Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN)

Cato’s edge SD-WAN device, the Cato Socket, aggregates multiple internet links including Cable, fiber, broadband or cellular, into a single logical tunnel. Cato intelligently steers application traffic over available links based on application profile, priority, and link status. The combination of Cato’s SD-WAN software and multiple redundant transports overcomes link blackouts and brownouts to ensure continuous network service previously available only through private connections.

With Cato SD-WAN, your applications’ traffic is routed and prioritized based on assigned Quality of Service (QoS) policy. Cato provide a customizable application prioritization policy to ensure latency-sensitive applications such as voice, video, and remote desktops are always given network access ahead of bandwidth intensive background applications such as backups. To further improve application performance, Cato overcomes packet loss on the last mile internet connection and across the middle mile. TCP acceleration improves network efficiency and speed, reducing data transfer times. With link resiliency, application prioritization and acceleration, and packet loss mitigation, Cato enhances the user experience and maximizes productivity when using business critical applications.

Monitoring the state of last mile connections is critical to troubleshooting performance and connectivity issues. The Cato Socket automatically monitors the quality of the connected internet circuits by continuously measuring their performance outside the SD-WAN tunnel. Detailed over-time analytics including packet loss, round-trip-time and number of hops are provided to quickly identify performance degradation in a specific internet service circuit. Persistent internet connections degradation can prompt customers to switch last mile providers or upgrade connectivity setups.

Troubleshooting a real-time network degradation using historic data and reports is challenging. Cato enables administrators to view a variety of metrics including jitter, packet loss, throughput, and distance in real-time for specific location and/or application. The real-time view provides quick identification of the possible root cause including wrong application identification and prioritization, high bandwidth consumers and periodic congestion.

Global organizations are dependent on reliable long-distant transports, often forcing them to maintain global MPLS contracts alongside SD-WAN.

Cato SD-WAN is natively connected to Cato’s global private backbone built using multiple SLA-backed tier-1 providers interconnecting all Cato’s PoPs worldwide. Cato creates a predictable middle mile that is superior to the public internet at a fraction of the cost of MPLS. Cato gives your organization instant access to a global private network, allowing you to connect branches, clouds and even mobile users, anywhere in the world, including China, with the resiliency and performance required by modern applications.

The Cato Socket installation is simple and does not require device pre-configuration, enabling a true zero-touch deployment. Sockets can be shipped to a remote branch and deployed in minutes by local staff without specialized knowledge. Once connected to power and the internet, the Socket will automatically appear in the Cato Management Application ready to be assigned to a site. The Cato Socket is fully managed from the cloud and all applicable policies will automatically be downloaded. The zero-touch model is extended to high-availability setups, automatically configuring HA-pairs when two Cato Sockets are assigned to the same site.

The Cato Socket Edge SD-WAN device is available in three models to fit a variety of use cases from small branches to large offices and data center, delivering up to 10Gbps of throughput in a single tunnel. The branch model include optional integrated WiFi and cellular capabilities, reducing branch hardware footprint and simplifying deployment. Data center models support fiber handoffs, and include dual power supplies. All models support a high availability (HA) configuration using a pair of devices. Cato Sockets are provided on a low-cost subscription basis, eliminating the time-consuming and expensive hardware refresh cycle, and requiring no capital expenditure.