Finding it difficult to keep up to date with changes in enterprise networking technologies? We hear you. But have no fear! We have researched hundreds of networking blogs and news websites so you don’t have to. Below we have listed the top 15 sites and blogs on the subject of networking and SD-WAN that should be on your reading list. If you are trying to keep up with the industry, make sure to follow, subscribe and check-in regularly for updates!
- SD-WAN Experts was launched in 2007 by Steve Garson (@WANExperts) a renowned expert in the field of enterprise networking and network architecture. The company offers expert advice and consulting on all things SD-WAN to global enterprises. His blog provides deep insight into the world of networking and SD-WAN with a mix of articles from opinion pieces to practical advice on configuration issues.
- Andrew Lerner (@fast_lerner) is a vice president at Gartner specializing in networking and WAN. He runs an analyst blog where he keeps us current with the changing face of WAN technologies. In his latest article, he talks about how and why SD-WAN has gone mainstream with 4000+ enterprise implementations in the last three years. The reason is simple — while many networking technologies are often over-hyped, SD-WAN actually delivers the goods. He recommends considering deploying SD-WAN, especially for enterprises who are replacing WAN edge equipment, renegotiating a carrier contract, deploying new branches, or aggressively moving to the cloud and SaaS.
- ESG is a renowned IT research company known for their detailed and nuanced views of various technologies, industries, and markets. Their community blog covers several tech areas including networking, cybersecurity and storage. The blog is full of valuable insights with regular updates from experts on SD-WAN and related networking technologies. Check out articles by Daniel Conde (@dconde_esg), the ESG analyst covering distributed system technologies, such as cloud computing and enterprise networking. Dan focuses on the interactions of how and where workloads run, and how end-users and systems interact with each other. He also extensively talks about SD-WAN. In one of his recent articles he writes about the pros and cons of SD-WAN, including the application of wireless to SD-WAN.
- Network World (@NetworkWorld) is part of the wider IDG network which is famous for sourcing experts from a variety of verticals to share their knowledge with the community. Renowned SD-WAN opinion leaders with a regular column on Network World to watch out for are Steve Garson (@WANExperts) and Zeus Kerravala (@zkerravala).
- Computer World is another gem to add to your regular reading list. Computer World is a tech news site that covers a wide array of topics, including software, security, operating systems, mobile, storage, and enterprise networking. If you are looking for a news oriented site for keeping up to date with the latest developments — this is it. There is also plenty of excellent educational content on networking that is definitely worth checking out, including whitepapers, slideshows, how-tos and videos.
- The Register is a British technology news and opinion website with more than 9 million monthly visitors. The publication is a landmark within the online tech community and is famous for its opinionated and often quirky stories about everything tech related. While the Register does not have a dedicated section on networking or SD-WAN, relevant stories often pop up in its storage, devops and data centre sections.
- r/networking While not a blog per se, networking subreddit is a great resource for following up on community conversations about routers, switches, firewalls and other data networking infrastructure discussions. The forum is especially valuable for keeping the hand on the pulse on everything enterprise & business networking related, including educational topics on the subject and career advice.
- PacketLife.net is the blog of network engineer, Jeremy Stretch. This is a hands-on resource, full of useful guides, how-tos and advice. It is a must follow resource for anyone working in the area of enterprise networking or SD-WAN. The blog is broken up into areas such as the ‘Armory’ and ‘Cheat Sheets’ which gives you instant access to a wealth of information needed in the day to day job of a networking professional.
- SDx Central (@sdxcentral) is a news site dedicated to networking and SD-WAN. Because it is highly focused on SDx, SDN, & NFV, it condenses all of the industry news, views, events and information in one place.
- Packet Pushers is a deeply technical site for the networking and SD-WAN industry, which includes an extensive news section. It also has a well developed podcast network with weekly and bi-weekly regular podcasts featuring deep dives into highly technical topics with the industry experts. The network offers access to its community members to a panoply of podcasts, videos and other resources for infrastructure professionals to make use of.
- The Hacker News (@TheHackersNews) is a resource with a very strong cybersecurity focus and is a great site for network professionals to keep up to date with the cybersecurity side of networking. Network and SD-WAN professionals cannot ignore cybersecurity issues, and if you are looking for news articles about the changing cybersecurity landscape, HackerNews is a great starting point. With plenty of informative posts offering useful insights into networking and SD-WAN from a security perspective, HackerNews is definitely a worthy resource.
- IPSpace is an award-winning blog by enterprise architect Ivan Popelnjak (@ioshints). IPSpace is a vendor-independent blog that focuses on scalable physical or virtual architectures, emerging networking technologies, and stable real-life solutions. The blog also lists the events that Ivan speaks at, as well as regular workshops he runs.
- WireNot (@wirednot) is a blog by network engineer Lee Badman, where he shares his views on the latest developments in the IT world. Lee is an expert in WiFi and WLAN networking and offers detailed, highly technical posts with advice and guidance in those areas.
- Current Analysis at IT Connection is run by analyst Mike Fratto with a focus on intent-based networking (IBN). An IBN evangelist, he exposes the view that IBN will ultimately result in overall better IT. At the same time, he warns that blending intent-based networking with traditional network management paradigms, is fraught with peril. If you want to learn more on this emerging field, make sure to subscribe.
- CommsTrader (@commstrader) is a unified communications industry’s leading resource for news and independent reviews. The website has an extensive section on SD-WAN with the latest news and reviews. Contributors like Rebekah Carter write regularly on SD-WAN, offering help and advice on implementation and configuration.
- Top SD-WAN vendors is a great resource for those switching to SD-WAN. This website lists the most known and active SD-WAN vendors on the market. It’s updated weekly, following analyst inquiries and recent media reports. In addition, The Top SD-WAN Vendors website offers excellent articles explaining the business value of SD-WAN and the difference between various SD-WAN architectures.
A little extra: Last but not least, Cato Networks blog made it to the top 100 list of networking blogs. The Cato Networks gives you a mix of up to date SD-WAN and networking news as well as advisories and case studies from across the industry. It also offers extensive recommendations on security best practices. An excellent place to start is the post on “Secure, Global SD-WAN as a Service”.
That’s all, folks. Do you know of other enterprise networking and SD-WAN resources we missed that are worthy of being on this list? Let us know!