Infrastructure › SD-WAN & WAN Edge
Pillar 01 · WAN Edge

Resilient WAN, designed on purpose.

Dual-transport SD-WAN fabrics with application-aware routing and cellular failover. We replace MPLS with architectures that are faster, cheaper, and survive a single-carrier outage without a hiccup.

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99.98%
target uptime with dual-transport + 5G cellular failover
3
SD-WAN platforms we design on — Meraki, Fortinet, Cisco Catalyst
14 wk
reference timeline · 120-site phased rollout with rollback
SD-WAN · Overlay
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN hub-and-spoke reference architecture
The Problem

Every branch is a single point of failure until your WAN is resilient.

Legacy MPLS is expensive, slow to provision, and locks you into a single carrier. Pure-Internet WANs are brittle without active-active failover and application-aware routing. Either way, a fiber cut or a carrier-side outage takes a site off the air — and in retail, healthcare, or manufacturing, that's revenue, compliance, or physical-safety risk.

The modern answer is a dual-transport SD-WAN fabric: fiber + cable + 5G cellular working in parallel, with application-aware path selection that routes VoIP through the low-latency circuit and bulk data through the cheapest pipe — while failing over in under 500ms when a link degrades.

Netcom designs these fabrics on three platforms — Meraki MX for cloud-managed mid-market, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN for security-integrated deployments, and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN for enterprise-scale topologies. We pick the platform based on your environment and operating model, not what we have a quota on.

Reference Architectures

Three tiers. Specific vendors. Named models.

Each tier is a production-tested architecture with a real BOM. Use the tabs to match your scale.

SMB SD-WAN reference architecture: Meraki MX with Cradlepoint cellular backup and auto-VPN overlay
SMB · 1 HQ + 1–20 branches

Meraki MX with Cradlepoint cellular backup

Cloud-managed SD-WAN with auto-VPN mesh between sites. Verizon 5G cellular failover at every branch via Cradlepoint S700. Single-pane management in Meraki Dashboard; zero-touch provisioning (boxes ship pre-configured, plug in and online). Best fit for organizations that want an opinionated cloud-managed stack without a dedicated network engineer on staff.

RoleVendor & ModelNotesLicense
HQ SD-WAN hubCisco Meraki MX250NGFW · IDS/IPS · AMP · 15 Gbps threat-inspectedAdvanced Security
Branch SD-WANCisco Meraki MX67 / MX75Cloud-managed · auto-VPN mesh · app routingAdvanced Security
Core switchMeraki MS355-24X2Stackable · 10G uplinks · mGbE accessEnterprise
Access switchMeraki MS125-24PPoE+ · 24-port · supports APs + phonesEnterprise
WirelessMeraki MR46 · MR36Wi-Fi 6 · cloud-managed · 3×3 radio · multi-SSIDEnterprise
Cellular failoverCradlepoint S7005G modem · dual-SIM · Verizon business primaryNetCloud Essentials
Vendor Fit

Which platform for which use case.

The recommendation Netcom makes depends on scale, security posture, operating model, and existing vendor investment. Here's how we think about it.

Use casePrimaryAlternates
Retail chain · 50–500 sites · centralized policy Meraki MX Fortinet Secure SD-WAN
Mid-market with strict security posture (PCI, regulated) Fortinet Secure SD-WAN Palo Alto Prisma SD-WAN, Cisco Catalyst
Enterprise · complex topology · Cisco estate Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Fortinet for simpler branches
Industrial / IoT branches · ruggedized Cradlepoint E-Series Peplink MAX
Mobile / pop-up / events · SpeedFusion bonding Peplink SpeedFusion Cradlepoint COR IBR
Healthcare · HIPAA · strict change control Cisco or Fortinet Meraki MX with HIPAA BAA
Mission-critical primary-5G cellular Cradlepoint E3000 Peplink BR2 Pro 5G
Construction · trailer / temporary site Peplink BR1 Pro 5G Cradlepoint S700, InHand IR315

What Netcom delivers

  • SD-WAN architecture design with per-site topology documents
  • Carrier-diverse circuit procurement (AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Comcast Business, Spectrum)
  • Failover SLA target definition and validation testing
  • BOM + phased rollout plan with rollback at every stage
  • Staged configuration, pre-shipment to sites, on-site cutover
  • Cutover windows typically 2–4 hours per site, after-hours
  • 90-day post-deployment optimization + traffic analysis
  • Optional managed service: 24/7 monitoring via our NOC partner with Netcom as your named engineer, change management, quarterly review

Our design process

  • 30-day discovery: existing WAN audit, circuit inventory, app traffic analysis
  • Carrier landscape review per site (what's physically available)
  • Application criticality map — voice, video, SaaS, bulk data
  • Failover SLA per app class (RTO/RPO)
  • Security posture requirements (PCI, HIPAA, CMMC, SOC 2)
  • Platform recommendation with pro/con analysis, peer-reviewed
  • BOM, deployment sequence, cutover plan, acceptance criteria
  • Phased rollout with first site as a reference for all subsequent
Applied In Industries

Where SD-WAN shows up in real deployments.

Multi-site connectivity is SD-WAN's home turf. These are the verticals where dual-transport + cellular failover earns its budget line.

Retail

120-store Meraki-native fleet with Cradlepoint failover at every location.

Hospitality

Per-property dual-ISP with event-burst capacity for ballrooms and conference days.

Government

Multi-facility SD-WAN with CJIS-aligned tunnels and cooperative-contract procurement.

Industrial

Multi-plant topologies with IT/OT VRF separation and ruggedized branch edge.

Pairs naturally with

Security & Firewall

NGFW cluster at the SD-WAN hub, segmentation policy, SASE for remote users.

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Cellular Networking

5G primary, LTE failover, SIM provisioning, plan optimization.

Explore →

Managed Services

24/7 monitoring of the SD-WAN overlay via our NOC partner, change tickets, quarterly reviews.

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Time to rethink the WAN?

Send us your existing circuit inventory and a rough site list. Within 10 business days you'll get a design memo with a recommended platform, a phased rollout plan, and directional pricing.

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