AWS announced the general availability of AWS Cloud WAN, a new managed wide area network (WAN) service that connects on-premises data centers, colocation facilities, branch offices, and cloud resources to simplify operating a global network.
Using a central management dashboard built into AWS Cloud WAN, customers can define their network configuration, view the health of their global network, and automate routine configuration and security tasks. With AWS Cloud WAN, enterprises can access the AWS global network to build a single, unified network for their organization to improve network health, performance, and security.
Many enterprises today run their networks across multiple environments, including on-premises data centers, colocation facilities, branch offices, and the cloud. To connect these disparate environments together, customers build and manage their own global networks, while also leveraging networking, security, and internet services from multiple third-party providers. AWS makes it easy for customers to connect cloud and on-premises environments using AWS networking services (e.g., Amazon Virtual Private Cloud, AWS Transit Gateway, and AWS Direct Connect). However, for connectivity between on-premises data centers and branch offices, customers must invest considerable time and money to build their own physical network or build a software-defined overlay network from third-party providers. This leads to a complex web of networks, each having different connectivity, security, monitoring, and performance management tools and requirements. As a result, networking teams face challenges configuring, securing, and managing an expanding mix of technologies required to build, scale, and operate a secure global network for their organizations.
AWS Cloud WAN makes it faster and easier for customers to build, manage, and monitor a unified global network that seamlessly connects their cloud and on-premises environments. AWS Cloud WAN allows customers to connect on-premises data centers, colocation facilities, branch offices, and AWS Regions into a single, unified global network with just a few clicks in a central management dashboard—removing the need to configure and manage individual networks that use different technologies. Using the central management dashboard, networking teams can have a single view of their global network, apply policies, and automate configuration and security tasks across their entire network. For example, with just a few clicks, teams can quickly and easily apply a policy that requires network traffic from branch offices to be routed through a specific network firewall before reaching cloud resources running in an AWS Region. AWS Cloud WAN integrates with leading SD-WAN, network appliance, and independent software vendors—including Aruba, Aviatrix, Checkpoint, Cisco Meraki, Cisco Systems, Prosimo, and VMware—making it easier for customers to connect their on-premises SD-WAN devices to AWS. Enterprises can now use AWS Cloud WAN to simplify the way they build, manage, and monitor their networks using a single dashboard with minimal complexity.
To get started, customers can build their global networks in the AWS Cloud WAN central management dashboard by first selecting the AWS Regions closest to their on-premises locations and adding their Amazon Virtual Private Clouds. After extending their existing WAN to AWS, customers can add and remove remote locations and data centers with just a few clicks in the dashboard or by using the AWS Cloud WAN application programming interface (API).
David Brown, vice president of Amazon EC2 at AWS
As the edge of the cloud continues to be pushed outward, and more customers move their applications to AWS to become more agile, reduce complexity, and save money, they need an easier way to evolve their networks to support a modern, distributed model that allows them to reach their customers and end users globally with high performance. With AWS Cloud WAN, enterprises can simplify their operations and leave the time-consuming task of managing complex webs of networks behind.
