Managed SD-WAN: multiple stores and offices without outages

• Short definition At each site, two or more connections used simultaneously, with the best one chosen automatically for each application.
• When it pays When an outage at a site costs sales or leaves the team idle; as a rule, from three sites.
• When it is not needed Two loosely dependent offices are well served by a properly built VPN.
• Where the value lies Dual connectivity, automatic failover and a single dashboard for every site.

It is the network that links your sites, but controlled by software. The WAN is the connection between headquarters, shops or offices; "software-defined" means the rules are created on a central dashboard and pushed to every device at once. Picture a navigation app that, seeing the motorway at a standstill, puts you on the A-road without you having to pull over.

The device installed at each site:

• Combines connections Fibre, a second fibre from another carrier, 4G/5G.
• Prioritises what matters Billing and voice over the most stable route; downloads and updates over the other.
• Changes route on its own If a connection drops or slows down, nobody on site has to touch anything.
• Encrypts between sites Applies the same security across the network.

The phone call "Braga has no system" becomes an entry on the dashboard: "Braga switched connection at 10:14".

A site-to-site VPN is an encrypted tunnel, almost always over one connection at each end. It is cheap, it works and it is often the right answer. SD-WAN adds routing intelligence and central management on top.

Quick maths: if one hour of a shop offline is worth more than a year of equipment and a second connection at that site, SD-WAN pays for itself. Run the numbers with the method in what an hour of downtime is worth.

At least two independent connections, without them SD-WAN has no alternative. Truly independent means:

1. Two carriers: the same carrier can fail on both fibres at once.
2. Two routes: fibres in the same duct go down together when a digger hits the street; mobile or satellite breaks that dependency.
3. Backup power: without a UPS, a power cut takes everything down. Read whether your business can withstand a blackout.

What to ask carriers for, and which connection types exist, is covered in our guide to fast, redundant business internet.

It does, without segmentation. That is why every project includes separate networks for tills, office, cameras and guests, and the same firewall policy at every point. We cover this in one firewall policy for every shop.

Many installed firewalls already come with SD-WAN built in. Activating what exists is often cheaper than buying new equipment for each site.

Fullest: 16 restaurants, one configuration

Fullest (16 restaurants in Lisbon and Porto, including Adega de São Roque, Bacalhau com Todos and Peixaria do Rossio) entrusted us with its network. Firewall and security, business Wi-Fi, cloud management with the same configuration at every venue, staff and guests on separate networks, and continuous remote monitoring of usage, signal and security settings.

Boost Portugal: Lisbon, Porto, the Douro and Madrid

The contract with Boost Portugal, a tourism activities group, includes redundant internet with automatic failover, link aggregation, remote alerts and availability reports.

In both cases, nobody on site needs to know anything about networks for operations to stay connected and protected.

1. X-ray of each site: connections, carrier, equipment, critical applications and the cost of downtime.
2. Architecture: second connection, priorities by application, common security policy.
3. Pilot site: billing, voice and cloud tested, including deliberately cutting the main connection.
4. Roll-out: one site at a time, away from peak hours.
5. Monitoring: warning of a degraded connection before it drops, and availability reported per site.

We map the connections, equipment and critical applications at each shop or office, quantify the risk of downtime and deliver the SD-WAN and redundancy design site by site. Management of managed firewalls and network security is included in IT Unlimited Premium, with on-site support. Request a no-commitment proposal.

More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and phone support.

Call +351 211 459 950 * or write to sales@dataroad.pt.

*Call to a Portuguese landline.

• Cisco: What is SD-WAN?