Aruba automates branch office connectivity to AWS

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company announced new capabilities for its SD-WAN portfolio – comprised of the Aruba SD-Branch and the recently acquired Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect™ solutions – designed to centrally monitor, manage, and automate connectivity from branch locations to Amazon Web Services (AWS). The Aruba SD-WAN portfolio integration with the new AWS Transit GatewayConnect greatly simplifies network operations and management and enables customers to apply consistent quality of service and security policies across branch sites when connecting to Amazon Virtual Private Clouds (Amazon VPCs). Branch office users benefit from consistent performance and a high quality of experience.

As organizations look to modernize their networks to meet the dynamic needs of distributed office locations, mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) environments, they need a simple way to deploy, manage and monitor branch networks across geographies in order to ensure security, compliance, and application availability to users. The new AWS Transit Gateway Connect enables tighter, more streamlined integration between the Aruba SD-WAN portfolio, resulting in faster deployment, reduced operational costs, and ready access to performance metrics and network telemetry data.

“When it comes to managing pathways to AWS, enterprises have a range of choices and can best balance their needs based on the types of applications used and where users are located,” said Mayumi Hiramatsu, vice president of Amazon EC2 Networking at Amazon Web Services, Inc. “Today’s announcement of Aruba’s integration with AWS Transit Gateway Connect represents a continuation of the work we’ve been doing with the Aruba team in the quest to further streamline IT and enable our shared customers to focus their attention on growth and digital transformation in the cloud era.”

Speed, security, and simplicity are all benefits of using native integration between Aruba with AWS Transit Gateway. The new capabilities built into AWS Transit Gateway Connect deliver a range of benefits, including:

• Enabling IT to do more with less: Because the new AWS Transit Gateway Connect enables automated branch connectivity – automatically connecting to the nearest AWS Transit Gateway from each branch site – IT teams no longer have to manually configure routing for individual VPCs and have more flexibility in managing traffic and workflows. As a result, users experience improved application performance and availability and ultimately, higher levels of productivity.
• Automated branch-to-cloud connectivity at scale: Enterprise-class SD-WAN features, automation, and orchestration deliver a consistent operational experience between VPCs when using the AWS Transit Gateway as the hub, saving time and resources. In addition, the AWS Transit Gateway serves as a cloud-to-cloud interconnect across the AWS global network to reach multiple Amazon VPCs across AWS Regions and optimizes the middle-mile for branch connectivity.
• Reduced set-up time of branch networks with lifecycle workflows and advanced visibility: Both Aruba Virtual Gateways and Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect virtual appliances along with centralized SD-WAN orchestration allows customers to easily extend their SD-WAN fabrics to AWS.

“Our IT infrastructure has had to evolve to support our rapidly growing business, and the transition to a cloud-based infrastructure has proven to be a huge step in the right direction,” said Sophie Twu, network engineering manager at Verisk. “Reliable connectivity, redundancy and centralized management of all gateways, switches, and access points with the ability to deploy equipment at remote sites are all benefits of an integrated AWS and Aruba solution. We’re excited about the latest integration that combines Aruba technology with the new AWS Transit Gateway Connect feature and feel that it holds potential for further simplifying the deployment and management of our network and how we connect our remote branch locations to AWS.”

The acquisition of Silver Peak earlier this year presents additional options for customers seeking to or who are in the midst of transitioning to a cloud-first architecture. The Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform also integrates with AWS Transit Gateway Network Manager, giving network managers the ability to create a single consolidated global view of all sites and connections between AWS and their on-premise locations, gaining visibility into network changes, events, and health telemetry to deliver the highest quality of experience for users.

“Today’s modern enterprises require speed, flexibility, and simplicity at scale to adapt to rapidly changing business needs and, for many, the cloud is the answer,” said Alan Weckel, founder and lead analyst at 650 Group. “Aruba’s ongoing collaboration with AWS – and now with the addition of Silver Peak – provides a tremendous opportunity for AWS customers who want to harness the power of the cloud, while ensuring secure high-performance branch connectivity, without the complexity normally associated with running and managing multiple, geographically dispersed VPCs.”