Comments on: WAN Optimization http://www.dailynetworkmonitor.com/2008/05/08/wan-optimization/ Covering Network Monitoring and Network Management - Sponsored by Ipswitch Sun, 06 Jul 2008 12:50:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Carley http://www.dailynetworkmonitor.com/2008/05/08/wan-optimization/#comment-149 Carley Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:23:19 +0000 http://www.dailynetworkmonitor.com/2008/05/08/wan-optimization/#comment-149 <strong>Carley...</strong> What other topics are you keen on?... Carley…

What other topics are you keen on?…

]]> By: Bob Gilbert http://www.dailynetworkmonitor.com/2008/05/08/wan-optimization/#comment-145 Bob Gilbert Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:15:00 +0000 http://www.dailynetworkmonitor.com/2008/05/08/wan-optimization/#comment-145 You make some great points and I agree that network management and monitoring are key tools for troubleshooting and maintaining the network from LAN to WAN. However, I wouldn't minimize the scope of WAN optimization's role in a network environment. While WAN's are indeed only a subset of the overall network, they have become the critical infrastructure that enables businesses to function. If a WAN link goes down, business slows to a crawl and often halts. If the performance of the WAN and associated applications is poor then business initiatives are impacted as well. There are over 6 million branch offices in the US alone and over 50% of employees work outside of headquarters. Add the mobile worker component with VPN infrastructures and you are talking about a distributed infrastructure that supports the globally distributed business. Think about the services that run over these WANs. Email, CRM, ERP, web services, file sharing, data backup and replication, VoIP, and the list goes on and on. WAN optimization has become a critical component of this globally distributed business climate. I have had the privilege of being on the pioneering team at Riverbed Technology when we shipped our first groundbreaking Steelhead appliance product in May of 2004. We have since been in rapid growth mode, amassing over 4000 customers across all 7 continents. These 4000+ organizations look at Riverbed as a critical part of their overall network, application, and IT infrastructure. I see network monitoring as an important tool that is used before WAN optimization and after WAN optimization to help maintain health and reliability of the overall network. Bob Gilbert Riverbed Technology bgilbert@riverbed.com You make some great points and I agree that network management and monitoring are key tools for troubleshooting and maintaining the network from LAN to WAN.

However, I wouldn’t minimize the scope of WAN optimization’s role in a network environment. While WAN’s are indeed only a subset of the overall network, they have become the critical infrastructure that enables businesses to function. If a WAN link goes down, business slows to a crawl and often halts. If the performance of the WAN and associated applications is poor then business initiatives are impacted as well. There are over 6 million branch offices in the US alone and over 50% of employees work outside of headquarters. Add the mobile worker component with VPN infrastructures and you are talking about a distributed infrastructure that supports the globally distributed business. Think about the services that run over these WANs. Email, CRM, ERP, web services, file sharing, data backup and replication, VoIP, and the list goes on and on.

WAN optimization has become a critical component of this globally distributed business climate. I have had the privilege of being on the pioneering team at Riverbed Technology when we shipped our first groundbreaking Steelhead appliance product in May of 2004. We have since been in rapid growth mode, amassing over 4000 customers across all 7 continents. These 4000+ organizations look at Riverbed as a critical part of their overall network, application, and IT infrastructure. I see network monitoring as an important tool that is used before WAN optimization and after WAN optimization to help maintain health and reliability of the overall network.

Bob Gilbert
Riverbed Technology
bgilbert@riverbed.com

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