Network computing is undergoing a frenzied dress rehearsal for the opening multicloud drama. Distributed information technology environments are rendering traditional networking methods too slow and too boxy. Customers hear software-defined networking is the way to go and multiprotocol label switching is out. Then there’s network virtualization, programmable networks, etc. How do they choose?

Look before lunging, advises Steve Garson (pictured), founder and president of SD-WAN-Experts, a division of Network Solution Experts.

Garson’s consultancy SD-WAN Experts advises enterprises around the globe on selecting network solutions. It was once called MPLS Experts; then it grew into WAN optimization; then it pivoted to SD-WAN. Networking solutions rise and fall in popularity, because they serve or fail to serve customers current needs. Not included in that lot of “customers?” Then don’t rush to adopt the most hyped solution of the moment, Gardon advised.

For instance, MPLS is falling out of fashion in favor of SD-WAN. Does that mean SD-WAN is better for everything all the time? “That’s a complicated question to answer,” Garson said. “I will not say that you can eliminate MPLS. I’ll always say it depends.”

Garson spoke with Dave Vellante (@dvellante), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Open Systems “The Future Is Crystal Clear With Security and SD-WAN” event in Las Vegas. They discussed the latest trends in networking. (* Disclosure below.)

MPLS gets cloud makeover

Latency is a complicated subject to be examined from all angles. Along a given path, in the case of MPLS, the latency might be 200 milliseconds. An SD-WAN internet connection sending data along the same path might have a standard deviation of 200 milliseconds latency.

“That means, potentially, if you’re using only the internet, you might have 400 milliseconds latency,” Garson said. “Can your application work appropriately?”

A new type of connectivity called SD-Core offers better stability, according to Garson. It’s “an MPLS network in the cloud that you access through an IPsec VPN to POPs that are typically within 20 milliseconds. So you get that stability, but you cut the cost dramatically,” he stated.

When in doubt, seek a reality check from a third party, Garson advised. One recent client totally about-faced after a consultation. “I knew that what they selected wasn’t correct,” Garson said.

But it’s delicate telling a customer their choice is wrong. So Garson contacted the vendor, who balked at the hard questions, making it clear the solution didn’t fit. “They went a completely different direction,” he concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Open Systems “The Future Is Crystal Clear With Security and SD-WAN” event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Open Systems “The Future Is Crystal Clear With Security and SD-WAN” event. Neither Open Systems AG, the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE