How a 20-Minute SD-WAN Review Prevented Thousands in SaaS Downtime
Last week’s support call perfectly illustrates why “technically correct” network configurations aren’t always business-ready. Here’s how a quick configuration review prevented major SaaS disruptions and saved our client from mounting productivity losses.
The Situation
The call came from an IT Manager dealing with a frustrating paradox: their monitoring showed 100% SD-WAN uptime, yet users couldn’t reliably use Zoom or Microsoft Teams. If you’ve managed enterprise networks, you know this disconnect between metrics and user experience often signals deeper issue.
The Root Cause Analysis
Our 20-minute review revealed a configuration that was syntactically perfect but strategically flawed. The setup included:
- Basic connectivity monitoring only – checking only if links were up/down
- SLA targets set at 50% packet loss – an incredibly high threshold for modern applications
- “Best quality” route selection – without proper metrics to define “quality”
The Hidden Problem
Here’s where it gets interesting: the network was experiencing 1-2% packet loss. Normally, this would trigger immediate action, but their 50% threshold meant monitoring never flagged it.
For context, just 1% packet loss can make video calls unstable – imagine trying to run a Teams meeting with constant stuttering and dropouts.
The Solution
The fix? A single configuration change: adjusting SLA targets from 50% to 1% packet loss. This seemingly small adjustment completely transformed how their SD-WAN handled connection quality issues.
The Results
The impact was immediate and significant. Within one week:
- Zero reported video conferencing disruptions
- No more unexpected disconnections
- Consistent application performance
- Happy users who could finally rely on their tools
Key Takeaway
This case highlights a crucial point about modern network management: technical correctness isn’t enough. Your configuration needs to align with actual business needs. In this case, a threshold that made sense for basic web browsing was completely wrong for real-time SaaS applications.
Think about what this means for your network. Are your SD-WAN thresholds aligned with your actual application requirements? When was the last time you reviewed these settings?
Need a quick review of your SD-WAN setup? Contact us – it might be the most productive 20 minutes you spend this week.