SD-WAN Deployment Modes by Vendors

• HPE/Silver Peak Deployment Modes

▶ Router Mode

- Can be in-line or out-of-path and uses multiple ports. Best for complex networks.

○ Do you want your traffic to be in-path or out-of-path? This mode supports both deployments. In-path deployment offers much simpler configuration.

○ Does your router support VRRP, WCCP, or PBR? If so, you may want to consider out-of-path Router mode deployment. You can set up more complex configurations, which offer load balancing between appliances and high availability.

○ If your LAN destination is behind a router or L3 switch, you need to add a LAN-side route (a LAN next-hop).

▶ Bridge Mode

- Can only be in-line and uses 2 or 4 ports. Easiest setup for simple networks.

○ Do you have a physical appliance or a virtual appliance?

○ A virtual appliance has no fail-to-wire, so you need a redundant network path to maintain connectivity if the appliance fails.

○ If your LAN destination is behind a router or L3 switch, you need to add a LAN-side route (a LAN next-hop).

○ If the appliance is on a VLAN trunk, then you need to configure VLANs on the Silver Peak so that the appliance can tag traffic with the appropriate VLAN tag.

▶ Server Mode

- Can only be out-of-path and uses 1 port (mgmt0). Best for backup configurations.

For more detail, please refer to the Silver Peak SD-WAN Deployment Guide.

• Riverbed SteelHead Deployment Modes

▶ Physical in-path deployments

▶ Virtual In-Path Deployments

▶ WCCP Virtual In-Path Deployments

▶ Policy-Based Routing Virtual In-Path Deployments

▶ Out-of-Path Deployments

For more detail, please refer to the Riverbed SteelHead Deployment Guide.

• Citrix Deployment Modes

▶ Inline Mode

▶ Virtual Inline Mode

▶ WCCP Mode

▶ Group Mode

▶ High-Availability Mode

For more detail, please refer to the Citrix Product documentation.

• Cisco Deployment Modes

Please see the following page.

Cisco SD-WAN Deployment Options
https://www.analysisman.com/2022/02/cisco-sdwan-options.html