Service provider Windstream rolled out new software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) management capabilities as it integrates features from its $1.1 billion Earthlink acquisition, which closed in February of this year, with its SD-WAN platform.

The new features are focused on monitoring network and application traffic flows that are deployed in SD-WAN environments. Specifically, the company announced a new management portal that gives users the ability to control traffic to prioritize certain applications. Users are now able to see the bandwidth utilization, who is using it, and the behaviors of end-users, said Mike Frane, VP of SD-WAN products at Windstream.

“We have the ability to look at all of the links that are connected to a device and choose the best path for it based on the customer’s unique requirements for their business,” he said.

These features give users faster access to Windstream’s services including security, connectivity, communication services, and cloud.

Windstream gets its core SD-WAN technology from VeloCloud, and it has built a platform around that to offer its customers a managed service. Earthlink also used VeloCloud’s SD-WAN tech before it was acquired. Windstream inherited 29,000 route miles as well as hosted voice and security services from Earthlink.

Prior to the acquisition, Earthlink offered its customers a managed service. Windstream included many of the management capabilities from this service in its new offering.

“The strategy around the new capabilities were a result of the merger,” Frane said. “Earthlink was a combined service offering, and this launch was a melding of the two companies together.”