What Is Software-Defined Cloud Interconnect (SDCI)?

What problems does SDCI solve?

Enterprises must deliver rich cloud application experiences in the fastest, most reliable, and cost-effective way possible to users. At a high level, SDCI helps improve network performance in a cost-effective manner while adding the flexibility to bring up highly reliable connections on demand.

It's costly for enterprises to stitch together traditional networks to various IaaS providers, while connecting over the internet usually leads to insecure and unreliable connectivity. It can also result in limited bandwidth, subpar performance, and poor access and policy management.

Although traditional circuits like Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) offer a step up in performance, they may have regional limitations, prolonged bring-up time, and contract limitations that limit flexibility and agility in the long term. 

How does SDCI work?

SDCI providers furnish geographically dispersed and interconnected physical infrastructure (PoP) that customers can use to build a dedicated network segment, or middle mile. 

Customers can optimize network traffic from their sites to reach the nearest PoP. They can then ride the dedicated bandwidth provided by the underlay to suit their specific users, applications, performance needs, and security requirements, whether it is for site-to-cloud or site-to-site connections. 

SDCI is provided as a service, and its deployment and management can be integrated into existing software-defined workflows.

How is SDCI added to networks?

Customers can connect to the nearest PoP of an SDCI provider using internet or MPLS from their sites or data center locations. Typically, a virtual router is hosted at the SDCI provider's PoP and from there on, network traffic flows through the SDCI provider's backbone. An SD-WAN fabric allows for segmentation, security, and end-to-end optimization of traffic.  

Since no additional hardware needs to be deployed, all virtual infrastructure (routers and cross connects) can be onboarded quickly onto the customer's network infrastructure. Onboarding is achieved using the SDCI provider's portal or through the SD-WAN provider's portal, if the integration allows.

Benefits of SDCI

Flexibility

Organizations can use SDCIs for site-to-cloud and site-to-site connectivity for any type of location type. Locations can be an office, a branch, or a data center, and connectivity can be across any transport type—including satellite, internet, MPLS, or 5G/LTE—for their last mile connectivity.

Visibility

With an SD-WAN-enabled configuration, network traffic can be monitored and controlled through the SD-WAN fabric, with fewer blind spots. Network traffic is shifted away almost immediately from the internet onto the SDCI provider's backbone. This reliable and secure underlay link provides end-to-end visibility and monitoring from source to final destination.

Management and analytics

When the SDCI setup is combined with an SD-WAN overlay, customers can take advantage of a single-pane-of-glass management for automating the deployment of circuits, end-to-end security segmentation, and policy management of the network. The setup also allows complete visibility and monitoring of the underlay.

On-demand connectivity

The software-defined approach of SDCI providers allows for new connections to be provisioned in minutes, rather than the days or weeks it might take to roll out a dedicated backbone from a service provider or use physical networking components.

Agility

SDCI provides on-demand connectivity, easy management through SD-WAN fabric, and cloud- and data center-agnostic presence. Its lower costs allow the enterprise to quickly expand, contract, or refine the network in response to changing goals and conditions.

High performance

Traffic going over the internet might go through multiple hops and intersections over multiple providers, potentially adding latency before reaching its destination. SDCIs are pathways dedicated to one enterprise's data, which are isolated from other traffic. The result is higher transmission speeds and lower latency for a consistent and reliable experience.

Lower costs

The on-demand, provision-as-needed model of an SDCI mimics the pay-as-you-go model of most cloud service providers. It can reduce CapEx costs and provide more flexibility over time than traditional providers. Most SDCI vendors offer direct-connect integrations with cloud service providers, allowing them to charge a lower data egress rate and to pass the savings on to customers.

SDCI use cases

Moving to the cloud

SDCI can help ensure that an organization's transition to the cloud meets and exceeds expectations on performance and ease of management. As companies expand their cloud presence, they can provision connections to any major cloud service provider within minutes instead of waiting for traditional circuits or paying high egress rates over the internet.

Multicloud users

Most SDCI providers are cloud and data center agnostic and should be able to provision connections supporting all cloud service providers from any site or data center location. 

Geographically dispersed enterprises

Strategically located services and data—that is, closer to end users—have become essential for maintaining performance and reliability of mission-critical apps for global users. With a global infrastructure presence, an SDCI PoP is usually located very close to enterprise branch or data center locations.

Sufficient redundancy and high availability can also be built into the network architecture such that multiple network failure scenarios can be implemented with no loss in network performance.

Site-to-cloud connections

SDCI provides a higher-performing, more-reliable, and lower-cost method to make this basic connection as compared to traditional circuits or the internet.

Site-to-site connections

SDCI can also be used to provision connections between sites such as offices, branches, or data centers, or between cloud deployments using the same underlay. Each site is typically configured as an endpoint. In conjunction with SD-WAN policies, traffic between sites can be directed using the SDCI underlay.

Low-latency applications

The level and consistency of performance provided by SDCI suggests that performance, cost, and reliability can be available in the same package. When coupled with SD-WAN, it can mitigate loss of network issues. This helps ensure critical applications don't suffer performance issues and end-user experience is optimal.