Goutham Sunkara's Insights on Automating Network Testing for Scalable SD-WAN Deployments

Time Business News

14-07-2025

In today's fast-changing world of network technology, Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) has become a key tool for companies looking for flexible, secure, and efficient connections. Goutham Sunkara, an experienced Staff R&D Software Engineer with over 10 years of expertise in network security and automation, has played a big role in making SD-WAN systems reliable and high-performing. His work at Cisco Systems and VMware by Broadcom Inc. shows how important automation is for testing SD-WAN features, providing useful lessons for network engineers and companies wanting to improve their networks.
At Cisco Systems, where Goutham Sunkara worked as a Software Engineer III from July 2018 to August 2021, he had a key role in testing SD-WAN features on Cisco's ISR 4K, 1K, and Catalyst 8K routers. He focused on making sure the network routing was secure and worked well, which is a big part of what makes SD-WAN valuable. Sunkara's testing was thorough, covering how the features worked, how they handled large-scale use, their performance, and checks to ensure nothing broke over time. He created detailed plans and used both manual and automated tests to make sure Cisco's SD-WAN systems were strong and secure. His work included checking SD-WAN security features and how they worked with ISR routers, fixing weaknesses in systems like IPsec, MPLS, and DMVPN. This careful testing was essential to keep data safe and ensure networks stayed reliable, especially for big businesses that need dependable systems.
A big part of Goutham Sunkara's work at Cisco was creating automation scripts using Python and the PyATS tool on Linux systems. These scripts made it easier and faster to test important network features like encryption, VPN security, and firewall rules. By automating these security tests, Sunkara saved time in finding and fixing problems, making sure Cisco's ISR routers were secure and worked well. His automation also tested a wide range of network protocols, like NAT, HTTP, IPv4/IPv6, and routing protocols such as OSPF and BGP. This complete approach not only sped up testing but also gave helpful information to the development and marketing teams, encouraging teamwork to improve product security from start to finish.
Goutham Sunkara brought his automation skills to his job at VMware by Broadcom Inc., where he has worked as a Staff R&D Software Engineer since August 2021. He focused on the NSX-T platform, a software-based networking tool that works well with SD-WAN to create secure and flexible networks. Sunkara led the testing strategy and automation for NSX-T's Security Service Platform (SSP), a security product powered by AI and machine learning. He created automation scripts using Python and REST APIs to test new NSX-T features, like Distributed Firewall (DFW) on Distributed Virtual Port Groups (DVPGs), Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) filtering, and NSX Edge Cluster setups. These scripts made it faster to check complex features, ensuring they worked reliably in different network situations.
One of Goutham Sunkara's key accomplishments at VMware was building test framework libraries to support new NSX-T features, like Network Detection and Response (NDR) sensors, application discovery, and monitoring tools. He automated tests for East-West traffic between Linux and Windows virtual machines using tools like Spirent, CyPerf, and Cyberflood, ensuring thorough testing of Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS) and Malware Prevention Systems (MPS). This automation was essential for checking the security and performance of distributed firewalls in software-defined data centers (SDDCs). Sunkara's careful approach to creating and running test plans, including setting up ESXi hosts, configuring DHCP/DNS/vCenter, and deploying Spirent VMs, made sure the SDDC test environments were strong and mirrored real-world setups.
Goutham Sunkara's education strengthened his skills in network automation. While earning his Master's in Electrical Engineering at San Jose State University, he researched adaptive bit rate streaming and ways to stop Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, using tools like GNS3, Wireshark, and NS-3. These projects helped him learn how to design and test complex networks, skills he later used for SD-WAN and software-defined data center (SDDC) testing. His certifications, such as Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and VMware's VCP-DCV and VCP-NV, show his strong knowledge in routing, switching, and network virtualization.
Goutham Sunkara's work gives network engineers helpful tips for automating SD-WAN testing. He stresses the need to include security testing in automation, making sure protocols like IPsec and firewall rules are thoroughly checked. His use of Python-based automation tools shows how scripts can save time and make tests more accurate. Sunkara's experience also shows the importance of teamwork, as he worked with development and feature teams to ensure testing matches product goals.
As companies increasingly use SD-WAN to support remote workers and cloud apps, Goutham Sunkara's work shows how automation helps create flexible, secure, and reliable networks. His expertise in building and running automated test strategies at Cisco and VMware offers a clear guide for businesses looking to improve their SD-WAN setups, ensuring strong performance and security in today's complex digital world.
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