Palo Alto Networks has expanded its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) by integrating Prisma SD-WAN with AWS Cloud WAN using the newly introduced Tunnel-less Connect solution.

Through this integration, enterprises operating in a distributed environment with offices in multiple locations can leverage our next-generation Prisma SD-WAN solution and AWS’s global network to connect their on-premises branch and data center sites seamlessly and securely to AWS workloads.

Cloud Adoption Needs a Next-Generation SD-WAN

Branch offices are fundamentally shifting. Hybrid work environments and the ubiquitous adoption of cloud and collaboration apps have accelerated branch transformation. An increase in cloud and SaaS applications for collaboration and productivity has led 95% of organizations to use public cloud services with plans to move almost 50% of business-critical applications to the cloud in the next 36 months.

Enterprises are also transforming operations to a distributed environment comprised of branch offices located in multiple locations and a hybrid workforce. Legacy SD-WAN approaches that backhaul application traffic through a data center limit direct-to-app access, resulting in poor user experience and limited application resiliency.

Palo Alto Networks takes a fundamentally different approach, with a SASE solution encompassing next-generation SD-WAN for the “branch of the future.”

The branch of the future includes an app-defined fabric that directly connects branch users to apps hosted in data centers, cloud, SaaS, or the internet, using application-based policy models. Prisma SD-WAN provides Layer 7-based intelligent traffic engineering, prioritization, and load balancing, along with application-level service level agreements (SLAs) that deliver the best user experience and best-in-class application availability capabilities for customers.

Seamless Branch to Cloud Connectivity Saves Time and Reduces Costs

Prisma SD-WAN’s integration with AWS Cloud WAN further integrates cloud resources into the IT architecture without compromise, while simplifying network management, improving performance and visibility, and reducing cost. This integration delivers operational efficiency and enables your organization to be more agile as you move to the cloud.

Customers can now leverage Tunnel-less Connect with AWS’s global network to connect their on-premises branch and data center sites to AWS cloud seamlessly. With this capability, the Prisma SD-WAN virtual form-factor ION devices (vION) natively peer with Cloud WAN using Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), no longer requiring specialized tunneling protocols.

The Prisma SD-WAN and AWS Cloud WAN integration also enables enterprises to more easily extend their SD-WAN in the AWS cloud to use the high bandwidth AWS global network for branch-to-branch and branch-to-virtual private cloud (VPC) connectivity. This connectivity is facilitated through native BGP support between vION data center sites in the VPC with Cloud WAN.

Figure 1: Prisma SD-WAN integration with AWS Cloud WAN

With Prisma SD-WAN with AWS Cloud WAN integration, Palo Alto Networks customers will benefit from:

• A simple and scalable way to build a global and high-performance SD-WAN using the AWS global network as a middle-mile transport network for high-performance, secure connectivity across sites.
• Native integration with AWS Cloud WAN using Tunnel-less Connect, resulting in lower packet overhead and better throughput efficiency.
• Centralized management for AWS cloud connectivity through a single cloud management user interface (UI), making WAN changes simple and flexible.
• Greater visibility into network changes, events, and telemetry data with a consolidated view of all sites and connections between AWS and on-premises locations, delivering a high-quality user experience.

The Prisma SD-WAN integration with AWS Cloud WAN using Tunnel-less Connect is now available for all customers with access to Prisma SD-WAN vIONs and subscriptions.

Customers can begin to leverage Prisma SD-WAN and AWS’s global network to connect their on-premises branch and data center sites seamlessly and securely to AWS workloads.

To learn more about the Prisma SD-WAN and AWS Cloud WAN integration, check out our new AWS Cloud WAN integration guide.