What’s the Difference Between SD-WAN and MPLS?

What Is SD-WAN?

A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) uses virtualization and overlay tunnels to connect users to workloads across multiple transport services and types of existing infrastructure, such as VPNs, broadband internet connections, and LTE, as well as multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) connections. With automated traffic steering, SD-WAN is an efficient alternative to traditional WAN connectivity as organizations migrate away from on-premises data centers.

How Does SD-WAN Work?

SD-WAN uses application-aware routing protocols to improve application performance. Most SD-WAN solutions create virtualized overlays in the form of end-to-end encrypted tunnels, through which a centralized manager intelligently steers network traffic on the most efficient route across the WAN. This traffic is prioritized by business policy to offer optimal quality of service (QoS).

These secure tunnels enable users and entities to connect directly to SaaS apps and infrastructure in the cloud. Compared to traditional or hybrid WAN architecture, this can lower costs, improve connectivity and user experience, and reduce the attack surface.

Learn more about SD-WAN

What Is MPLS?

Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) is a wide area network (WAN) protocol that routes traffic using labels instead of IP addresses to determine the shortest path for packet forwarding. It labels each data packet and controls the path it follows, rather than sending it from router to router through packet switching. It’s intended to minimize latency and jitter, improve QoS, and reduce packet loss while moving traffic as quickly as possible.

How Does MPLS Work?

MPLS gives traffic a predetermined path to take based on labels instead of IP addresses. With traditional IP routing, each router independently decides which next hop to send the traffic toward. MPLS instead sends traffic through a label-switched path (LSP), and routers only need to interpret the MPLS labels of traffic, not the full IP address.

MPLS routers label incoming or outgoing data and combine packets with similar characteristics. This can reduce the types of traffic on a network layer, reducing latency. However, MPLS lacks inherent security, so it needs to backhaul traffic to a security stack, increasing latency.

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Benefits of SD-WAN Compared to MPLS

SD-WAN can use any network, including broadband internet, and software-defined policies to select the best path to route traffic to public websites, cloud applications, and data centers. This means SD-WAN offers a variety of benefits over MPLS:

• Lower costs: SD-WAN reduces costs by leveraging cost-effective public internet options, unlike MPLS, which requires expensive dedicated circuits.
• Greater flexibility: SD-WAN changes take minutes due to virtualized infrastructure, while making changes to complex MPLS circuits can take months.
• Higher performance: SD-WAN prioritizes critical traffic and eliminates backhauling, reducing latency and enhancing user experience. MPLS requires rerouting through a central gateway.
• Greater simplicity: SD-WAN features zero-touch provisioning for automatic configuration, whereas MPLS relies on manually configured hardware.
• Stronger security: SD-WAN uses encrypted end-to-end tunnels and integrates with cloud-delivered security, while MPLS connections are private but not inherently secure or encrypted.
• SASE support: SD-WAN supports secure access service edge (SASE) by integrating networking and cloud-delivered security. MPLS lacks the flexibility and integration capabilities to support SASE.

Drawbacks of SD-WAN Compared to MPLS

While it offers many benefits compared to MPLS as an enterprise network solution, SD-WAN depends on internet circuits, which can increase an organization’s attack surface. To provide truly secure SD-WAN connectivity for users, servers, and IoT/OT devices anywhere, you need to combine it with zero trust.

How to Choose Between SD-WAN and MPLS

Whether to adopt SD-WAN or stick with MPLS depends on your organization's specific needs. Because it's more cost-effective, scalable, and flexible, SD-WAN is the better choice if you rely on dynamic environments like the cloud. If your chief concerns are high performance and low latency, but not security or costs, MPLS may still be a viable option for your organization.

How Zscaler Can Help

Zscaler Zero Trust SD-WAN combines the advantages of secure SD-WAN with the power of a true zero trust architecture.

Replace traditional branch WAN solutions such as MPLS by bringing zero trust principles to every connectivity need—users, servers, and IoT/OT devices. With its direct-to-cloud architecture, the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ eliminates the attack surface and lateral movement with a non-routable WAN network.

Zscaler helps you modernize branch and data center connectivity with quicker SaaS and cloud app deployments, local internet breakouts, and no more site-to-site VPNs. With integrated and automated connectivity and security, it reduces complexity and cost and provides a faster, smarter, and more secure alternative to legacy networking technology and security solutions.

Zero Trust SD-WAN Use Cases

Replace Site-to-Site VPNs
Eliminate complex site-to-site VPNs or hub-and-spoke networks with a direct-to-cloud architecture, improving performance.

Accelerate and Secure M&A Integration
Enable branch offices in one IT environment to quickly connect to private apps in another, with no need to integrate networks, with zero-touch provisioning.

Secure Access to OT Resources
Provide clientless browser-based access to SSH/RDP ports on OT assets for third parties while removing exposed ports or VPN endpoints, eliminating the attack surface.

Discover and Classify IoT Devices
Get deeper visibility and insights into IoT devices at the branch. Automatically classify devices based on traffic profiles, and easily manage policy controls for IoT traffic.

Achieve Zero Trust SASE
Reduce business risk and network complexity with the first Zero Trust SASE, built on Zero Trust SD-WAN. Go beyond SASE architectures built on traditional SD-WAN technology that undermines zero trust.