VMware, Dell EMC Launch Joint SD-WAN Solution

VMWARE VMWORLD — Dell Technologies has launched a new software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) solution in coordination with VMware.

The Dell EMC SD-WAN solution combines VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud and “highly engineered and efficient modern appliances.” The solution features edge-focused appliances, software-based orchestrators and a network of access gateways.

VMware’s Tom Gillis

“VMware and Dell EMC are driving public cloud simplicity and utility across the entire network,” said Tom Gillis, senior vice president and general manager of VMware’s networking and security business unit. “With this new SD-WAN solution, Dell EMC customers will be able to leverage the industry’s only hyperscale architecture for SD-WAN deployed at thousands of customers and more than 150,000 locations globally.”

The SD-WAN partnership harnesses Dell EMC’s data center fabric orchestration.The solution is immediately available worldwide after Dell announced it Tuesday at VMworld in San Francisco.

Frank Cittadino

“Our customers today expect us to deliver the best and most advanced network solutions to solve their business needs,” said QOS Networks CEO Frank Cittadino, whose managed network services provider deploys and manages VMware’s SD-WAN solution. “As a trusted partner to Dell EMC, we’re excited to do that with an SD-WAN solution that marries cost effective hardware with a dedicated orchestrator and VMware gateway.”

The two companies also jointly announced SmartFabric Director, which will help physical switch underlay infrastructure evolve to match increasingly virtualized and software-defined networks. ESG Research senior analyst Bob Laliberte said the new solution speeds up the processes of deploying and operating a network fabric.

“ESG was impressed with how the Dell EMC SmartFabric Director can help organizations to gain comprehensive visibility into the physical and virtual layers of their core networks and ensure that they are synchronized,” Laliberte said.

Dell EMC and VMware are “just getting started” with their partnership, according to Tom Burns, senior vice president and general manager for Dell EMC Networking and Solutions.

“Dell EMC and VMware are rebuilding the network for the cloud era — with everything open, automated and software-defined,” Burns said.

Dell two weeks ago announced its membership in the AT&T-led Airship open-source project.