A discernment of round-robin vs SD-WAN load-balancing performance for campus area network

Abstract

Efficient load balancing is crucial for optimizing network performance and ensuring seamless connectivity in modern campus area networks (CANs). With the proliferation of data-intensive applications and the increasing reliance on cloud-based services, organizations are seeking effective load-balancing solutions to distribute network traffic evenly across available resources. The continuous improvement of devices, tools, and techniques to cater a large amount of network traffic, started to be employed on different campuses. Understanding the best approach to maximize the utilization of the network resources is crucial in order to stabilize and maintain the network. The study aims to discern the round-robin and software defined-wide area network (SD-WAN) techniques based on defined metrics and conducted with a predefined payload for commonly used application conditions. The analysis shows that SD-WAN delivers a much superior performance than round-robin based on the criteria. The local area network (LAN) test shows difference between the two types of technology for the three given metrics. The WAN test shows that the round-robin has higher packet loss, latency, and jitter than the SD-WAN technology. While round-robin may suffice for small-scale deployments with relatively homogeneous traffic patterns, SD-WAN offers more sophisticated capabilities for larger CANs with diverse application workloads and distributed locations.