High-speed, low-latency 5G networks have the power to transform how business gets done. However, the journey to full-scale, comprehensive 5G coverage will not happen overnight. Even once it becomes more widely available, there are few devices in use today that support 5G, and fewer applications that require the level of performance provided through these networks. This means that businesses must keep all options open when it comes to connectivity, even if 5G is available in their area.
SD-WAN Paves the Way for 5G
Because traditional WAN routers were never designed for the connectivity complexities of today’s branch offices, when organizations begin considering their move to 5G, they should also consider moving to SD-WAN. In addition to already being designed to support and manage 5G connections, these solutions can automatically determine the requirements needed to establish the appropriate connection for any given application or service. No matter the number of users making connections to different services, SD-WAN solutions can provide the flexibility needed to establish and alter connections based on bandwidth requirements, connection quality, and cost. If a connection deteriorates due to latency or packet loss, these solutions should also be able to dynamically swap it out for another. And a Secure SD-WAN solution is able to maintain critical security as an integrated component of the connectivity management process. By leveraging SD-WAN, organizations can ensure all devices have the best possible connection rates at all times without compromising on flexibility, visibility, or protection.
5G Adds to the Complexity of Securing SD-WAN
In addition to the usual challenges associated with securing SD-WAN, these complexities only increase when 5G is brought into the mix. To keep up with 5G speeds and avoid security becoming a critical bottleneck when performing essential tasks such as inspecting encrypted traffic, security will need to function faster than ever. In fact, faster than most purpose-built security products available today. And as the volume of encrypted traffic rises – which currently makes up more than 70% of network traffic – so does the adoption rate of TLS 1.3, the faster and more secure successor to SSL. Considering these changes, ensuring that security can support 5G speeds without interrupting business-critical communication is more essential than ever.
Achieving this level of security may be easier said than done. Inspecting encrypted traffic takes a heavy toll on next-generation firewall (NGFW) performance – so much so that many vendors refuse to even publish their performance numbers. Which means that actively inspecting the ever-increasing volume of encrypted traffic – especially when using TLS 1.3 to secure 5G connections – will have an increasingly negative impact on both the firewall and SD-WAN connectivity as performance expectations climb, ultimately threatening one of the primary reasons why 5G was initially adopted.
To meet these new performance requirements and keep pace with tasks like the inspection of encrypted traffic, organizations must adopt a purpose-built Secure SD-WAN solution designed from the ground up for performance. By leveraging purpose-built security ASICs, as opposed to commercial processors, Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN solution is the only device designed to manage critical security functions while maintaining performance at these rates.
Security must also be seamlessly integrated with the networking side of SD-WAN to ensure that when a connection needs to be changed, both pieces respond as a single, consolidated system. Additionally, a unified management interface will ensure that any changes within the SD-WAN environment will be visible and easily managed through a single pane of glass. Fortinet is the only SD-WAN vendor to provide these essential capabilities.
