NEC Deploys Open Source-Based SD-WAN, Security Platform at Malaysian University

The Japanese IT services provider NEC completed a trial of its open source-based SD-WAN Security Common Platform at the University of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This was the company’s first proof of concept (PoC) using the platform. The university required a service that could connect its several campuses and enforce security policy at each site. It also wanted to decrease costs and provide centralized, automated network management and control. NEC deployed 15 hardware pieces, including laptop clients, to connect the school’s four campuses. Nine devices were ultimately connected to the SD-WAN controller, according to NEC. During the trial, NEC was able to test a total of eight use cases for the university. This included visualization and monitoring of end-to-end network traffic in multi-vendor environments, dynamic route optimization based on application requirements, and central configuration of network switches across the campuses to apply new security measures. In addition to configuring legacy switches and routers, the Japanese provider leveraged its SD-WAN controller to enable a single window to show network statistics and centralize the university’s security management.