Application accelerators take on various problems

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: STEVE TAYLOR AND JIM METZLER ON WIDE
AREA NETWORKING
08/30/05
Today's focus: Application accelerators take on various
problems

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* The problems addressed by application accelerators
* Links related to Wide Area Networking
* Featured reader resource
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Network World Executive Guide: Reviewing Trends and Insights for
SMB Executives

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Today's focus: Application accelerators take on various
problems

By Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler

Over the past year or so we've spent a lot of time talking about
the category that could be referred to generically as
"application acceleration." However, application acceleration
can take a lot of forms. In this newsletter, we're starting a
discussion based on a joint project between Webtorials and Robin
Layland of Layland Consulting.

In the project, we take a detailed look at various approaches
taken by a representative group of vendors offering products in
this market.

As Robin explains as background for the project:

"Everyone wants applications, backups and file downloads to go
faster. Network managers are constantly under pressure to make
response time at remote sites more like that at headquarters.
The traditional answer is to 'throw bandwidth at the problem,' a
solution that doesn't always help and can cost a lot of money.

"The truth is that throwing bandwidth at the problem only works
when the link utilization is high, and in most cases that is not
the case. Applications can be slow for reasons other than lack
of bandwidth. These reasons include:

- TCP protocol throttles throughput.
- Application protocols, such as Microsoft's MAPI used by
Exchange Server and CIFS used by its file system, are limited in
throughput and slow the application down.
- There is just too much being sent, the units of work keep
growing larger and the amount of bandwidth needed to make a
difference is too large to be practical. This is especially true
as applications move to HTTP or use larger and larger files such
as Word, CAD/CAM or Excel.
- The size of e-mail attachments.
- There is too much 'junk' or unimportant traffic taking up the
bandwidth, starving the important traffic.

"The answer is found in the next-generation WAN optimizers
called Application Accelerators. Application acceleration
addresses non-bandwidth congestion problems caused by TCP and
application-layer protocols, significantly reduces the size of
the data being sent along with the number of packets it takes to
complete a transaction, and takes other actions to speed up the
entire process. Application accelerators can also monitor the
traffic to let you understand what is happening and help with
security. Thus application accelerators are an important tool in
solving remote response-time problems."

Next time we'll tell you more about this project. Or, if you
just can't wait, you can get a preview of the results
<http://www.webtorials.com/abstracts/app-accel-05.html> : (free
registration required)

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Google dives deeper into networking
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6051>

2. 2005 salary survey
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan4011>

3. Intel-Cisco deal may be big for Wi-Fi
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6052>

4. VoIP season about to heat up
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6053>

5. Cisco aims to simplify switch mgmt.
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6054>

Today's most-forwarded story:

Google dives deeper into networking
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6055>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates
and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. For more detailed
information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter,
connect to Webtorials <http://www.webtorials.com/>, the premier
site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and
market research. Taylor can be reached at
<mailto:taylor@webtorials.com>

Jim Metzler is the Vice President of Ashton, Metzler &
Associates, a consulting organization that focuses on leveraging
technology for business success. Jim assists vendors to refine
product strategies, service providers to deploy technologies and
services, and enterprises evolve their network infrastructure.
He can be reached at <mailto:jim@ashtonmetzler.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Avocent
Network World Executive Guide: Reviewing Trends and Insights for
SMB Executives

Life is different for IT professionals at small and mid-sized
businesses, which don't have the luxury of hiring legions of
network experts. Read how network executives are keeping a firm
footing on an ever-shifting product landscape. Learn about
trends and insights surrounding VoIP and VPNs; plus get
commentaries from leading experts on storage strategies for
smaller businesses.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=111809
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the WAN newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/frame/index.html
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
IT STAFF SHORTAGE LOOMING

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causing the shortage and what might need to be done to prevent
it? Click here:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan5844>
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