WAN Traffic Optimization
In this article, we will talk about Riverbed and how WAN Traffic Optimization by this tool and how this tool works or what services it provides to users. It can be said that Riverbed is a technology for set-and-forget. Users on a network can set up the tool in less than 15 minutes. Once launched, the tool will be able to get started without the need for any special IT measures.
If you are wondering how WAN Optimization works? By reading this article, you will gain an understanding of how the WAN works.
WAN functional problems
To get acquainted with the ways of WAN Traffic Optimization, it is better to start with how the WAN works and examine its two performance problems.
Latency
This measurement tool is the travel time of search results for applications and protocols, which will follow a worse trend the farther they go from the WAN. A server sends packets and asks the other server about the arrival of these packets, and the server responds to this question.
This type of repetitive communication can occur 2,000 to 3,000 times just to send 60 MB of data from each file. The higher the value of this index, the lower the transmission speed.
TCP window size
It is widely believed that increasing bandwidth improves WAN performance. But you should know that this idea is completely wrong. Because on different platforms, the TCP window limits the throughput for packets that are sent.
Although increasing bandwidth may provide organizations with a larger overall path to manage more data, each specific packet can only cross a small path, and this often reduces the performance of the WAN application.
WAN Traffic Optimization to troubleshoot
The use of technologies such as SteelHead technology can be central to data centers and have complete control over the conditions that are occurring. SteelHead technology works with the WAN and it is located behind data terminals on WANs in data centers. The worse the WAN performance and the greater the distance between sites that connect to each other, the greater the impact of WAN SteelHead optimization on their performance.
SteelHead technology analyzes the on and off routers in each packet. After this step, the Riverbed optimization system, software that enhances SteelHead, uses a combination of three technologies to increase WAN performance. In the following, we will explain these three technologies further.
Data streamlining
Do not resend additional data
A process known as data duplication removes bytes from the WAN. Data that is frequently made available to users will not be retransmitted from the WAN. Small resources are sent in 16 bytes so SteelHead knows that this data has already been sent and can retrieve this data locally. You will never need to resend after sending this data.
Check the scalability of data packets
Users download data and files from the server. Where these files are sent and received, these documents are checked using the Riverbed optimization system. Then, after they are packaged and saved, one user modifies the file and sends it to the other 10 users via email at the original location of the file. In this case, only the data sent to the WAN will cause minor changes to the files, which will be reported to the device by 16-bit sources.
Value data
All data is important in WAN Traffic Optimization. For this reason, the format or program used for the data does not matter. Because from the Riverbed point of view, all data have the same value. This means that very little data can be sent over the WAN.
Send and receive simplification (Transport streamlining)
Simplifying the sending and receiving of data makes TCP more efficient, which means less back and forth and less data at each step.
For example, traditional TCP does what is known as a slow start process. Where it sends information in small chunks and combines small chunks to create larger chunks. When the receiving server cannot control the size of the pieces, the process is repeated again to achieve the appropriate size. Sending and receiving simplifications prevents restarting and places a lot of emphasis on optimal packet size, so it only sends packets in the same size.
Combining data simplification with transport simplification multiplies WAN performance: Combining the two together reduces the number of round trips by up to 98% and transmits more data per transmission. As a result, WAN performance is greatly enhanced. It should be noted that a single packet can carry repackaging with 16-byte references against duplicate data.
Application streamlining
Finally, application simplification is specifically configured to the growing list of application protocols, including CIFS, HTTP, HTTPS, MAPI, NFS, and SQL. These special modules understand each protocol before transmitting over the WAN and try to make the call over the LAN, where there is no latency. For this reason, there will be no delay in sending data resulting from the Riverbed optimization system.