Versa Networks SD WAN & SASE Cybersecurity Solutions

Versa Networks SD WAN and SASE Solution: Comparisons, Review, Benefits, Use Cases, Pros & Cons

Author: Netify Research Team

If you have questions about Versa Networks and how their capability is aligned to your needs, email the Netify research team. UK: uk@netify.co.uk North America: northamerica@netify.com

(Please use the UK email for ROW - Rest of the World - questions or inquiries)

Netify Review

The Versa Networks offering is a comprehensive solution, combining SD WAN and SASE into one platform. The solution is scalable, with Versa Titan suited for Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) requiring high-level security features on a simple platform that can be DIY managed, and Versa Classic, which is more granular and suited to global corporations. The solution is typically used for between 1 and 500 sites but can be scaled to over 1000 sites with no performance issues. Versa Networks are an all-around company that offers flexible solutions that cater to a wide range of business sizes and are ideal for SMEs.

About Versa Networks

Versa Networks is an SD WAN and SASE vendor founded in 2012. They are headquartered in San Jose, CA, North America and focus on SASE, SD WAN, cloud and analytics.

Versa’s solution is deployed across over 1000 enterprise customers with 150,000 software licenses sold globally. Still, despite their global success, the company remains privately held, with funding from Mayfield, Verizon Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Artis Ventures, Princeville Global Fund, Comcast Ventures, RPS Ventures and Liberty Global Ventures. In 2022 Versa Networks secured $120M in addtional funding durning a pre-IPO funding round including accounts and funidng fromm BlackRock as well as funding from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). This funing will assist Versa Networks in securing its position within as a leader within the SASE market.

What is the Versa Networks SD WAN Solution?

Versa offers their clients integrated SD WAN and SASE security services on a cloud-native platform, with managed and DIY service options. The solution comes in two forms: Versa Classic, a feature-rich solution offered via Managed Service Providers (MSPs) popular with large global enterprises; and Versa Titan, a simplified and compacted version which is more accessible to self-manage (DIY) and is more popular with SMEs. Versa’s SD WAN solution aims to provide middle-mile services across global networks.

Their comprehensive solutions are designed to enable migration and support of multi-cloud connectivity, allowing branch offices to connect to multiple public and private clouds such as AWS and Azure, and SaaS services such as Salesforce, Office 365, RingCentral and many more.

Versa also offers typical SD WAN carrier-grade features such as IP address management, Denial of Service (DoS), Intrusion Protection System (IPS), Intrusion Detection System (IDS), and antivirus and malware software.

Finally, the Versa VOS (Versa Operating System) is a cloud-native, multi-tenant and multi-service software stack. The solution has networking and security functions and can be used to design network architectures and managed services. For SD WAN, Versa VOS includes auto IPsec VPN, layer-7 application SLA profiles and enforcement, application intelligent traffic steering and flexible topologies, which include: hub & spoke, spoke-hub-hub-spoke, full-mesh, partial-mesh and custom architectures. For security, the VOS has capabilities for NGFW, stateful firewall, SSL inspection, NG-IPS and antivirus, malware and ransomware detection and protection. Routing capabilities include policy-based routing, VRRP, IPv4/IPv6 static and dynamic routing (OSPF, BGPMP-BGP), multicast (PIM-SM, PIM-SSM and IGMP), QoS, hierarchical QoS, DSCP marketing, traffic classification and policy creation.  

Further features include: 

Configuration-Based Key Features:

• Zero-Touch Configuration: Removes the need for an IT team. Suitable for companies with remote locations. 
• Split Tunnel: The SD WAN solution features split tunnelling. Traffic can be diverted via a VPN through a direct branch-to-branch overlay to reach the corporate office, whilst at the same time, other traffic is sent directly to the internet or cloud. 
• Multipath Traffic Steering: Steering traffic in cloud applications in the cloud exchange between local - access and hub sites. 
• Versa Director: Supports virtualization using VMware and integrates into AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Dell. 
• Optional Wi-Fi and Long-Term Evolution (LTE): Hardware offering includes optional Wi-Fi and LTE, which many other vendors do not support. This hardware helps to prevent disruption of network connections and application access. 
• Cloud-Management: Good for DIY-managed solutions, Versa Titan, can be managed via a desktop or the Titan Mobile App. 

Security-Based Key Features:

• Network Address Translation (NAT): Translates all private IP addresses within the local branch or data centre into a single public IP address. Offers security when communicating via the internet. 
• Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW): Approves or denies traffic based on state, port and protocol and blocks threats such as advanced malware and application-layer attacks. It can also filter traffic based on administrator-defined rules. 
• Stateful Firewall: Closely monitors traffic streams and can integrate encryption or tunnels and identify TCP connection stages, packet state and other critical status updates. 
• SASE: See, What is the Versa SASE Security Solution?

Performance-Based Key Features:

• Versa SLA Monitoring: Allows clients to apply contextualized user experience criteria, which allows traffic to be dynamically steered across paths. Dynamic traffic steering ensures high performance and reliability for all business applications and workloads. 
• Direct Cloud Access (DCA): Optimizes access to popular cloud sites such as AWS and Azure. 
• DIY Management: Versa’s Titan network operations centre (NOC) is always available to clients and provides management help via live chat or telephone.

What is the Versa Networks SASE security solution?

Versa’s solution is delivered on-premises, via the cloud or a blend of both. The Versa SASE solution comprises Appliances, Endpoints, Cloud gateways, Management and Control. The control and management of the Versa SASE solution are deployed using Versa Director, Versa Analytics, Versa Titan and Versa Concerto. Remote users can access network features via the Versa Secure Access Client, whereas users on-premises access cloud-native cloud service gateway appliances. Versa Cloud Gateways run Versa Operating System multi-tenant software.

The Versa SASE solution includes the following:

• Secure Web Gateway (SWG): Enables secure Internet access to on-premises and remote users, including those who work from home and travel. The solution includes malware protection, URL Filtering, Domain Name System (DNS), multi-factor authentication, Next Generation Firewall (NGFW), URL traffic management with integrated encrypted web-traffic analysis for HTTPS flows and DNS Proxy, Intrusion Protection System (IPS), SSL-TLS Proxy, application identification and control and traffic identification which uses group and user identification, Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and device fingerprinting. Clients can monitor and control their SWG solution from the Versa Networks portal. 
• Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB): CASB is designed to protect data in transit and the cloud and is offered as a service for both provider-based and on-premises architectures. Clients gain visibility and control over user activities and sensitive data with centralized management for policy and governance. Versa CASB is deployed via a network of PoPs, allowing clients to access the nearest location for a high-performance on-ramp to application and network access to cloud infrastructure. 
• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Versa Secure Access (VSA) offers private connectivity and SASE for remote workers. It does this by providing cloud-delivered ZTNA, which creates a secure connection between users and applications in public and private clouds. VSA extends ZTNA by implementing application and network visibility, application segmentation, application and role-based control, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and private, encrypted connectivity to the network. Integrated DDoS, application firewall and stateful firewall are included, and the solution does not require any CPE hardware. 
• Remote Browser Isolation (RBI): RBI hosts a user’s browser activity in a remote server on-premises or the cloud, as opposed to the client’s device, to protect against security threats from the web. Versa RBI can be deployed as a primary security measure to render all sites with added filtering as necessary or as a feature in a web proxy to render sites. 
• Next-Generation Firewall as a Service (NGFWaaS): NGFWaaS offers clients decryption capabilities with macro and micro-segmentation and multi-tenancy protection. The solution includes a stateful firewall, URL categorization and filtering, IDS/IPS, antivirus, IP filtering, application visibility and NGFW. 
• Analytics: Versa SASE includes real-time analytics accessible via a centralized portal offering visibility into users, applications, workloads, web servers, security policy violations and databases, with accurate geolocation for each workload. 
• Routing: Versa SASE offers carrier-grade routing support to optimize the performance of advanced and standard routing protocols, including Static, BGP, OSPF, RIP, PIM, IGMP, Policy-Based Routing (PBR), VRRP and MP-BGP which includes MPLS-based L3VPN, MPLS-based EVPN and VXLAN-based EVPN. Support is also available for IPv6 for WAN and LAN, Virtual Routing Forwarding (VRF), MPLS over IPsec, and MPLS over GRE. Bi-Directional-Forwarding (BFD) can monitor control pane health checks and sub-second failover convergence.

How does Versa Networks access cloud vendors?

Versa offers access to Cloud Vendors through globally distributed Versa Cloud Gateways, allowing cloud access from anywhere worldwide. Versa also benefits from strong partnerships with Microsoft Azure (Branch IPsec Connectivity partner), Dell Technologies, AWS and Google Cloud.

Does Versa Networks offer WAN acceleration and optimization?

Versa’s offering provides WAN acceleration and optimization via the following: 

WAN Optimization: 

• IDS/IPS: Improved network security through Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems to identify threats in network traffic flow by analyzing packets. 
• Routing: Identification of “best fit” traffic steering through an automated solution to optimize throughput and minimize latency. 
• LTE Backhaul: Allows traffic to be diverted over 5G if a backhaul occurs - helps to prevent blackouts and brownouts. 
• Unified Threat Management: Provides multiple security features in one software bundle, designed to improve the efficiency of security features. 
• Sub-second packet steering: Improves packet processing speeds. 
• Packet Loss Reduction Through Forward Error Correction (FEC): Reduces errors in data transmission. 
• Packet Replication
• Poor Performing Link Avoidance

Application Acceleration: 

• Multi-Cloud Services: Uses Cloud Smart SD WAN to ensure a secure and uninterrupted connection to multiple cloud services. 
• Versa Link Score Path Selection: A MOS-style engine provides a composite score through active/passive monitoring and is used for all traffic flows
• Application Intent: SaaS services and intelligent multi-cloud routing mapped to user experience.

How does Versa Networks support remote users?

The Versa Secure Access solution supports remote users. Mobile and remote users can access Versa cloud gateways via the Versa Secure Access Client, which allows them to connect to enterprise applications via the public and private cloud.

What is the Versa Networks managed, co-managed and DIY services solution?

The Versa managed service solution consists of the appliance and virtual customer premises equipment (vCPE), which are all procured through a partner channel. The Versa managed service solution applies multi-cloud application performance at a reduced cost via the implementation of CapEx or OpEx. Versa offers DIY and Fully Managed SD WAN via managed service provider partners.

What Reporting and Management is available via the Versa Networks Portal?

Versa Networks management portal, Versa Director, is a single-pane management platform. This management platform provides analytical data from export reports, network security, application usage and logs as events that can be retrieved, filtered and analyzed to resolve network issues more efficiently and reduce downtime.

What is the Versa Networks SLA?

Path performance is monitored by branch devices to ensure that the Versa SLA is upheld.