Network Performance for Education sector by SD-WAN
Among the sectors that have most benefited from digital transformation is education. Until recently, schools had only ICT related directly to the subject themselves in the classroom. Thus schools are experiencing a growing need for network performance and bandwidth management due to the rise in devices, digital curriculum, and online assessments.
In recent years, the adoption of software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WAN) has skyrocketed, and with good reason. Despite its current status as an emerging technology, most sectors, including education, are increasingly realizing its value as a cost-effective and efficient way to enhance network performance to meet specific standards. Meanwhile, for digital transformation initiatives to succeed in education, network performance and agility are crucial to keeping up with data usage and the widespread distribution of applications.
How SD-WAN improves Network Performance in Education Sector:
The SD-WAN technology enables education institutions such as universities, colleges, and schools to prioritize academic traffic and applications over the needs of students, for example, Netflix and similar streaming services. Additionally, it can separate student traffic from teacher traffic and admin traffic, and guest traffic, protecting students’ privacy. Moreover, educational institutions can benefit from SD-WAN, which provides better learning experiences with better network performance.
Due to the growing number of cloud-based applications used by the education sector, traditional WAN networks can no longer provide remarkable speeds and optimal connectivity. On the other hand, SD-WAN can view and control underlying networks for configuring network settings and prioritizing traffic based on visibility into and control over underlying networks. As a result, IT teams can quickly and easily define rules to prioritize network traffic, such as voice and critical applications. Furthermore, adding new sites to a WAN is straightforward as long as an existing connection exists, such as broadband internet or wireless LTE (4G/5G) available.
It is essential to ensure that SD-WAN does not adversely affect users’ experience and network performance. To achieve optimal network performance is vital to be familiar with the centralized controller, monitor performance, and fine-tune the network configuration accordingly. This can be done via the GUI-based controller easily and fast compared to traditional WAN solutions that are less flexible and harder to code.
The SD-WAN offers many advantages for education sectors, which may change how we think about technologies that support growth and success. By leveraging SD-WAN, education sectors can now stay focused on their goals while ensuring network performance is not the stumbling block but becomes the foundation for success.
