DISH Technologies Leverages AWS CloudWAN for Advanced Broadcast Network
DISH Technologies, a subsidiary of EchoStar and a leading provider of satellite television and broadband services, has modernized its network infrastructure using AWS CloudWAN. The company, also known as DISH Tech, has continuously innovated in digital entertainment since 1980 and needed to adapt its existing network to support its growing customer base and demanding applications.
The Challenge: Outdated Network Architecture
DISH Tech’s original network relied on a mesh architecture using IPSec tunnels to connect its eight data centers across the United States and its AWS network across multiple regions. This setup proved challenging, suffering from scalability limitations, complex management, and frequent connection issues.
To overcome these limitations, DISH Tech sought a new solution.
The Solution: AWS CloudWAN
DISH Tech selected AWS CloudWAN for its fully automated, highly segmented WAN capabilities. They needed a single management interface to orchestrate connectivity throughout their physical data centers and AWS Regions via global IPSec tunnels. They also wanted the system to manage connections for workloads deployed within AWS. Key considerations included the ability to:
- Replace a complex mesh architecture with a hub-and-spoke design.
- Implement network automation and centralized management.
- Solve rigid infrastructure and scalability problems.
- Use dynamic routing and network segmentation.
- Address unreliable IPSec tunnels and lack of auto-healing functionality.
Technical Overview of the Deployment
DISH Tech’s current global network design is divided into two connectivity paths for production vs. non-production traffic patterns. This segmentation was streamlined using CloudWAN’s capabilities.
Connectivity Path 1: Hybrid Connectivity
This path connects DISH Tech’s on-premises data centers to their AWS Cloud network. The architecture follows a hub-and-spoke design, with data centers connecting through the CloudWAN network. The architecture maintains distinct segments for the Sling Legacy and Control Tower environments. The segments provide connectivity for both data center to data center and data center to AWS connectivity.
Figure 1: Dish Tech Global Network architecture with Hybrid Connectivity Path
Connectivity Path 2: AWS Inter-Connectivity
This path focuses on traffic within the DISH Tech AWS environment (Sling Legacy and new Control Tower) and utilizes AWS CloudWAN for connectivity. Different connection methods are used for the Sling Legacy and Control Tower environments.
Transit Gateways with Cloud WAN attachments were used for the Sling legacy environment.
Figure 2: Dish Tech AWS inter-connectivity architecture through AWS CloudWAN
The Control Tower environment relies on VPC attachments to CloudWAN.
Results and Future Plans
With the deployment of AWS CloudWAN, DISH Tech achieved:
- A highly segmented, hub-and-spoke network topology.
- Reduced management complexity associated with mesh topology.
- Centralized network connectivity models.
- Automated management of network segments.
- Infrastructure-as-code network deployment.
- Centralized monitoring using an Amazon CloudWatch dashboard.
DISH Tech has also implemented alert mechanisms based on set traffic levels and connectivity issues.
Future plans include replacing IPSec tunnels with AWS Direct Connect connections to further reduce latency and improve network performance.
Conclusion
AWS CloudWAN has empowered DISH Tech to build, operate, and monitor its global network more efficiently. They have successfully established a centralized and secure network topology through a hub-and-spoke structure. Centralized management, streamlined monitoring, and automated deployments enable DISH Tech to expand their network infrastructure and enhance their overall operational efficiency.
