WAN optimization makes disaster recovery planning more reliable
Enterprise network architectures follow a standard model. The principal objective is to facilitate communications between HQ, subsidiaries, and remote sites. In practice the enterprise selects and configures intersite links and the associated network equipment (routers, servers and specialized appliances) on the basis of the relative importance of the site and the application traffic that must be supported.
Over the last couple of years new WAN optimization technologies have appeared on the market, allowing the enterprise to get more out of its wide area infrastructure. These technologies turn out to be particularly interesting when applied to continuous data backups and disaster recovery planning.
Appliances currently offered by Brocade, Expand Networks, F5 Networks or Riverbed require less and less management interactivity at remote sites. Featuring dynamic routing and acceleration of multiple protocols, they eliminate the need to add bandwidth or change IP address plans. Certain appliances offer additional LAN services such as DHCP or printer sharing (print server), reducing unnecessary WAN bandwidth overheads. Business-specific applications are supported just as effectively as basic file sharing and email access; WAN latency issues disappear and remote users see performance levels similar to users on the headquarters LAN. Sophisticated file synchronization features ensure that remote users open the most recently updated version of the file they're working on and not an outdated cache version.
Coupling WAN optimization with full server replication – a feature of the Double-Take® Software solution – delivers two significant benefits. First, retransmission of unmodified data is eliminated. And second, transfer of massive data volumes is optimized by adjusting the TCP transmission window.
When disaster strikes, WAN optimization allows small and large enterprises to plan for rapid, efficient system recovery. WAN acceleration appliances reduce the cost of ownership of wide-area connections, improving the ROI of the disaster recovery plan. With an appliance at each end of the wide-area link, the enterprise can count on an ROI with a timescale of six months to a year..
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F5 Networks partners with VMware
For network equipment manufacturers, business continuity/disaster recovery features are becoming a key element in their product strategies. Server consolidation, already well advanced in the financial sector, is now being taken up by service providers and the manufacturing sector. Customers need to optimize access to resources over the network and server loading in the datacenter. F5 Networks is cooperating with VMware to bring the necessary solutions to market. “We're working together on datacenter virtualisation” says Alain Thibault, Pre-sales Manager at F5 Networks. “By executing multiple images on multiple platforms in multiple datacenters, we deliver improved performance and application support.” He explains that today's server hardware is under-used. VMware supplies the virtualisation solutions for the server platforms, with an F5 product managing images according to network loads. In other words, the F5 solution ensures transparent network connectivity between the end user and the optimum virtual server for a given session. Going a step further, the Viprion modular “on-demand” application delivery solution from F5 makes it even easier to manage distributed, virtualized application load variations. Adding a blade instantly adds capacity, and the product, based on the same OS as other F5 products, integrates seamlessly with the infrastructure. |
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