We’re breaking down how AI may impression enterprise networks in data-driven deep dives. Utilizing TeleGeography’s WAN Price Benchmark—a custom-made platform that makes it simple to mannequin and observe your WAN community prices—we’re modeling potential real-life community setups and configurations for AI.
In these posts, we’re evaluating the whole price of possession (TCO) of a legacy MPLS community—one that also represents many multinationals’ WANs in 2025—to varied hybrid or internet-first alternate options designed to accommodate modifications introduced by AI and cloud. Whereas our argument for transferring previous MPLS-centered WANs was traditionally largely about price, it’s now way more about getting the community proper sized for the approaching AI-driven bandwidth crunch, resiliency, app-specific coverage and efficiency, and full utilization of cloud.
That is the final submit of this sequence. Meet up with the primary three posts:
Hub and Spoke WAN
Earlier analyses on this sequence explored tiered hybrid fashions and internet-first methods, each of which leverage the flexibleness and cost-effectiveness of web connectivity, managed and secured by an SD-WAN overlay. However on this submit, we study essentially the most radical revision but: the Hub and Spoke WAN.
The Hub and Spoke WAN mannequin represents a big problem to a elementary assumption of recent networking: the necessity for ubiquitous any-to-any connectivity. As an alternative of a meshed personal community, similar to MPLS, or a versatile overlay, like SD-WAN, this structure includes creating a non-public, “carrier-like” community the place department workplaces (“spokes”) are immediately tethered to regional information facilities (“hubs”).
Adopting such a “carrier-like” community represents greater than a technological shift; it alerts a elementary transformation within the enterprise’s IT operational mannequin. The group transitions from being a passive shopper of a managed WAN service to an lively supervisor of its personal personal spine. This new position includes sourcing and managing a various set of parts for the spine and doubtlessly co-location services for the hubs themselves. This shifts the accountability for end-to-end community efficiency, routing integrity throughout the core, and long-term capability planning from the provider to the in-house IT crew. The choice, subsequently, can hinge as a lot on a corporation’s inside capabilities because it does on the technological deserves of the structure.
Modeling a Hub and Spoke WAN
These are the modifications we applied at every WAN website tier to create such a community:
- DCs— We added a spine of enormous bandwidth wavelengths between the info facilities.
- All Tiers—One DIA port of an analogous pace to the unique MPLS, together with an EoMPLS personal line of an analogous pace again to the closest regional information heart. We included native entry to all DIA websites, excluding these in america, Canada, and Western Europe.
- We stored MPLS for the Chinese language websites for personal connectivity at these websites, somewhat than the DIA (we nonetheless added personal strains for these websites).
- As a result of the workplaces have a direct personal connection, there is no such thing as a have to undertake SD-WAN.
So why would an enterprise forgo SD-WAN, the market’s main know-how pattern? The reply lies in what this structure prioritizes as an alternative of final flexibility.
As a result of all personal site visitors from a spoke has a single, deterministic vacation spot—its designated hub—the advanced, dynamic path choice and coverage enforcement of SD-WAN turns into pointless. This architectural alternative has profound implications for each price and operational complexity. With essential company site visitors to the info heart going via personal strains, safety will also be a lot easier than in a hybrid or internet-first WAN structure.
For a selected class of enterprise, the advantages of absolute site visitors isolation on personal strains, radically simplified routing logic, and enhanced management over the community core outweigh the benefits of a completely meshed, internet-centric design. This isn’t a legacy structure, however a contemporary, strategic alternative for organizations whose enterprise necessities demand safety and predictability above all else.
Common Whole Bandwidth per Website in Every Subregion—Twin MPLS WAN vs. Hub and Spoke WAN
Be aware: Every bar represents the common whole website bandwidth, together with a number of ports or underlay companies, throughout all websites within the listed subregion.
- The Hub and Spoke community is basically the identical bandwidth as the unique MPLS WAN. We did this to make the comparability as one-for-one as doable with an MPLS community and since bandwidth is much less of a difficulty in a P2P state of affairs the place site visitors is on a non-public community destined for the info heart.
- In some areas, the common bandwidth is barely down, whereas it was extra more likely to go up a bit in locations the place we swapped a decrease capability MPLS port with a barely bigger personal line.
- All P2P connections, besides these between information facilities, acquired an entry line.
Distribution of Whole Website Speeds—Hub and Spoke WAN
Be aware: Every part represents the share of whole website bandwidths that fall inside every bandwidth vary.
- Within the unique, we have been including collectively two identically sized MPLS ports. Right here we’re including collectively the DIA port and the EoMPLS line, that are often barely completely different speeds however very shut.
- Over half of the websites on this community have a complete website bandwidth of 200 Mbps or beneath.
- About 10% of websites have a complete website bandwidth above 1,000 Mbps.
Unique Twin MPLS and Hub and Spoke WAN Situation TCOs
Be aware: Every column represents the whole annual price of possession for that WAN situation, damaged out by product in every coloration part.
- Whereas the bandwidth is basically the identical, the Hub and Spoke community is extra reasonably priced, with the TCO reducing about 12% from $8.1m to $7.1m.
- This community is inherently safe (delicate company site visitors goes over personal strains not on shared infrastructure) and resilient (EPL over a meshed community) even when it lacks the power to share information between any two random workplaces on the community.
- Entry is almost all of the price of the community–57%–with the subsequent largest share going to the personal strains at 23%.
- There are not any extra SD-WAN prices, which retains the value down in comparison with different situations.
The Hub and Spoke mannequin analyzed right here is outlined by its deliberate omission of an SD-WAN overlay. As an alternative, the enterprise successfully builds its personal personal spine connecting key regional hubs, with all different websites connecting to this core. This can be a trendy, hybrid structure that blends personal and public connectivity with a transparent function for every, and is customized for AI, particularly as including incremental bandwidth to EoMPLS hyperlinks might be easy and cost-effective.
The Hub and Spoke mannequin’s readiness for AI is rooted in its centralized structure, which immediately addresses the distinctive site visitors patterns and information necessities of synthetic intelligence workloads. By centralizing compute and information in well-connected hubs, the Hub and Spoke mannequin creates an environment friendly and safe atmosphere that’s purpose-built for the calls for of large-scale AI mannequin coaching and inference.
Mannequin Your Personal WAN
You do not have to make costly commitments to learn the way a lot your WAN will price. TeleGeography’s WAN Price Benchmark platform allows you to mannequin your WAN community, strive completely different configurations, and get actual insights into how your funds might be impacted.
Some enterprises prioritize slicing prices, however we extra generally see enterprise clients use TeleGeography’s WAN Price Benchmark platform to arrange a extra resilient and higher performing, AI-ready community with out having to ask the c-suite for extra money. You may get extra particulars and a video tour right here.
WAN Managers: We Wish to Hear From You
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