SD-WAN can be used to provide secure connectivity to remote offices, branch offices, campus networks, data centers, and the cloud over any type of IP-based underlay transport network. Which two…

SD-WAN improves application routing decisions and can prioritize traffic, but it cannot inherently prevent slow performance caused by insufficient underlying bandwidth or chronic network congestion.

Separating the control and data forwarding planes is a foundational SDN principle that underlies SD-WAN, but it describes general SDN architecture rather than a specific differentiating feature of SD-WAN solutions.

SD-WAN centralizes policy management and automates device provisioning, reducing the manual operational burden of managing branch connectivity across multiple transport links, which directly translates to lower OpEx and cost savings. This is a consistently cited business driver for SD-WAN adoption.

A defining architectural characteristic of SD-WAN is the centralized orchestration and control plane that manages all edge devices, combined with zero-touch provisioning (ZTP) that allows branch devices to auto-configure upon connection without on-site IT involvement.

SD-WAN is specifically designed to run on commodity x86 hardware and abstract transport differences, so the use of specialized switching hardware is not a characteristic of SD-WAN solutions.