WAN optimization is changing

[mdubash]

The WAN optimization market is shifting from branch office needs to data center needs.

This is driven by key data center initiatives, like DR, data migration, data center consolidation, and VDI. So from a WAN optimization perspective, what do you need to support these new data center environments?

[MichaelCLeonard]

As organizations adopt data center / cloud services such as DR and VDI they will benefit from having WAN Optimization to accelerate these services. For WAN Optimization to play in this new environment it needs a new deployment model that includes being virtualized to enable rapid deployment and scaling as well as flexible and elastic service delivery. WAN Optimization is one of a number of services that can benefit data center services and that need to be virtualized such as security, server load balancing and reporting and monitoring. I've written about this on the Cisco blog and also a paper that is linked from the blog: Cisco Blog

[mdubash]

How big a role will WAN optimization play specifically in disaster recovery, though? That's not so susceptible to virtualization, I would have thought.

[mdubash]

Any thoughts?

[marcellarhughes]

WAN (Cloud Computing) plays a big role in disaster recovery, the cloud server serves as a remote server or we say a server from another location. Just like what happened in Japan, they have a cloud server somewhere not in Japan, after being struck by a tsunami still they can recover their important files because they implement a disaster recovery plan.

[victoria stiles]

WAN optimization technology has been around for some time now, however in an environment where users are demanding more and more bandwidth heavy applications, many companies are finding their networks are creaking under the weight. That said, WAN optimization has several, very powerful financial and operating arguments to back it up.