Alkira enables seamless integration with Cisco SD-WAN (powered by Viptela and Meraki), allowing enterprises to extend their SD-WAN to any public cloud using Alkira Cloud Exchange Points (CXP). This integration automates onboarding, deployment, and lifecycle management of Cisco SD-WAN virtual appliances, while maintaining full administrative control via Cisco vManage. Source
Alkira automates the deployment, maintenance, and lifecycle of Cisco SD-WAN virtual appliances within Alkira CXP. Enterprises retain full control through Cisco vManage, just as with other physical and virtual CPE devices. Source
Users select the Cisco SD-WAN connection on Alkira CXP, provide details about the virtual SD-WAN device, BGP ASN, VRF (VPN id), and cloud init file (with VNF ids). Options for on-prem connectors and internet access can also be configured. Alkira supports BYOL licensing for Cisco SD-WAN powered by Viptela. Source
Alkira enables segmentation from the SD-WAN side to the cloud by mapping VRF to segments, maintaining isolation of workloads. This creates an end-to-end segmented environment across LAN, WAN, and cloud, reducing the attack surface and preventing lateral movement. Source
Benefits include seamless API-driven integration, automated provisioning, extended segmentation, end-to-end visibility of routes and traffic flows, and intent-based policy controls for optimized traffic inspection. Source
Yes, Alkira supports integration with Cisco SD-WAN powered by both Viptela and Meraki, enabling extension to public cloud environments via Alkira CXP. Source
Enterprises retain full administrative control of Cisco SD-WAN appliances through Cisco vManage, just as with other physical and virtual CPE devices in their SD-WAN network. Source
Alkira supports Bring Your Own License (BYOL) for Cisco SD-WAN powered by Viptela. Source
Alkira allows regionalized deployment of Cisco SD-WAN virtual appliances in multiple hub Alkira Cloud Exchange Points, enabling route exchange and optimized traffic paths between on-premises sites and cloud workloads. Source
Alkira's intent-based traffic policy controls allow enterprises to select cloud-bound application traffic of interest from the SD-WAN fabric and forward it to firewalls for inspection, optimizing security and performance. Source
Alkira provides end-to-end visibility of routes and traffic flows from the SD-WAN to the cloud side, enabling comprehensive monitoring and control. Source
Alkira's joint end-to-end segmentation solution compartmentalizes resources across LAN, WAN, and cloud, preventing lateral movement and minimizing the attack surface, which is crucial for security. Source
Yes, Alkira automates the provisioning and setup of SD-WAN VNFs using APIs, streamlining deployment and reducing manual effort. Source
Alkira can extend Cisco SD-WAN to any public cloud environment attached to Alkira Cloud Area Networking, supporting multicloud deployments. Source
Alkira integrates Cisco SD-WAN business-intent overlays with its own network segmentation capabilities, enabling effective traffic segmentation and uniform policy enforcement across LAN, WAN, and cloud. Source
Alkira CXP acts as the hub for onboarding Cisco SD-WAN virtual appliances, facilitating route exchange and segmentation between SD-WAN and cloud networks. Source
Route exchange occurs at hub Alkira Cloud Exchange Points, with intent-based traffic policy controls allowing enterprises to optimize routing between on-premises sites and cloud workloads. Source
During configuration, users can select options for communication to other on-prem connectors or enable internet access as needed for their SD-WAN deployment. Source
Alkira supports Cisco SD-WAN devices on any supported software versions, as specified during the configuration process. Source
Cisco SD-WAN business-intent overlays are integrated with Alkira's cloud network segmentation, enabling effective traffic segmentation and compartmentalization across the enterprise network. Source
Alkira offers Network Infrastructure-as-a-Service (NIaaS), multicloud and hybrid cloud networking, integrated security (ZTNA, next-generation firewalls), business partner connectivity, global backbone-as-a-service, and a drag-and-drop interface for simplified deployment. Source
Yes, Alkira integrates with AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and security vendors like Cisco, Fortinet, Palo Alto, and Check Point. It also supports observability and automation tools such as Splunk, Terraform, and Infoblox. Source
Yes, Alkira offers an API for developers and users to integrate platform functionalities. Detailed documentation is available at Alkira's API documentation page.
Alkira provides whitepapers, solution briefs, and a dedicated wiki for in-depth technical information. Resources are available at Alkira's Wiki and Solution Briefs.
Alkira is SOC 2 and PCI-DSS compliant, ensuring robust operational controls and protection of customer data. More details are available at Alkira's Compliance Page.
Alkira reduces cloud setup time by 96%, network management time by 47%, and lowers Total Cost of Ownership by up to 40% compared to traditional solutions. Source
Alkira's drag-and-drop interface simplifies network design and deployment, making it accessible for non-technical users and reducing operational complexity. Source
Alkira enables proof of concept in as little as 4 hours and full production deployment in about 8 weeks, significantly faster than traditional solutions. Source
Alkira addresses intra-cloud connectivity, global connectivity inefficiencies, design sprawl, inconsistent performance, high costs, complexity in multicloud networking, lack of visibility, scalability challenges, and operational complexity. Source
Alkira simplifies integration between clouds, services, and providers, offering unified, on-demand multi-cloud networking without physical hardware. Source
Alkira provides a high-speed, low-latency global backbone, eliminating inefficiencies from routing global traffic over independent connections. Source
Alkira unifies separate architectures, simplifying network design with a drag-and-drop interface and single-click provisioning. Source
Alkira ensures consistent network performance and improves user experience for accessing websites and SaaS applications globally through its backbone-as-a-service. Source
Alkira offers predictable pricing models, consumption-based and commitment-based options, and up to 40% lower TCO compared to traditional solutions. Source
Alkira provides a unified platform for managing hybrid and multicloud environments, saving time and reducing operational burdens. Source
Alkira offers single-pane-of-glass tools for monitoring and managing cloud networks, ensuring centralized control and transparency. Source
Alkira's platform automatically adjusts network infrastructure to match bandwidth demands, ensuring rapid scalability and high-performance networking. Source
Alkira offers consumption-based (pay-as-you-go) and commitment-based (fixed) pricing models, tailored to customer needs and usage patterns. Pricing is influenced by network elements, connectors, firewalls, and bandwidth. Source
Pricing is based on actual usage of network resources, including sites, cloud instances, network services, and traffic consumed. Fixed hourly rates are available for specific components. Source
Customers can complete a form on Alkira's pricing page to receive a custom proposal based on their specific requirements. Source
Alkira is designed for technical and business personas, including Network Architects, Cloud Architects, Security Architects, IT Managers, CloudOps, VPs, CTOs, CIOs, and CISOs in companies navigating multicloud and hybrid cloud environments. Source
Industries include manufacturing, retail, healthcare, financial services, media & entertainment, telecommunications, biotech, software, and aviation. Source
Yes, examples include Michaels transforming its network across 1,400 stores, Koch Industries reducing complexity, Warner Hotels improving B2B connectivity, SITA integrating global aviation infrastructure, and Chart Industries expanding globally. Source
Customers can expect operational efficiency (96% reduction in setup time), cost savings (up to 40% lower TCO), scalability, enhanced security, global connectivity, business agility, and improved service quality. Source
Alkira offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, rapid deployment (POC in 4 hours, production in 8 weeks), and dedicated training resources for efficient onboarding. Source
Customers praise Alkira's intuitive drag-and-drop interface, rapid deployment, and minimal resource requirements. One customer noted, "Design-to-POC-setup in about 4 hours." Source
Alkira offers a true abstraction layer, vendor-agnostic approach, drag-and-drop interface, global backbone-as-a-service, integrated security, and measurable ROI, differentiating it from competitors. Source
Alkira provides ease of use, rapid deployment, measurable ROI, vendor-agnostic flexibility, integrated security, global connectivity, and comprehensive visibility, making it a preferred choice for enterprises. Source
Users need to provide details about the virtual SD-WAN device, BGP ASN, VRF (VPN id), and cloud init file. Alkira supports BYOL licensing and any supported software versions for Cisco SD-WAN devices. Source
Alkira provides comprehensive training resources, technical documentation, solution briefs, whitepapers, and a dedicated wiki for customer support. Source
Establishing the Control Plane for Cloud Connectivity
Read the AnnouncementCisco SD-WAN (formerly Viptela) is a leading SD-WAN solution used by many enterprise customers. Alkira supports Cisco SD-WAN integration powered by Viptela and Meraki and allows customers to use this feature to extend their SD-WAN to any public cloud by leveraging the Alkira CXP. This blog is going to be focused on the Cisco SD-WAN powered by Viptela.
Today SD-WAN connectivity to the cloud typically involves creating a transit VPC in a CSP environment, building connectivity to CSP transit networking construct, and connecting spoke VPCs.
Figure 1: Native SD-WAN Connectivity to Cloud
Alkira has designed the integration that seamlessly onboards Cisco SD-WAN virtual appliances inside the Alkira Cloud Exchange Point® (CXP) in just a few clicks. Once the virtual appliances are onboarded, Cisco SD-WAN is automatically extended to the public cloud environments attached to the Alkira Cloud Area Networking.
As part of the integration, Alkira completely automates the deployment, maintenance, and life cycle of the Cisco SD-WAN virtual appliances, yet allowing enterprises to maintain full administrative control through Cisco vManage, just like other physical and virtual CPE (customer-premises equipment) devices in their SD-WAN network.
The distributed nature of SD-WAN networks and the cloud workloads allows Cisco SD-WAN to peer with Alkira Cloud Area Networking in multiple geographically distributed locations. This is achieved by regionalizing the deployment of Cisco SD-WAN virtual appliances in multiple hub Alkira Cloud Exchange Points. Route exchange between the SD-WAN and the cloud network occurs at these hub locations. Enterprises can leverage Alkira intent-based traffic policy controls to influence routing information exchange between the two environments. Such controls allow optimizing the path between on-premises sites in the SD-WAN fabric and the workloads in the cloud network.
Figure 2: Alkira SD-WAN Connectivity
Cisco SD-WAN business-intent overlays offer effective traffic segmentation, seamlessly integrated with Alkira’s cloud network segmentation capabilities, effectively creating an end-to-end segmented environment across LAN, WAN, and cloud. Since the majority of security attacks originate from within the enterprise environment, rather than infiltrate through the external perimeter security, the joint end-to-end segmentation solution compartmentalizes resources and prevents lateral movement that minimizes the attack surface.
Figure 3: Adding SD-WAN Connector on Alkira CXP
As part of the configuration on the Alkira CXP, the user needs to select the Cisco SD-WAN connection and then fill in the information about the virtual SD-WAN device and then provision.
Figure 4: SD-WAN Configuration
The configuration includes adding the cloud init file which includes information about the SD-WAN VNF ids. The device could be on any supported software versions.
The user also needs to input information about the BGP ASN and VRF (VPN id) as well. As mentioned earlier the segmentation from the SD-WAN side can be extended by mapping the VRF to a segment. If communication to other on-prem connectors or internet access is required, those options can also be selected. Once all the required info is provided then the user can provision the SD-WAN connection.
NOTE: Alkira only supports BYOL license for Cisco SD-WAN powered by Viptela.
Figure 5: Provisioned SD-WAN connectors
