WAN Optimization Integrated with Cisco Branch Office Routers Improves Application Performance and Lowers TCO

By Cisco Systems

Published October 2007; Posted January 2009

Abstract:

WAN optimization and application acceleration are growing requirements in today’s enterprises, which comprise increasing numbers of branch-office sites and remote users but consolidate application and data storage resources for regulatory compliance reasons and cost savings. By some estimates, 70 to 90 percent of enterprise resources are now accessed by remote users across a WAN, which is slower than the LAN platform for which most applications were designed and introduces distance-based latency into the networking experience.

WAN optimization functions, however, are now available to alleviate WAN traffic loads, reduce application protocol message round trips, and cache critical data to make branch-office application-access experiences "LAN-like." Integrating these WAN optimization features, known collectively as Cisco WAAS, directly into branch-office multifunction Integrated Services Routers simplifies management, troubleshooting, and support contract problems, while also decreasing capital outlay costs.

Operationally and cost-wise, blending WAN optimization into the Integrated Services Router streamlines and simplifies configuration, deployment, and ongoing maintenance.

Equally important, alleviating traffic loads on the WAN using Cisco IOS Software and WAAS services in a Cisco Integrated Services Router module frees capacity to accommodate new business-critical application traffic, such as voice.