Cisco Combines SD-WAN and Security, Extends Intent-Based Networking to Wireless

Cisco combined its SD-WAN and security technologies, and it extended its Catalyst 9000 switches and its intent based networking from big wired networks to wireless networks and branch deployments. Cisco bought SD-WAN vendor Viptela for $610 million last year. Its new Cisco SD-WAN Security product combines Viptela’s technology with Meraki, Cisco’s cloud-managed IT service and wireless LAN product, plus Cisco security software. On the security side of things, Cisco’s SD-WAN now integrates Cisco’s application-aware enterprise firewall, URL filtering technologies, and intrusion prevention system using Talos for threat intelligence. And its vManage dashboard simplifies how to deploy Cisco’s cloud security technology called Umbrella. Jeff Reed, SVP of product management for Cisco’s security business group, hinted at this combined SD-WAN and security product earlier this year at the RSA Conference. In an interview with SDxCentral, he said the “SD-WAN transition and the integration of security into that” are top of mind for Cisco, and added that there are “a lot of really interesting things we are doing between Viptela and Meraki on the SD-WAN side and Umbrella in cloud security.”