Despite the recent marketing buzz around reviving the old VPN methodology using new hardware such as SD WAN there are still many advantages to a private network. Before i get into those reasons let me clarify the difference between a private and a public network.
Public Networks
Without over simplifying a wide area network is a computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area. Typically, a WAN consists of two or more local-area networks connected to a wide-area network. Public networks provide connectvity through the Internet, cable or antennas(wireless). Public network means anyone can connect to it, there is nothing private about it. Most of the time were talking about using the Internet for connectivity. The advantage of a public network is that its everywhere and can be accessed cheaply with any Internet circuit. In a public WAN users can encrypt their traffic to try to hide it and protect it on that public network. The problem is the network is still public and accessible by anyone and most Internet is best effort service meaning their is no guarantee of performance. Passing through slow servers or congested providers effect performance and are beyond the users control.
Private Networks
Private Networks are one of the best ways to make connection between two LAN's. Connectivity is made by leasing high speed fiber optic lines from a Telco carrier who has strung private data lines all over the world. There are many technologies to accomplish the connectivity whether you use, MPLS, Ethernet, Point to Point, Wave or other dedicated bandwidth technologies. Private wide area networks are just that, they are privately leased network connectivity that no one outside your company can access. Private networks are much more secure than public networks because they are physically separate from any other network or traffic. They also lack the congestion issues of a public network because administrators have more control over traffic.
Advantages of Private network WAN
- Security - The biggest and most obvious advantage is that security is never an issue with these systems. Utilities can control access to the network so there’s an inherent level of security within the grid.
- Increased reliability— Private carrier architecture provides fully diverse paths for transport and immediate restoration in case of outages.
- Protocol independence - Carry IP, voice, data and video as Layer 2 or Layer 3 traffic.
- Capacity - Utilities maintain control over traffic and always ensure enough capacity for smart grid communications. Bandwidth is dedicated and symmetrical with speeds available as high as 10gb per second.
- Network Availability - Utilities are able to build extensive redundancy, backup power and additional sites, repair the system when needed and enjoy better remote coverage with longer-range access.
More companies are adopting Ethernet solutions to get higher bandwidth and capacity for real-time apps like video conferencing, streaming analytics that gather sensor data from IoT devices or secure online transaction processing (OLTP). With Ethernet WAN offerings you can simplify your network architecture, scale bandwidth up or down on demand and securely access mission-critical cloud applications with built-in threat protection.
To learn more and get a no cost comparison summary for your network.
