Three very different network optimization vendors made three very different product announcements over the last few weeks. But there's one common thread: Making the most of what you have, whether it's redundant networks (Ipanema Technologies), lots of digital assets (Level 3 Communications), or a new acquisition (Blue Coat Systems). (Compare Application Acceleration and WAN Traffic Optimization products)

For large enterprise, Ipanema debuted a new feature that gives its customers with redundant network infrastructures the tools to better utilize all available bandwidth. An enterprise might have a primary MPLS network with backup ISDN or DSL lines, for example. The new route-selection feature, called smart|path, is designed to let enterprises manage bandwidth across their primary and secondary networks in tandem, rather than using the secondary line only when the primary service fails. Ipanema's ip|engine devices, which are deployed at customers’ data centers and branch offices, collect link information such as available bandwidth. The smart|path technology compares that data to preset application performance objectives and an analysis of traffic to determine path selection.

In the content delivery arena, Level 3 announced a new service that aims to make it affordable for companies to put even their less popular digital assets on a content delivery network. The new service, called Content Delivery for Extended Libraries (CDXL), is designed to let companies store and deliver all their digital assets, including video and audio content that’s less frequently requested. The CDXL service can automatically position customer content on the Level 3 infrastructure based on popularity, so customers don’t have to guess which assets will be popular in certain regions at any given time. “We believe that the business of providing a solution for the efficient delivery of entire libraries of content, not just the most popular titles, will be increasingly important as online content distribution matures,” said Grant van Rooyen, president of Level 3’s content markets group, in a statement.

For its part, Blue Coat shared some of its intentions regarding Packeteer, once its acquisition of Packeteer is complete. Blue Coat says it plans to sell, support and enhance Packeteer’s PacketShaper technology and “to invest significantly in its future.” PacketShaper’s application identification and classification capabilities (a key draw for Blue Coat) will be maintained as a standalone product and also potentially used in future Blue Coat products.

Ann Bednarz is associate news editor at Network World.