Why WAFS could be critical to performance

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: DENISE DUBIE ON NETWORK OPTIMIZATION
07/12/05
Today's focus: Why WAFS could be critical to performance

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Inside wide-area file services
* Links related to Network Optimization
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Why WAFS could be critical to performance

By Denise Dubie

As more companies consolidate data centers and serve
applications from a central location, application performance on
the WAN grows exponentially in importance.

How will applications perform when in demand from multiple
branch locations? How will end users at remote offices gain
access as though they were on the same LAN? These questions
should be addressed when thinking about consolidation, and
industry analysts say wide-area file services or systems (WAFS)
may help IT managers resolve potential performance problems.
Vendors such as Actona Technologies, Riverbed Technology,
Signiant, and Tacit Networks provide products to help IT
managers better deliver large files to remote offices.

According to a report by Forrester Research, WAFS try to
eliminate data access delays by using technologies such as
caching and bulk data transfer. In some cases, WAFS products can
also anticipate requests to centralized files and offer
read/write to remote sites.

But IT buyers need to consider a few factors before deciding if
WAFS is right for them.

To start, Forrester says, protocol support must be taken into
consideration. The research firm concludes, "WAFS must be
storage-connection-protocol neutral" and advises shoppers to
"reject any file-sharing products requiring dedicated
connections or proprietary software."

Secondly, WAFS should feature file centralization. While a
distributed model might be appealing, Forrester says,
"distributed file sharing requires sophisticated support not yet
practical in the pure distributed model." Plus centralizing
files could reduce the complexity of backups and disaster
recovery.

Next, consider performance and security. WAFS should tout speeds
close to LAN speeds, Forrester says. And the product should also
include an encryption option or other security features. Lastly,
the research firm advises to choose a vendor with some staying
power and long-term product roadmaps.

RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS

Depends on what the definition of WAS is
Network World, 08/23/04
http://www.networkworld.com/nlnetop3198

Net overhaul alters engineers work
Network World, 05/16/05
http://www.networkworld.com/nlnetop3199

Riverbed enables work sharing across WANs
Network World, 05/17/05
http://www.networkworld.com/nlnetop3200

Tacit gear optimizes WAN traffic
Network World, 07/11/05
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/071105-tacit.html?rl
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To contact: Denise Dubie

Senior Editor Denise Dubie covers network and systems management
for Network World. Reach her at <mailto:ddubie@nww.com>.
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ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Network Optimization newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/accel/index.html
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Extended value chains are here to stay - application
acceleration

Find out about the changing market for application acceleration
technologies, and learn what the playing field for 2007 and 2010
will look like.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=107874
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Here's a ten step guide you can follow to curb the spyware
problem:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnetop3045>
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