What do autonomous driving, competitive online gaming, and predictive maintenance have in common? They all require ultra-low latency, connected through mobile networks. While 5G is blazing fast — 20x faster than 4G — mobile app traffic still must traverse multiple hops to reach its app server destination in public cloud regions, delivering frustrating latency that exceeds 100 milliseconds. For example, in the retail world, that delay delivers nightmarish results, hurting conversion rates.
What’s the solution? Enter AWS Wavelength, which provides AWS services inside Mobile Network Operator environments. Removing the requirement to send vast amounts of data over unnecessary hops to a centralized location for processing, Wavelength powers millisecond-level connections between mobile devices and apps — radically enhancing end-user quality of experience (QoE) and app performance.
This low latency enables Wavelength to instantly ingest vast amounts of info and perform data analysis and processing in real time for apps that need high data speeds. For example, retail stores can leverage an on-site server to collect shopper data and transmit it to Wavelength, which then rapidly analyzes the info and performs post-processing, so stores can immediately offer product recommendations to patrons.
But prior to Wavelength reliably closing the distance between apps and end users, reliable connectivity must be ensured. For that, IT organizations turn to VMware SD-WAN™, which generates dependable, highly efficient and ultra-secure tunnels that directly link VMware SD-WAN Edge devices within an enterprise network to virtual VMware SD-WAN Edge appliances embedded within nearby Wavelength nodes. Leveraging customizable business policies, SD-WAN prioritizes latency-sensitive apps to support incredible transmission speeds over 5G, satellite, broadband, and private lines.
Let’s explore a few ways SD-WAN provides a rock-solid connection between enterprise networks and AWS Wavelength.
3 must-have SD-WAN tools for ensuring end-to-end connectivity
Serving as a network overlay, SD-WAN tracks how underlying WAN transports perform in real time, making corrections when necessary so networks remain on track. These features function as the nerve center to drive connection reliability:
1. VMware Edge Network Intelligence™: As real-time app traffic continues to explode, IT teams simply can’t rely on antiquated tools for analyzing and overcoming the myriad of problems that plague networks on a daily basis. To counter this, organizations are using SD-WAN along with VMware Edge Network Intelligence — a next-gen artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) tool that substantially boosts connectivity between networks and Wavelength nodes to swiftly handle issues.
Combining AI and machine learning, VMware Edge Network Intelligence provides an exhaustive overview of the network’s health as end users tap into low-latency apps from anywhere. By studying performance trends, isolating faults, and providing proactive remediation, this tool dramatically cuts the endless hours required to find the root cause when users have app problems. As a result, users stay connected to Wavelength and receive great QoE.
2. Dynamic Multipath Optimization™ (DMPO): Network reliability can be impacted by fluctuating WAN circuit performance. Unique to VMware SD-WAN, DMPO analyzes each network tunnel’s path performance and illustrates QoE of all the WAN links on a user-friendly dashboard. When DMPO sees jitter, latency, or packet loss, the solution instantly detects, prioritizes, and smartly redirects latency-sensitive application traffic to tunnels that report the optimum quality and capacity. As a result, traffic finds the nearest Wavelength node, with no hairpinning back to a central location.
3. VMware SD-WAN Orchestrator: Teams can manage all SD-WAN Edge VNFs using a VMware SD-WAN Orchestrator once enterprises are deployed and connected to Wavelength nodes. Orchestrator provides a single-pane-of-glass look at apps, network performance, and Wavelength locations so teams can quickly manage incidents, improve application performance, and decrease downtime.
Additionally, Orchestrator’s centralized control dashboard enables teams to easily roll out business-based policies for app delivery. And by teaming up with VMware Edge Network Intelligence, IT teams receive richer visibility of both end-user IoT device experiences.
SD-WAN and Wavelength: Slashing latency to deliver the speed apps need
Autonomous driving. Wavelength and SD-WAN power endless possibilities for users operating at the edge. In fact, they will be key for safeguarding autonomous vehicles (AVs). As SD-WAN ensures connectivity between Wavelength nodes and AVs, the vehicles’ artificial intelligence systems receive, process, and decipher data such as road and weather hazards from countless sources in real time, preventing accidents and saving lives.
Positioned near these users, Wavelength nodes and SD-WAN significantly slash latency — down to mere milliseconds — delivering highly responsive gaming sessions and a significant time-critical edge for players during fast-paced matches.
By leveraging SD-WAN, operators reliably transmit real-time video data from the field to Wavelength nodes for processing and instantly receive Wavelength’s powerful analytics. How do operators benefit? They can proactively protect their pipelines, ensure defects are fixed fast, and be alerted to any future failures.
We look forward to connecting with you at Mobile World Congress on Feb. 28 to March 3! Be sure to visit the VMware booth 3M11 in Hall 3 for a deeper dive into our cutting-edge solutions.
Learn more
For a closer look at the VMware SASE and AWS Wavelength partnership, read the solution overview.
Want to explore VMware SD-WAN even more? Check out our website.
Ready to take SD-WAN for a test drive? Try the hands-on lab.
