Expand Networks adds WAFS support

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: OPTICAL NETWORKING
08/03/05

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* New gear caches files locally, syncs with central servers
* Links related to Optical Networking
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Expand Networks adds WAFS support

By Tim Greene

Expand Networks this week is expected to announce support for
wide-area file services that can help businesses save money by
consolidating servers into data centers rather than maintaining
servers at branch offices.

To accomplish this, Expand is introducing three Expand
Accelerator hardware appliances, as well as software designed to
boost the speed of Microsoft-based file transfers. The hardware
includes hard drives for caching frequently and recently used
files locally so they don't have to cross the WAN each time they
are accessed.

The software synchronizes changes made in branches with the
master files stored on central servers so the next person to
access the file gets the current version. To sync files, the
devices send only the data that changed, not the entire file,
minimizing how much data crosses the wide-area connection.

The software accelerates Microsoft's Common Internet File System
(CIFS) protocol that is used for transferring files. CIFS is
designed for use on LANs, and its chatty nature tends to slow
traffic on WANs because each back-and-forth exchange has to
cross constricted links that are subject to congestion and
network delay.

Other vendors such as Riverbed Networks and Swan Labs are adding
WAFS capabilities to their products, which were originally
designed to make more efficient use of WAN links for general
traffic, says Joe Scorupa, an analyst with Gartner. WAFS is
geared for optimizing file transfers across the WAN, and Tacit
Networks is specializing in it, he says. Cisco, Juniper and HP
are adding WAFS technology to their lineups, Scorupa says, and
might wind up supporting WAFS with blades in routers.

One Expand customer that already used its WAN acceleration
appliances to speed links between its data center in Missouri
and call centers in Jamaica and Panama is considering the new
Expand devices for their WAFS capabilities that would let the
company consolidate its servers.

The devices would allow the company to pull servers out of the
call centers where supervisors write and store reports and
instead centralize them at the data center, says Andy Ellsworth,
network engineer for National Asset Recovery Services in
Chesterfield, Mo. "It would be nice to have the data secured in
the [U.S.] and cached on the Expand boxes as a way to give
supervisors access remotely," he says.

The Expand boxes also optimize traffic between Citrix client
machines and servers, boosting performance across WANs. For
businesses that use Citrix to reduce the number of servers in
their networks, as well as the number of full application
clients on PCs, this can boost performance. Ellsworth says he
runs Citrix traffic over Expand Accelerators and they cut WAN
traffic by a third. He says he expects further but less dramatic
reductions with the Citrix software.

Expand's gear can be deployed to support both WAN optimization
and WAFS, or just one of them. The new Accelerator hardware
supports both, and the old Accelerator supports just WAN
optimization, the company says. It will continue to sell both.

Businesses sometimes want these functions separated because the
WAN optimization is handled by network groups and WAFS is
handled by storage groups. Keeping the devices separate prevents
the two groups from conflicting, Gartner's Scorupa says.

The three new Expand appliances, Accelerator 4920, 6910 and
6940, are in beta testing. The 4920 supports up to 2M bit/sec
links, 10 remote sites and has a 160G byte hard drive. Pricing
starts at $4,500. The 6910 supports up to 10M bit/sec links, 50
remote sites and has a 400G byte hard drive. Pricing starts at
$12,000. The 6940 supports links up to 20M bit/sec, 200 remote
sites and has a 400G byte hard drive. Pricing starts at $20,000.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Leaked Cisco slides pulled after legal threats
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4341>

2. Cisco vulnerability posted to Internet
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4342>

3. Router flaw sparks battle
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/080105-blackhat.html>

4. Google now a hacker's tool
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical4343>

5. Michael Lynn and Cisco: Stepping in front of the freight
train
<http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2005/080105backspin.html>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Tim Greene

Tim Greene is a senior editor at Network World, covering virtual
private networking gear, remote access, core switching and local
phone companies. You can reach him at <mailto:tgreene@nww.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia
Empower Your Mobile Enterprise

Nokia believes that business mobility will fundamentally change
the way work gets done-and for the better. To allow the entire
organization to get the most from this paradigm shift in
productivity, Nokia Enterprise Solutions focuses on delivering
increased efficiency through enhanced mobility. Learn more by
downloading this white paper today!
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=109255
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