Speeding Web services
05/06/08
Corporate application portfolios are changing as software-as-a-service (SaaS), rich Internet applications and service-oriented architecture (SOA) deployments catch on. Traditional methods of accelerating applications need to keep up with the challenges posed by these dynamic applications, which can be tough to monitor and troubleshoot when performance hiccups arise.

Velocix unveils free content delivery service
05/01/08
While there are plenty of no-cost software products for IT managers, tackling everything from net management to security, "free" isn't a word often associated with application delivery technologies. This week, however, Velocix made headlines by announcing a free digital delivery service.

Interop vendors tout scalability
04/29/08
Speed and scalability are key attributes that WAN optimization and application acceleration vendors are touting at the Interop trade show and conference, going on this week in Las Vegas. A10 Networks, Citrix Systems and F5 Networks are among vendors displaying their latest wares at the show, and each is focused on satisfying the performance needs of today's most demanding enterprise data centers.

Optimizing branch office networks
04/24/08
The desire to provide remote workers with seamless access to corporate data is one shared by many enterprises these days. More and more employees work outside of corporate headquarters, and keeping these populations productive requires optimizing branch office networks.

Getting ready for Interop
04/22/08
Interop kicks off in less than a week, and WAN optimization and application acceleration technologies promise to be well represented at the flagship trade show for the networking industry. There's even a conference track devoted to application delivery that's designed to help IT teams identify what they need to do to ensure performance is acceptable.

Expand Networks takes WAN optimization virtual
04/17/08
Scores of enterprises are trying out virtualization in the data center, lured by potential benefits such as improved server utilization, reduced OS licensing fees, more rapid deployments and lower power consumption. To tap into that trend, Expand Networks is going virtual. The WAN optimization vendor last week announced plans to release a VMware-packaged virtual version of its acceleration appliances.

Infoblox, Riverbed bundle branch office functions
04/15/08
Many enterprises have made a lot of headway consolidating infrastructure and applications in the data center as they look for ways to cut back on the effort and expense of maintaining distributed IT deployments. But there are some nagging technology leftovers that remain in most branch offices - things like routers, switches, wireless access points, security devices, file-sharing accelerators, WAN optimization appliances, VoIP gear and more. The next frontier for many enterprises is finding ways to cut back on the appliance sprawl created by all this branch office gear.

SaaS vendors mull onsite vs. hosted acceleration
04/10/08
Hosted application providers know all about the advantages of on-demand delivery - and they make a living extolling those virtues. But when it comes to accelerating the delivery of hosted Web applications, not all vendors are ready to hand over the reins to a managed services provider.

Accelerating SaaS applications
04/08/08
It's proving time for vendors that market hosted applications. They've made their case that the software-as-a-service model can be a fit in enterprise settings. Now SaaS vendors have to prove service delivery and performance are up to snuff.

Array Networks on a green streak
04/03/08
The IT industry is keen on green as enterprise companies look for ways to cut back on energy consumption and cooling costs in the data center. Server vendors like Dell, HP and IBM are natural leaders in the effort to build more power-conscious gear, since servers often take up the most data center space. But they aren't the only vendors trying to help companies trim their energy bills. Array Networks is the first network optimization vendor that I've heard pitching a "green" application acceleration platform.

Optimizing the big links
04/01/08
The range of network optimization technologies available is enormous - and daunting when you consider that an appliance tuned for accelerating, say, SAP application delivery to remote office employees is very different from one designed to optimize high-speed data replication processes between data centers. Companies have different needs, and vendors are working to fill out their product lines to make sure they've got a product for what each enterprise wants for its different settings.

Broadband bonding appliance adds cellular wireless option
03/27/08
Not long ago I wrote about a start-up with a broadband-bonding technology that lets enterprises cobble together multiple high-speed wired Internet connections to boost network speed and reliability. Now the company, Mushroom Networks, has added support for cellular wireless access, which can come in handy in the event a company loses its primary wired broadband connections.

Making an airline's applications fly
03/25/08
How can you tell if a technology you've piloted is worth purchasing? One good indicator is when end users complain when the trial period ends. That's what happened when Canadian airline WestJet deployed bandwidth management technology in its Calgary, Alberta, data center.

Tolly Group puts A10 Networks to the test
03/20/08
It can be hard for newcomers in the application acceleration arena to distinguish themselves from the incumbents who enjoy the lion's share of the market. When it comes to front-end devices that provide services such as load balancing, server offloading and TCP connection multiplexing, the vendor to beat in the battle for customers is often F5 Networks.

Silver Peak eyes manageability, Ipanema bulks up
03/18/08
As WAN optimization projects become more strategic to enterprise IT, the issue of manageability grows in importance as well. With that in mind, Silver Peak Systems just joined a group committed to simplifying the management of networking devices in multivendor environments. Meanwhile, Ipanema Technologies retooled its management platform for large-scale WAN optimization deployments, and F5 Networks struck a partnership to improve Web application security.

Packeteer thinks small
03/13/08
Spatial planning is always a concern for IT pros. There are only so many power-guzzling and heat-generating boxes that can be fit into data centers, server rooms and IT closets. The latest product from Packeteer addresses this issue, which can be particularly challenging in remote branch office environments.

Digging into SOA performance
03/11/08
The distributed, modular nature of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) can be a boon for flexibility. With SOA technology, IT teams can share reusable application components across an enterprise and assemble them in a loosely coupled way to meet changing application requirements. In the data center, however, SOA's flexibility (and all its moving parts) can raise new challenges for IT administrators trying to get a handle on application performance.

The importance of application SLAs
03/06/08
It's easy to talk about aligning IT initiatives with business objectives. But without application-specific service-level agreements, it can be hard to deliver. To help IT teams get the job done, market research firm NetForecast has published a new report explaining what business-centric application performance SLAs are, and how to implement them.

Prototype file-sharing technology combines fiber optics, green computing
03/04/08
IBM last week unveiled a prototype technology that researchers say could deliver massive amounts of bandwidth in an energy efficient way to devices ranging from supercomputers to cell phones. Just how massive? Think 8 terabits per second of information - using only 100 watts of power.

Riverbed makes room for third-party branch services
02/28/08
Riverbed Technology this week launched a new version of the operating system that powers its lineup of Steelhead WAN optimization appliances.

Veteran satellite provider unveils WAN optimization technology
02/26/08
WAN optimization and application acceleration technologies oftentimes require the installation of a dedicated appliance at remote office sites. While the benefits are very real, so too is the risk of appliance overload. That's one reason why some vendors are integrating more features into WAN appliances (such as security features, print and file server functions, IP address management capabilities, and more) to offset the proliferation of single-function appliances cluttering branch office environs.

Network visibility key to application performance
02/21/08
Aberdeen Group recently tackled the issue of network visibility, and for another week, its research on the topic is available for free.

A Mushroom for your network?
02/19/08
A San Diego start-up with an edible name unveiled an appliance last week that lets cost-conscious organizations cobble together various Internet access connections to create a single, fat broadband pipe.

A look inside F5's Acopia buy
02/14/08
Sometimes it's not immediately obvious why two companies might want to combine forces, such as in the case of F5 Networks buying Acopia Networks. At first glance, some might wonder why F5 would be interested in a storage company.

F5's Acopia unwraps file virtualization upgrades
02/12/08
F5 Networks last week announced new file virtualization products and features designed to help enterprises more easily manage their data storage assets in an automated fashion.

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