SD-WAN: Verizon Business Software-Defined WAN With Managed, Co-Managed and DIY Options

Verizon Business SD-WAN overlays one logical WAN across every underlying transport — Fios Business Internet, 5G Business Internet, Business Ethernet, MPLS IP VPN and third-party broadband — with application-aware routing, dynamic path selection and zero-touch provisioning. Three delivery models cover every operating preference: fully managed on Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (Viptela), co-managed on Versa Networks, and DIY on VMware VeloCloud.

Every SD-WAN fabric evolves into SASE by attaching cloud-delivered security at the edge. Verizon Business operates FCC-licensed transport, with NIST Cybersecurity Framework alignment across the managed SD-WAN stack. Every site under a Verizon Business account joins the same SD-WAN fabric.

Design My SD-WAN Managed Network Overview

Verizon Business SD-WAN dashboard with application-aware routing across Fios, 5G and MPLS paths with real-time path quality metrics

Managed SD-WAN on Cisco Catalyst (Viptela)

Fully managed SD-WAN. Verizon Business owns the orchestrator, pushes policy, upgrades firmware and runs a 24/7 NOC for the entire SD-WAN fabric. The customer interacts through the Verizon Business login with change requests. Platform: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (formerly Viptela) for enterprises with standardised application policy and limited in-house SD-WAN engineering.

Co-Managed SD-WAN on Versa Networks

Dual-control SD-WAN. Verizon Business runs the fabric, transport and shared infrastructure; the customer drives application policy and segment rules. Platform: Versa Networks. Suited to regulated industries with dedicated network teams that need direct policy authority without running the platform layer.

DIY SD-WAN on VMware VeloCloud

Customer-owned SD-WAN. The customer runs the orchestrator and writes policy; Verizon Business provides only transport (Fios, 5G, Ethernet, MPLS). Platform: VMware VeloCloud. Preferred by cloud-native and service-provider customers with deep SD-WAN skills in-house.

Zero-Touch Provisioning on Every Model

Every SD-WAN edge ships pre-registered to the customer orchestrator. Plug in power and WAN, the edge calls home, pulls policy and joins the fabric — no on-site engineer. Zero-touch provisioning typical deployment is 15 minutes from power-on to production traffic for a new branch on the Verizon Business account.

Offering	Management	Platform	Hub Needed	Use Case
Managed SD-WAN	Verizon 24/7 NOC	Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (Viptela)	Verizon-hosted hubs	Standard enterprise, limited in-house SD-WAN skills
Co-Managed SD-WAN	Verizon fabric + customer policy	Versa Networks	Verizon-hosted Versa hubs	Regulated, dedicated network team needs policy control
DIY SD-WAN	Customer orchestrator	VMware VeloCloud	Customer-hosted or cloud gateway	Cloud-native, SD-WAN engineering in-house
SD-WAN + MPLS Hybrid	Verizon managed	Cisco / Versa	Verizon Private IP MPLS hub	Latency-sensitive traffic on MPLS, internet on SD-WAN
SD-WAN + SASE	Verizon managed	Cisco Umbrella / Versa SASE / VMware	Cloud-delivered security PoP	Remote-first, zero-trust-driven enterprise

Each SD-WAN offering is priced per site per month plus the transport underlying each path. The Verizon Business account consolidates transport, edge and SD-WAN management fee on one invoice.

Dynamic Path Selection on SD-WAN

Every SD-WAN edge sends active probes across every configured transport once per second, measuring one-way latency, packet loss and jitter. The SD-WAN controller applies the customer application-steering policy: voice and video prefer lowest jitter, Salesforce and Microsoft 365 prefer lowest loss, file transfers prefer highest throughput. A backhoe cut on Fios Business Internet triggers SD-WAN reroute to 5G Business Internet within 500 milliseconds — fast enough to hold an active voice call.

The steering rules are visible, editable and auditable inside the Verizon Business login or the Cisco vManage / Versa Director / VeloCloud Orchestrator depending on SD-WAN platform.

SD-WAN dynamic path selection with probes measuring latency, loss, jitter per second and real-time flow steering across Fios, 5G, MPLS

Secure Direct-to-Cloud Breakout

Legacy MPLS hair-pinned every cloud packet through the central data centre, adding 30–80 ms of latency. SD-WAN breaks SaaS traffic out locally from the branch to AWS, Azure, Microsoft 365 and Salesforce. The SD-WAN edge enforces IPsec or DTLS, inspects traffic at the branch when SASE is attached, and sends only sanctioned SaaS traffic to the local internet path.

Verizon Business Secure Cloud Interconnect extends SD-WAN direct-to-cloud with private circuits into AWS, Azure and GCP regions for regulated workloads.

Zero-Touch Provisioning for Every Branch

Opening a new branch used to mean shipping an engineer. With SD-WAN, the branch receives a pre-registered edge appliance. Power and WAN are connected; the SD-WAN edge phones home to the orchestrator, pulls the latest policy and joins the fabric in 15 minutes. NIST CSF identity and access controls apply from the first packet: the edge authenticates to the fabric before any user traffic is allowed.

Every SD-WAN edge on a Verizon Business account reports status in the same portal used for VoIP phone systems and wireless — no separate SD-WAN console needed for day-to-day checks.

SD-WAN zero-touch provisioning branch activation in 15 minutes with pre-registered edge appliance and automatic orchestrator handshake

SD-WAN Mechanics

SD-WAN overlays one logical WAN across Fios, 5G, Ethernet and MPLS underlays.
Probes measure loss, latency and jitter once per second; flows move across paths in 500 ms.
Managed (Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN / Viptela), Co-Managed (Versa) and DIY (VeloCloud) platforms.
Zero-touch provisioning activates a new branch in 15 minutes with no on-site engineer.
SD-WAN evolves into SASE via cloud-delivered security (Umbrella, Versa SASE, VMware CWS).

SD-WAN for Retail Chains

Multi-branch retail chains run SD-WAN with Fios Business Internet primary and 5G Business Internet backup at every store. POS, loyalty SaaS and voice fail over together.

SD-WAN for Healthcare

Healthcare providers run Co-Managed SD-WAN on Versa for PHI segmentation. EHR traffic rides Ethernet Private Line or MPLS; non-clinical SaaS breaks out locally.

SD-WAN for Financial Services

Banks and brokers run Managed SD-WAN on Cisco with MPLS underlay for transaction traffic and internet for SaaS. SASE attach provides Zero Trust Network Access for remote users.

Verizon Business SD-WAN encrypts every tunnel with AES-256 under IPsec or DTLS, aligned to NIST CSF and SOC 2 Type II. For regulated workloads, pair SD-WAN with Verizon MPLS IP VPN for end-to-end private transport.

What is Verizon Business SD-WAN?

A software-defined WAN overlay across Fios, 5G, Ethernet and MPLS transports with application-aware routing and zero-touch branch activation.

What SD-WAN platforms does Verizon Business support?

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (Viptela) for managed, Versa Networks for co-managed, and VMware VeloCloud for DIY.

How does SD-WAN choose the best path?

Active probes measure loss, latency and jitter per second; the SD-WAN controller steers each flow to the path matching the application policy in under 500 ms.

Does SD-WAN replace MPLS?

Not always. Many SD-WAN designs run on top of MPLS for latency-sensitive traffic; some replace MPLS entirely with dual internet circuits.

Is SD-WAN SASE-ready?

Yes. SD-WAN attaches cloud-delivered security (SWG, CASB, ZTNA, FWaaS) for a SASE evolution without rip-and-replace.

Fios Business Internet

Symmetric fiber underlay beneath SD-WAN — up to 2 Gbps with 99.99% uptime.

5G Business Internet

Wireless diverse-path backup transport for SD-WAN with 10-year price lock.

Ethernet Services

E-Line and E-LAN Ethernet underlays for hub-and-spoke SD-WAN to regional data centres.

Private Network

Verizon MPLS IP VPN as latency-sensitive underlay beneath SD-WAN.

International Connectivity

Verizon Global IP backbone extends SD-WAN to 150+ countries.

Business Wireless Plans

Unlimited 5G plans for mobile users under the same Verizon Business account.

VoIP Phone Systems

Cloud voice on SD-WAN with QoS marking and jitter-based path steering.

Ready to Design Your SD-WAN?

A Verizon Business SD-WAN architect maps your branch footprint, application-steering policy and MPLS-versus-internet preference, then prices Managed, Co-Managed and DIY SD-WAN across the full Verizon Business account.

Speak to an SD-WAN Architect