Dynamic SD-WAN Gateway Placement via User Heatmaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs) face inefficiencies in speed, connectivity, traffic allocation, bandwidth availability, and system management due to the centralized remote access gateway model, which is often based on the physical location of the enterprise, leading to suboptimal performance as the number of remote users and distance increase.
Innovation Solution
The system dynamically generates mobile SD-WAN gateway locations by receiving location data from remote users, building a heatmap of user concentrations, and identifying new or existing network locations to spin up or spin down remote access gateways based on pre-determined thresholds, thereby optimizing network performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a centralized remote access gateway is hosted at the enterprise's physical location, then system management is simplified, but network speed and connectivity deteriorate as the number of remote users and distance increase
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized gateway model is segmented into multiple distributed mobile gateways deployed at different geographic locations. Each gateway serves a specific region or user group, reducing the distance and network hops for remote users while maintaining independent manageable units that can be orchestrated centrally through the SD-WAN controller.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway deployment transitions from a single-dimensional centralized model to a multi-dimensional distributed model across geographic space. Mobile gateways are dynamically positioned in different locations based on user concentration patterns, adding a spatial dimension to gateway placement that optimizes both connectivity speed and management efficiency.
2Device complexity
If a centralized remote access gateway is hosted at the enterprise's physical location, then device complexity is reduced, but bandwidth availability deteriorates as the number of remote users increases
Solution Approach 1:
The total bandwidth requirement is segmented and distributed across multiple mobile gateways rather than concentrated at a single centralized gateway. Each gateway handles a portion of the user load, preventing bandwidth exhaustion and ensuring adequate availability even as the total number of remote users increases.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple mobile gateways are merged into a coordinated network under SD-WAN orchestration, combining their individual bandwidth capacities to provide aggregate bandwidth availability that scales with the number of users while maintaining simplified centralized management through the controller.
3Speed
If mobile SD-WAN gateways are dynamically generated based on user location data, then network speed and connectivity improve, but device complexity and system management difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Mobile gateways are dynamically instantiated and configured automatically by the SD-WAN controller based on real-time user location data and concentration patterns. The system self-organizes gateway deployment without manual intervention, with the controller autonomously managing gateway creation, positioning, and resource allocation to maintain speed improvements while avoiding management complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously collects user location data and feeds it back to the SD-WAN controller, which dynamically adjusts mobile gateway positions and configurations in response. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables automatic optimization of network speed and connectivity while the controller handles the complexity of managing multiple mobile gateways through real-time adaptability.
4Device complexity
If remote users connect to a centralized gateway, then system management is simplified, but traffic allocation efficiency deteriorates with increasing user distance
Solution Approach 1:
Traffic allocation is segmented by geographic region and user group, with each mobile gateway handling traffic for nearby users. This spatial segmentation improves traffic allocation efficiency by routing traffic through the nearest gateway, reducing latency and network hops, while the SD-WAN controller maintains simplified orchestration through policy-based management.
Solution Approach 2:
Each mobile gateway is positioned locally to serve specific user concentrations, providing locally optimized traffic allocation rather than centralized routing. The SD-WAN controller maintains simplified orchestration by managing the placement and coordination of these locally-optimized gateways through high-level policies.
Data Source
AI summary
According to certain embodiments, a system comprises one or more processors and one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause one or more components of the system to perform operations comprising: receiving location data associated with a plurality of remote users accessing one or more existing remote access gateways that are located at one or more network locations; building a heatmap of user locations based at least in part on the received location data; and identifying, from the heatmap of user locations, at least one new network location in which to generate at least one new remote access gateway, or at least one existing network location in which to remove at least one of the existing remote access gateways.