Packeteer bringing SNA quality of service to IP

Packeteer is rolling out software for its PacketShaper device that promises to give time-sensitive, transaction-oriented IP traffic the same quality of service levels previously available only through SNA networks.

The company's PacketShaper box has been outfitted with Web-enabled host access support and promises to deliver SNA QoS features - such as session-level class-of-service, traffic pacing and response-time monitoring - to IP WANs. PacketShaper can recognize and classify up to 150 different types of Web-to-host traffic, including TN3270, TN5250 and 3270/5250-to-HTML emulation, Packeteer claims.

This product will help assist SNA users migrating to an IP network who don't want to sacrifice their SNA reliability and levels of service, Packeteer says. The company has established relationships with Web-to-host vendors such as OpenConnect, Esker, Attachmate and others to help PacketShaper optimize its Web-to-host application traffic schemes, says Packeteer's Vice President Todd Krautkremer.

A PacketShaper device, about the size of a VCR, sits between an Ethernet LAN and an IP router. From this vantage point, the device reads and classifies all the traffic types going in and out of the network -tn3270, tn5250, tn3287 print sessions, and so on, Krautkremer says.

IS staff uses a browser to configure the PacketShaper and implement policy, which is enforced by the Packeteer TCP Rate Control technology. This feature communicates with the servers and clients across the WAN and limits just how much traffic they release into the network. The idea is to control congestion by not letting one type of traffic overwhelm another. PacketShaper can prioritize traffic based on the application: for instance, the device will guarantee a user executing a crucial business transaction gets access to more bandwidth than a user just browsing the Web.

PacketShaper has worked well for one Kansas City enterprise running tn3270 sessions to users in South America. Hoechst Marion Roussel, a pharmaceutical business, needs to make sure its 1,000 or so South American tn3270 users get priority to their applications, says Tom Clark, a senior analyst at the company. After PacketShaper was installed, he saw a 30% increase in the performance of the tn3270 network. It also only took two days to install.

The PacketShaper with Web-enabled host access support is available now in three models that support different WAN speed connections. The 1000 series, which handles traffic at speeds up to 384K bit/sec costs $4,000; the 2000 series, which manages bandwidth on T-1/E-1 speed connections costs $8,000; and the 4000 series, which supports T-3/E-3 links costs $16,000.

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