Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN)
Support business change without rebuilding the WAN.
Run SD-WAN as a cloud service, with sites and cloud resources managed from a single Cato fabric.
MPLS performance. Internet economics.
A natively connected, SLA-backed global private backbone delivers a predictable middle mile superior to the public internet.
Zero-touch rollout. Cloud-managed.
The Cato Socket ships without pre-configuration and deploys in minutes.
Appliance-centered WANs make growth, performance, and troubleshooting harder.
Appliance cycles
Hardware-centered SD-WAN can slow site growth, updates, and capacity changes when every location depends on its own appliance stack.
Uncontrolled paths
Local link steering cannot control what happens after traffic leaves the site, so performance can vary across regions, clouds, and users.
Application experience
Delay, jitter, or packet loss can negatively impact voice, video, SaaS, and ERP experiences.
Operational sprawl
Separate WAN, branch, and remote access tools make it harder to isolate issues and can slow troubleshooting.
Run SD-WAN from the cloud.
Sites connect to the Cato Cloud and are managed centrally. IT can apply policy and service changes across locations from a single console.
Watch how Cato brings sites online, applies policy from the cloud, and provides IT visibility into site and application performance.
Cloud service
Cato gives IT centralized policy, QoS priorities, and link-health context across sites and cloud resources.
Private backbone
After traffic enters a Cato PoP, Cato can carry it across the private global backbone to reduce reliance on best-effort internet routes.
Application priority
IT sets application priorities once, and Cato uses policy and path conditions to help critical traffic use paths that match current conditions.
WAN Overlay and Underlay Projects: Better Together?
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Capabilities
Run SD-WAN from the cloud
Sites connect to the Cato Cloud and are managed centrally, reducing branch-by-branch appliance work.
- Centralize policy changes
- Reduce appliance life cycle work
- Bring sites online faster
Connect sites, clouds, and users
Cato gives sites, cloud resources, and remote users a single routing and policy context through the Cato Cloud.
- Support branch and cloud access
- Preserve transport choice
- Avoid data-center hairpinning
Deploy new locations faster
Cato helps teams bring sites online without staging a full branch appliance stack.
- Use local internet access
- Manage setup from the cloud
- Apply policy from one place
Prioritize critical applications
IT defines network rules and QoS priorities. Cato uses those rules with link-health data to steer traffic across available paths.
- Define QoS priorities
- Use link-health metrics
- Steer by policy and path health
Improve global performance
Cato carries SD-WAN traffic over a private global backbone, reducing reliance on rigid MPLS and unpredictable public internet paths.
- Controlled middle mile
- Reduce MPLS dependence
- SLA-backed global backbone
Maintain continuity beyond just failover
Cato combines site-level path selection with backbone resilience, helping reduce disruption when links or providers degrade.
- Route around brownouts
- Use available paths
- Reduce disruption
Troubleshoot from site to application
The Cato Management Application provides IT with visibility into site, link, application, and traffic data. With Cato DEM enabled, teams gain deeper user-to-application diagnostics.
- See site and app data
- Find likely causes faster
- Reduce finger-pointing
Watch how Cato does it
Customers improve WAN performance and operations with Cato
With Cato's cloud-native SASE and converged SD-WAN, we eliminated our reliance on hardware, freeing us from upgrade cycles and lifecycle management while dramatically simplifying network operations and reducing ongoing operational overhead.
See Cato SD-WAN in action.
See how Cato helps IT teams connect sites, apply policy from the cloud, improve application performance, and troubleshoot the WAN from a single platform.
Site onboarding and cloud-managed policy
Private backbone and path-performance visibility
Path diagnostics with Cato DEM when enabled- Troubleshooting with network analytics and Cato DEM when enabled
Start with SD-WAN. Grow into SASE.
See Cato in Action
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Learn about the latest innovations in connectivity.
Learn how Cato delivers SD-WAN as a cloud service.
Download briefSee why SD-WAN architecture matters for SASE.
Read reportReview the business impact of the Cato SASE Cloud Platform.
Read reportRead analyst recognition for Cato's broader platform.
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