In the rapidly evolving telecommunications industry, the adoption of SD-WAN technology has become increasingly prevalent. Telcos, in particular, benefit greatly from the flexibility and centralised management capabilities that SD-WAN brings. However, the challenges faced by Telcos operating in fixed terrestrial deployments, such as interconnecting corporate headquarters via fibre, differ significantly from managing fleets of connected vehicles and drones that rely on cellular and satellite technologies.

Many SD-WAN solutions assume endpoints are permanently connected to a central management framework and operate under the assumption that bandwidth is fast, always available, and inexpensive. This assumption does not hold true for Telcos operating in cellular and satellite markets. Livewire Digital’s RazorLink SD-WAN addresses these challenges by offering a solution that can be provisioned and managed with minimal overheads and can operate independently of central services.

RazorLink SD-WAN is specifically designed for the highly mobile market and offers significant advantages over SD-WAN solutions that rely on traditional routing techniques to manage the utilisation of underlays such as cellular, Wi-Fi, and satellite connections. By implementing a true Hybrid SD-WAN, RazorLink efficiently and agnostically bonds multiple underlays, such as high-latency VSAT and low-latency 5G cellular networks. The built-in WAN Optimisation accelerates TCP and adds resilience to UDP, significantly improving performance over high-latency and high-error-rate connections, eliminating the need for complex and expensive PEP (Performance Enhancing Proxy) technology. Additionally, RazorLink SD-WAN provides sophisticated configuration and real-time management features, enabling QoS (Quality of Service) policy application over both managed and unmanaged underlays.

RazorLink SD-WAN is a cross-platform software solution that can be seamlessly embedded on small form-factor ARM devices or deployed as a scalable cloud service. This flexibility makes RazorLink applicable to a wide range of current and future markets. By integrating RazorLink SD-WAN into their infrastructure, network operators can seamlessly incorporate the solution into their existing range of services and even combine them with those offered by other providers. Adding or removing underlay services has no impact on the overlay network architecture, allowing for the simple addition of capacity, integration of next-generation networks, or enabling customers to bring their own networks (BYON). This added value streamlines workflows, improves efficiency, enhances reliability, and crucially, retains customer loyalty.

For Telcos, RazorLink SD-WAN offers the ability to provide dedicated RazorLink services to their customers, along with a framework for managing authenticated access and utilisation metrics that can be utilised for QoS and billing purposes. Additionally, for government and security-conscious applications, RazorLink SD-WAN can be deployed as a private network with no dependence on externally hosted services, ensuring maximum data security.

The RazorLink SD-WAN solution has been specifically designed to address the unique challenges of hybrid networking over challenging networks, drawing from Livewire Digital’s expertise in providing hybrid satellite and cellular SD-WAN networking solutions in demanding maritime and vehicular environments across diverse global architectures. The SD-WAN fabric is highly resilient to underlay degradation and failure, ensuring the maintenance and acceleration of single TCP connections regardless of underlay availability and performance.

RazorLink SD-WAN leverages the RazorLink Smart Networking Protocol (SNP), a proprietary transmission protocol that enables packet-by-packet intelligence and control, providing optimised utilisation of network underlays in ever-changing link conditions. The solution offers advanced traffic classification and underlay management, allowing applications to be allocated to any number or combination of bonded underlay networks, with seamless transitions or reallocations. Real-time data from the SNP transmission protocol provides comprehensive control over QoS, traffic steering policy, and assurance data.

RazorLink SD-WAN is platform-agnostic, with deployment options ranging from micro ARM-based systems like Raspberry Pi to data centre server farms. The solution provides an elastic fabric with no hard limit on fabric capacity, allowing for horizontal and vertical scaling. Full separation (layer 2 & layer 3) is maintained across the entire multi-tenant-aware SD-WAN fabric.

Key features and advantages of the RazorLink SD-WAN solution include:

  • Designed for highly mobile platforms
  • Optional communication and management by central services
  • Horizontal and vertical scaling options with limitless fabric capacity
  • True aggregation for combining diverse link combinations
  • Minimal overhead compared to competing products
  • Future-proof architecture supporting upcoming technologies like 5G, 6G, and LEO
  • Support for non-IP based underlays capable of sending/receiving data packets
  • Near-zero configuration required for new underlay support
  • Highly effective TCP acceleration
  • Seamless multi-tenant networking resilient to underlay transitions
  • Granular control over service allocation and airtime usage
  • Comprehensive data to facilitate service assurance over hybrid connections and provide proof of service delivery
  • Comprehensive on-the-fly control over QoS, traffic steering, and aggregation in real-time, with programmable interfaces allowing for highly customisable integration and control.
  • Vastly increased service reliability and resilience to failures
  • Granular definition of traffic shaping and QoS profiles, essential for the effective implementation of customer service level agreements (SLAs)

Livewire Digital’s RazorLink SD-WAN solution offers Telcos a transformative toolset for managing heterogeneous services and elevating their network infrastructure to new heights. By integrating RazorLink SD-WAN, Telcos can provide seamless integration with their existing services, accommodate future technologies, and deliver reliable, efficient, and customised solutions to their customers. Experience the power of RazorLink SD-WAN and unlock the full potential of your network infrastructure.