Multi-Path Diversity: How Wireless and LEO Improve Network Resiliency

This blog is part of the Multi-Path Network Playbook series.

Enterprise networks have more connectivity options than ever, but more connections don’t always make a network more resilient. When considering connectivity options, businesses can deploy fiber, cable, 4G/5G wireless, and satellite services across their locations. But if these connectivity approaches rely upon the same underlying infrastructure, one single disruption can still take the entire site down.

Multi-path diversity addresses this risk by giving network traffic different ways to reach a location. The availability of 4G/5G wireless and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity gives enterprises new options for creating those diverse paths.

Why Path Diversity Matters

Network availability is critical for today’s businesses. Organizations depend on cloud applications and many connected systems for everyday work and operations. For instance, retail stores need reliable connectivity to process transactions, and employees need it to work in offices or remotely to use applications and collaborate with coworkers and customers.

Outages affect revenue, employee productivity, customer experience, and business operations. As businesses become more dependent on cloud applications, digital transactions, and connected operations, network availability is no longer just an IT performance issue. Organizations with hundreds or thousands of locations must build resilient networks that won’t present connectivity concerns or operational risk. Enterprises often establish a second connection that offers redundancy, but diversity is different.

For instance, two broadband services could come from different providers but share local infrastructure, and a local disruption could negatively impact both terrestrial services. Path diversity looks at how connections reach the site, not just at the number of connections. That means combining different access technologies reduces the chances that one event will disrupt and take down every available path.

Wireless and LEO Create More Choices

Wireless technologies today offer enterprises an alternative to wired broadband. Technologies such as 4G/5G wireless are often deployed without waiting for a new service deployment. Wireless serves as a primary or secondary connection for enterprises, depending on coverage, performance requirements, and the needs of the specific location.

LEO satellite services provide another option for enterprises. The connection to the site doesn’t rely on the same local last-mile infrastructure such as fiber or cable, and it provides another way to reach locations when connectivity is disrupted, unavailable, or slow. How the technologies are used can vary by site, and LEO satellite connectivity exists alongside wired and wireless connections. Some sites may rely more heavily on wireless or satellite connectivity.

Wireless and LEO are valuable when used as complementary connectivity options. For instance, 4G/5G offers enterprises a flexible alternative to wired broadband, while LEO adds another access option that does not depend on the same local fiber or cable infrastructure and can extend connectivity to remote or underserved locations.

Combining these connectivity options helps enterprise customers:

• Increase network resiliency: Provide diverse connectivity paths that reduce dependence on a single access technology or local infrastructure.
• Extend geographic reach: Add connectivity options for remote or underserved locations where terrestrial choices might be limited.
• Improve business continuity: Create alternate paths that keep applications and operations connected when another connection is disrupted.
• Deploy connectivity faster: Use wireless or LEO when a new location is waiting for traditional broadband services.

Enterprises can select and combine transports based on availability, performance requirements, and the needs at each site. This approach gives enterprises more flexibility than applying the same connectivity options at every location.

Going Beyond Failover

Multi-path networking does more than traditional backup connectivity. Backup connectivity works when the primary connection fails, transitioning traffic to the secondary connectivity source.

With multi-path networking, enterprises have multiple transport options available for routing traffic. The routing decisions can be based on application requirements, network conditions, or business policies. Various applications place different demands on networks. For instance, a payment transaction and a video session require different connectivity to perform as expected.

These additional paths help businesses maintain network connectivity during an outage without leaving secondary connections idle the rest of the time. How traffic is distributed depends on the network architecture, but the goal is to make better use of available connectivity while maintaining an alternate route when problems do occur.

A Layered Approach to Resiliency

One Hughes customer, a nationwide electronics retailer, took this approach when it added Hughes Managed LEO at specific stores to complement existing wired and wireless connections. Instead of replacing the existing network, the retailer added LEO where another connectivity option would improve resiliency. Connectivity at the retailer’s locations supports point-of-sale transactions, inventory systems, software downloads, and customer support. The retailer improved uptime and reliability for critical systems and was able to activate connectivity faster at locations where terrestrial broadband was delayed.

The customer example also shows why multi-path diversity doesn’t require every location to have an identical combination of services. Different sites can use different transports based on availability, business requirements, and connectivity demands.

Managing Multiple Connectivity Paths

Hughes brings terrestrial broadband, 4G/5G wireless, and satellite connectivity, including LEO, together as part of a managed, multi-transport approach. Connectivity can be selected based on the requirements of specific locations and managed across different transport types rather than as separate networks. This model doesn’t require every location to use the same connectivity model.

Monitoring, traffic management, and failover can also help organizations better use those connections and respond when network conditions change. Hughes provides support across network planning, deployment, operations, and help desk services. For IT organizations supporting large, distributed environments, a managed approach reduces the need to coordinate multiple access providers and technologies independently.

Hughes Managed Services brings together wireline, wireless, and satellite connectivity to support the needs of individual locations. Explore Hughes Managed SD-WAN to intelligently enable network resiliency.