All modern businesses need higher levels of speed and reliability of their networks. In order to achieve these, they depends on the aggregation.

Within the context of networking, aggregation is about using two connections in parallel. Aggregation provides you two benefits:

1. You can fall-back upon another connection if one of the connections fails due to any reason.

2. You can increase the performance by boosting the overall 'throughput' of the connections.

In real life, you would be implementing aggregation at two levels: LINK Aggregation, and WAN Aggregation.

What is LINK Aggregation?

This is a method of combining multiple individual Ethernet connections, into 'one logical link.'

It is about combining two 'Gigabit Ethernet ports' to obtain the throughput of up to 2-Gbps for the device in question.

It does not increase the speed of network connection for a single user. What does it mean? It means that though the extra bandwidth is generated but it cannot be used by one single user. Instead, this extra-bandwidth would be used to balance the competing demands by multiple users, without having any penalty of network performance. For example, if two or more people are attempting to transfer files at the same time, then this additional throughput would allow their transfers to complete more quickly than they would, through a single port.

Like I said above, if one connection fails, for example due to a faulty cable, then your users would still be able to use the resource while you troubleshoot the issue.

My readers need to note here that most motherboards or normal network interface cards (NIC) usually come with one single ethernet port. For Link aggregation to happen you need at least 2 ethernet ports. That's why, Link aggregation requires specialist equipment to work, e.g., a managed switch or router that specifically offers support for LACP to handle the connection. You then pair this with devices offering twin Gigabit Ethernet ports and LACP support, such as higher-end network interface cards or network attached storage devices. After that, it is a simple case of applying the correct settings on each device, and your users will be able to instantly take advantage.

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What is WAN Aggregation?

Your WAN is usually about multiple networks spread over wide geographic areas, but it also includes networks which are split across multiple locations. WAN aggregation is about connecting two separate internet providers (ISP) through dual WAN ports on the back of supported routers.

WAN Aggregation is the practice of bundling or aggregating two or more ethernet links together into a single logical connection between two devices, with traffic spread evenly across these links.

WAN Aggregation is also called 'Link Load Balancing,' which refers to the even distribution of traffic among the various bundled links. It is also called 'Multilink aggregation.' Idea is still the same, to combine an ethernet port with another to balance competing demands without experiencing lags in performance.

It is essential to note the difference between WAN and LAN aggregation. LAN aggregation is associated with a 'Home network,' and these connections can AFFECT all the devices that are connected to the router or managed switch.

WAN Aggregation, on the other hand, is associated with a 'cable modem.' Because the connection between a device and this modem is NOT AFFECTED by geographical location or other devices, an aggregated WAN connection provides seamless connectivity and the full speed of your Internet Service Providers (ISP).

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How Does WAN Aggregation Work?

You combine multiple network 'connections' in parallel so that you can leverage your under-utilized links. WAN Aggregation work by evenly spreading outbound network traffic across those connections and by increasing bandwidth through each WAN port.

Switches should be top of your mind when it comes to WAN Aggregation, especially those switches that offer support for LACP to handle connections. LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol) is an active monitoring protocol, which can be configured in either an active (always live) or passive (idle until needed) mode.

These devices operate at the Data Link layer of the OSI model and connect computers and servers into a single network. By creating a daisy chain-like connection between switches, your company can ensure not only connectivity between devices, but also more effective bandwidth throughout.

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How is it different from WAN Optimization and WAN Virtualization?

WAN Aggregation has been around for about 15 years and deals primarily with the Internet facing connections of your organization. These are single ended solutions, which allow you to use multiple public connections to reach the Internet.

Intelligent WAN Aggregators are designed to actively spread the 'outbound' data sessions of your users, across the multiple Internet connections, and provide for automated failover in the event of a link outage. Although they will also provide some form of inbound load balancing and failover too, predominantly through the use of a DNS-driven feature set, which is one of the differentiators that separates them from Dual WAN routers/firewalls that can typically handle outbound failover only.

Remember, WAN Aggregation is a more affordable and easier to manage when compared to a BGP solution for small or mid-sized organizations. Ok?

You already know that most companies have been relying upon MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) to link their offices or branches which were spread across geographically. MPLS has been more reliable and offers good quality of connections. But it has historically been highly expensive and offered relatively very 'limited' bandwidth. That's where the practice of WAN Optimization has served most companies well.

One of the key principles of WAN Optimization is -- to REDUCE the volume of traffic that needs to traverse between locations across the WAN. The two main methods used to accomplish this are: compression and caching. Compression attempts to remove excess 'bytes' from data traveling across the WAN (i.e., smaller packets), while caching is designed to store copies of information locally that are accessed frequently across the WAN (i.e., fewer packets). What can you do to remember the concept of compression here, is to think of a situation when you want to cramp more passengers in a vehicle.

WAN Optimization is still beneficial for your enterprise network greatly, when it comes to reducing the repetitive use of bandwidth by applications that are accessing documents, images, and other files that can take advantage of caching or compression.

But it does do not add much value to bandwidth-hungry, real-time applications, such as VDI, VoIP and streaming video, etc. This is because the data packets within these applications are already compressed as much as possible, meaning there is no need for further action to be taken. This is also the case for your encrypted traffic since it cannot be cached or compressed.

Furthermore, your remote network is still dependent on a 'single' connection with limited bandwidth, so there is still a high probability of congestion and over-utilization, and the inevitability of a link outage that would cut off the remote network’s ability to connect to your data center and the Internet.

Scenarios such as this are where WAN Aggregation demonstrates its great value, because it does not employ caching or compression, but rather opens up more IP lines, diversifying connectivity over multiple ISPs. What can you do to remember the concept of WAN Aggregation here, is to think of adding more lanes to your highway. Got it?

Let us now comprehend What WAN Virtualization is.

WAN Virtualization is an emerging technology that allows bandwidth from 'multiple unique sources' to be introduced at each location, creating a robust WAN fabric between remote networks and the data-center.

WAN Virtualization would allow you to generate a much larger pool of bandwidth, seamless uptime between locations and you get granular control of traffic flows between sites. It also provides you an extremely reliable and predictable environment that is designed specifically for application performance. It also provides the scalability and flexibility to tackle the new initiatives that modern organizations face with respect to their distributed WAN environment.

These types of deployments can add value on top of existing WAN Optimization deployments, via 'bandwidth aggregation' and 'loss-mitigation' capabilities.

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WAN Aggregation to SD-WAN

Indeed, WAN Aggregation is key component of SD-WAN architectures.

You need to know that at its most fundamental level, a SD-WAN is designed to improve the performance of 'applications,' and to increase the agility.

When WAN Aggregation is added to the mix, your company can enhance its 'edge' level connectivity.

Tunnel bandwidth aggregation, specifically, maximizes the use of bandwidth, and that ensures that your 'business-critical' applications can perform at their best levels without hindering the performance of other applications that are also competing for bandwidth.

Furthermore, as part of an SD-WAN solution, WAN Aggregation improves throughput between various locations or branches. Should one or more of the links that are aggregated happen to fail, the others will pick up the load, keeping your applications accessible for a seamless user experience – of course, this is known as redundancy.

Now a days, digitization is vital and application performance is directly tied to productivity of your organization. Your SD-WAN should do more than simply provide connectivity – it must also bring speed, flexibility, and security to the table. Right?

That's why you would expect that your SD-WAN does all that and more, optimizing the SD-Branch experience with techniques like SD-WAN Aggregation for high-level application performance and reliability.

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