Intelligent Traffic Steering

What Is Intelligent Traffic Steering?

Intelligent traffic steering is an advanced technology that employs intelligent algorithms to dynamically determine the most efficient path for network traffic. By leveraging network topology and quality information, it optimizes network performance, reliability, and user experience while reducing overall network costs. This technology holds immense value for enterprises seeking to establish SD-WAN networks, as it enables them to achieve enhanced operational efficiency and network resilience.

Intelligent Traffic Steering Network Model

Intelligent traffic steering operates within the framework of an overlay network, as depicted in the provided network model.

A transport network (TN) serves as a carrier-provided WAN access network that facilitates interconnection among enterprise branches.

A routing domain (RD) represents a network domain where devices can establish reachable routes, even if they belong to different TNs. Examples include the networks of China Unicom and China Mobile.

Within this model, multiple overlay links are established between sites. When there are multiple available links to reach the destination network, intelligent traffic steering dynamically selects the optimal link based on factors such as link quality, bandwidth, and application priority requirements. Real-time monitoring of network quality allows intelligent traffic steering to dynamically adjust traffic paths, ensuring that user services remain unaffected by fluctuations in network performance and maintaining a consistent user experience.

Implementation of Intelligent Traffic Steering

Intelligent traffic steering, built upon the overlay network, offers the following functionalities:

• 1. Gathering network topology and performance data: It collects information regarding network structure, link bandwidth, jitter, delay, and packet loss rate.

• 2. Analyzing data and generating optimal routes: Utilizing the collected network information and performance data, intelligent traffic steering technology applies predetermined algorithms and policies to generate an optimal routing table. This table aids in selecting the best path for network traffic.

• 3. Real-time network path adjustments: Through continuous monitoring of network traffic, topology, and performance, the technology dynamically adjusts network paths based on real-time conditions. This ensures optimal routing for network traffic, preventing congestion and data loss.

Intelligent traffic steering supports two modes for optimal path selection: preferential occupation and load balancing.

• Preferential occupation mode: In this mode, the link with the highest quality and optimal Service Level Agreement (SLA) is chosen for data transmission from multiple available links.

• Load balancing mode: Data is distributed among available links with equal priority, based on the ratio of interface bandwidth, achieving load balancing across the network.

Commercial Benefits of Intelligent Traffic Steering

The intelligent traffic steering technology offers significant commercial benefits in enterprise WAN construction:

• 1. Cost reduction: By dynamically adjusting network paths based on factors like network load and link quality, the technology prevents network congestion and data loss. This optimization saves bandwidth and hardware resources, leading to reduced network costs for enterprises.

• 2. Enhanced network performance and reliability: The technology intelligently selects the optimal network path for traffic, taking into account various application scenarios and requirements. This reduces network latency and packet loss, resulting in improved network performance and reliability.

• 3. Enhanced user experience and satisfaction: The technology prioritizes VIP applications by providing better links and guaranteed bandwidth. This enhancement greatly improves the user experience and satisfaction with VIP applications.

In conclusion, the SD-WAN Solution incorporating intelligent traffic steering holds immense significance for enterprise network construction and business development, delivering improved operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.