection, many of these claims amount to nothing more than enhanced automation and basic analytics. The algorithms used to route traffic or prioritize applications in SD-WAN are fundamentally rule-based, not learning-based in the sense of AI.
SD-WAN | A Practical, Software-Defined Technology
At its core, SD-WAN is all about intelligently managing traffic across multiple network connections to improve performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency. This is achieved through policies defined by network administrators, using real-time data to route traffic based on availability, quality, and demand. These are deterministic decisions, made based on set criteria, not speculative machine learning predictions.
The real magic behind SD-WAN is its ability to simplify network management and deliver consistent performance across distributed sites through software-defined principles, not AI. For example, it can dynamically route traffic over a combination of fibre, fixed wireless, and LTE connections, prioritizing critical applications while ensuring high availability.
Automation vs. Artificial Intelligence
There is a clear difference between automation and AI, and in SD-WAN, automation reigns supreme. Automation allows SD-WAN to detect link degradation or outages in real-time and adjust traffic routes without manual intervention. These actions are based on pre-configured rules and do not require "intelligence" in the form of AI.
For example, when one link fails, SD-WAN can seamlessly shift traffic to another available link — this is a programmed response, not an AI-driven one. Most SD-WAN platforms do incorporate some level of analytics to monitor and optimize traffic, but this doesn’t amount to AI. They perform advanced traffic steering, but they’re not "learning" or evolving over time. They’re simply executing predefined policies.
Why AI Doesn't Add Much Value to SD-WAN
Many vendors will market SD-WAN with AI features that supposedly improve decision-making. In reality, the network decisions that SD-WAN makes are largely static and straightforward — based on link performance metrics like latency, packet loss, jitter, and bandwidth. AI isn't needed to make these decisions because they don't involve complex prediction models; they are about handling real-time, measurable events.
True AI might be useful in broader network environments where vast amounts of data are aggregated and need to be analyzed for patterns, perhaps to predict failures or optimize long-term capacity planning. But for day-to-day SD-WAN operations — routing traffic, managing QoS (Quality of Service), or handling link failover — AI is largely irrelevant. The deterministic, rule-based nature of SD-WAN decisions means AI doesn’t add significant value.
AI's Limitations in Network Security
Some SD-WAN vendors claim that AI enhances security through predictive threat analysis. However, this too is largely overstated. True SD-WAN security comes from the ability to segment traffic, integrate firewalls, and ensure secure communication through encryption — none of which require AI. AI in cybersecurity, particularly in threat detection, is still in its infancy and prone to generating false positives, making it less reliable in a critical networking environment.
SD-WAN | Practical, Reliable, and Efficient
SD-WAN’s value lies in its ability to simplify network management, improve application performance, and provide seamless connectivity across multiple links, regardless of the underlying technology. The software-defined aspect is what makes SD-WAN powerful, and this doesn’t depend on AI. Instead, SD-WAN’s effectiveness comes from smart engineering, traditional networking principles, and robust automation.
Wrapping up, while AI may have its place in the world of big data and predictive analytics, it plays a minimal role in the day-to-day operations of SD-WAN. The focus of SD-WAN remains on improving performance and reliability through well-understood networking technologies, and the buzzword of AI doesn’t fundamentally change this equation. Businesses looking to invest in SD-WAN should focus on proven features like traffic management, QoS, and multi-link optimization, rather than being swayed by the hype surrounding AI.
Ronald Bartels ensures that Internet inhabiting things are connected reliably online at Fusion Broadband South Africa - the leading specialized SD-WAN provider in South Africa. Learn more about the best SD-WAN in the world: 👉Contact Fusion🚀
