SANTA CLARA, Calif : FatPipe Networks and Avaya today announced a strategic integration that combines data center Software 
Defined Networking (SDN) and Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) into a single integrated solution for networking and unified communications. This marks the first integrated SDN and SD-WAN solution of its kind.
As Avaya’s only SD-WAN partner, FatPipe has integrated its SD-WAN hybrid networking products with the fabric-based Avaya SDN FxTM architecture featuring Avaya Fabric Connect, which already supports data centers and branch offices worldwide. Together, FatPipe’s SD-WAN technology and Avaya SDN Fx help drive simplicity and agility across the entire network to ensure high-quality, real-time unified communications, providing a single source for a converged solution.
“As organizations adapt to customer and user expectations through digital transformation, hybrid cloud has become the preferred deployment model. Avaya’s SDN Fx enables geo-dispersed sites to inter-connect, but it needs to inter-operate with SD-WAN solutions to realize maximum efficiencies. FatPipe and Avaya are delivering the first fabric-enabled SD-WAN solution in the industry,” said Jean Turgeon, vice president and chief technologist at Avaya. “Automatically detecting and re-routing a degrading WAN connection provides seamless failover of VoIP, video and data sessions, ensuring the reliable quality communications and uptime our customers require.”
According to Gartner, by 2019 more than 30 percent of the Ethernet switching networks installed in enterprise data centers will be modernized with Ethernet fabric architectures, up from less than 10 percent today (Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Data Center Networking, May 2016). At the same time, 30 percent of enterprises will use SD-WAN products in all their branches, up from less than 1 percent today (Gartner, Market Guide for Software-Defined WAN, December 2015). Gartner recommends an integrated network fabric that not only delivers network services across physical and virtual networking, but also provides a unified management platform, and SD-WAN should be implemented as part of a comprehensive WAN architecture.
“Our clients rely on their Avaya communication solutions for anytime, anywhere communications, but cloud-based deployment models and the growth of businesses across dispersed branches are bringing new challenges,” said Strategic Products and Services’ Systems Integrator Manager Steve Romanelli. “After in-depth review of available technologies to
maximize availability for these real-time solutions, we now confidently recommend FatPipe Networks MPVPN and IPVPN solutions, together with the Avaya SDN Fx architecture, for an SD-WAN solution that optimizes performance.”
As one of the leading vendors for WAN link load balancing and WAN path control with thousands of customers across 6 continents and intellectual property defining SD-WANs, FatPipe’s SD-WAN solutions include key features that transcend WAN failures to maintain business continuity, including zero-touch branch deployment, hybrid WAN connectivity, tuned application performance, easy integration, granular WAN visibility, multi-path security, secure full mesh VPN connectivity and flexible centralized policy deployments.
The Avaya SDN Fx architecture featuring Fabric Connect is based on OpenStack and OpenDaylight programming tools that invisibly and securely extend network-wide with a fully enabled edge for users and their applications. This simplified, agile network virtualization solution supports integrated Layer 2, Layer 3, IP routing and IP multicast services with sub-second recoveries for unified communication and customer experience management, while reducing operating costs and time to market.
“As the first fully integrated unified communications and networking infrastructure, Avaya SDN Fx combined with FatPipe’s SD-WAN solutions help drive improved operating efficiencies that simplify IT operations and result in real cost savings,” said FatPipe’s President and CTO Sanch Datta. “FatPipe is always striving to push technology to greater heights, and this integration with Avaya represents a major milestone for the networking and unified communications industries. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Avaya.”