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High Availability Peplink SD-WAN Implementation with Balance 580 Routers

Hooman Houtaham's avatar

Author

Hooman Houtaham

Network and Security Engineer

Overview:

In 2018, NETSSA was tasked with optimizing the WAN infrastructure of a rapidly growing enterprise client that required high availability, improved bandwidth, and reduced downtime across multiple sites. The existing WAN setup struggled to meet the demands of the expanding business, leading to frequent downtime and suboptimal performance. To address these challenges, NETSSA implemented a Peplink SD-WAN solution utilizing Balance 580 routers configured in High Availability (HA). The deployment leveraged Peplink’s SpeedFusion technology to ensure 99.99% uptime, reduce downtime by 70%, and effectively triple the available bandwidth, thereby optimizing network performance to support the client’s continued growth.

Objective:

  • Maximize Network Uptime: Achieve near-continuous operation with 99.99% uptime across a multi-site WAN.
  • Reduce Downtime: Minimize downtime by 70% through a robust failover mechanism and redundant configurations.
  • Increase Bandwidth: Enhance network capacity by up to 3x, supporting the growing data and communication needs of the enterprise.
  • Optimize Network Performance: Implement a scalable solution that provides high-speed, reliable WAN connectivity to all sites.

Technologies Used:

  • Peplink Balance 580 Routers: Deployed as the core of the SD-WAN solution, configured in High Availability mode to ensure redundancy.
  • SpeedFusion Technology: Used to bond multiple WAN connections, creating a single, high-capacity virtual connection for increased reliability and bandwidth.
  • WAN Links: Multiple high-bandwidth internet connections from diverse ISPs to ensure path diversity and improve uptime.
  • High Availability (HA) Setup: Implemented to provide seamless failover between primary and backup routers.

Detailed Networking and Configuration

  1. SD-WAN Architecture and Peplink Balance 580 Deployment
    • High Availability Configuration:
      • Deployed Peplink Balance 580 routers at each site in a High Availability (HA) setup, ensuring that a backup router could take over automatically if the primary router failed.
      • Configured automatic failover and failback mechanisms within the HA pair, ensuring minimal disruption during router switchover.
    • SpeedFusion Bonding:
      • Implemented SpeedFusion to bond multiple WAN links from different ISPs, creating a single virtual WAN connection with higher throughput and reliability.
      • Configured SpeedFusion for seamless session persistence, ensuring uninterrupted application performance even during WAN link failovers.
    • Load Balancing and Traffic Optimization:
      • Set up intelligent load balancing across all available WAN links, optimizing bandwidth utilization and reducing latency.
      • Prioritized mission-critical applications such as VoIP and video conferencing to ensure they received the necessary bandwidth and low-latency routing.
  2. Redundancy and Failover Mechanisms
    • Automatic Failover:
      • Configured the SD-WAN solution to automatically reroute traffic through the remaining active WAN links in the event of a link failure, minimizing downtime.
      • Implemented real-time health checks on all WAN links, enabling dynamic failover and ensuring consistent network performance.
    • Path Diversity and Redundancy:
      • Leveraged multiple ISP connections to enhance path diversity, ensuring that even if one ISP experienced an outage, other connections would maintain network availability.
      • Used SpeedFusion to aggregate bandwidth from multiple paths, providing both redundancy and increased throughput.
  3. Performance Optimization and Monitoring
    • Bandwidth Optimization:
      • Tripled the effective bandwidth available to the enterprise by bonding multiple WAN connections, supporting the growing demands of the business.
      • Configured QoS settings to prioritize business-critical traffic, ensuring that key applications performed optimally even during peak usage times.
    • Network Monitoring and Reporting:
      • Deployed Peplink InControl2 for centralized management, monitoring, and reporting of the entire SD-WAN infrastructure, allowing for proactive maintenance and optimization.
      • Set up alerts for potential network issues, enabling quick resolution and minimizing the impact on business operations.

Implementation Phases:

  1. Assessment and Design:
    • Conducted a comprehensive assessment of the client’s existing WAN infrastructure, identifying bottlenecks and areas for improvement.
    • Designed an SD-WAN architecture leveraging Peplink Balance 580 routers and SpeedFusion technology to meet the client’s high availability and performance objectives.
  2. Deployment and Testing:
    • Installed and configured Peplink Balance 580 routers at each site, setting up HA pairs and SpeedFusion bonding.
    • Conducted extensive testing of the failover mechanisms, SpeedFusion performance, and load balancing to ensure the solution met the required standards.
  3. Optimization and Training:
    • Fine-tuned QoS settings, load balancing algorithms, and SpeedFusion configurations to optimize performance.
    • Provided training to the client’s IT staff on managing and monitoring the SD-WAN solution using Peplink InControl2.

Skills Gained:

  • Advanced expertise in deploying and configuring Peplink SD-WAN solutions, particularly with Balance 580 routers.
  • Proficiency in implementing High Availability setups and SpeedFusion bonding for WAN optimization.
  • Strong skills in WAN architecture design, performance tuning, and network monitoring.

Results and Impact:

  • 99.99% Uptime Achieved: The HA setup and SpeedFusion bonding ensured near-continuous operation, significantly reducing downtime.
  • 70% Reduction in Downtime: The automatic failover mechanisms and path diversity resulted in a substantial decrease in network outages.
  • 3x Increase in Bandwidth: The bonding of multiple WAN connections tripled the available bandwidth, supporting the enterprise’s growing data needs.
  • Enhanced Network Performance: The optimized SD-WAN infrastructure provided reliable, high-speed connectivity across all sites, improving overall business efficiency.

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