Vista over the WAN: good but not great

Here's the skinny on how Microsoft's new client operating system handles WAN optimization

Windows Vista has users buzzing about network performance improvements, but industry watchers caution that the new client operating system is no WAN-optimization cure-all.

In certain scenarios, the improvements implemented in Vista and slated for Windows Server 2008 (Longhorn) will alleviate the problems of latency and inefficient protocols that have hampered application performance over the WAN. But the improvements will have limited or no effect on performance until PC hardware is upgraded, applications are reworked and Microsoft Vista or Longhorn machines sit at both ends of a WAN link.

From a communications perspective, Longhorn and Vista are works in progress, says Joe Skorupa, a Gartner research vice president. "There's a lot to like, but don't dash to deploy Vista just to get these features. As well tested as it has been, you'll want to make sure you take a measured approach to deployment."

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Windows Vista has users buzzing about network performance improvements, but industry watchers caution that the new client operating system is no WAN-optimization cure-all.

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In certain scenarios, the improvements implemented in Vista and slated for Windows Server 2008 (Longhorn) will alleviate the problems of latency and inefficient protocols that have hampered application performance over the WAN. But the improvements will have limited or no effect on performance until PC hardware is upgraded, applications are reworked and Microsoft Vista or Longhorn machines sit at both ends of a WAN link.

From a communications perspective, Longhorn and Vista are works in progress, says Joe Skorupa, a Gartner research vice president. "There's a lot to like, but don't dash to deploy Vista just to get these features. As well tested as it has been, you'll want to make sure you take a measured approach to deployment."

Although the vast majority of enterprises plan to adopt Vista, most are in waiting mode, according to a recent survey conducted by Walker Information in collaboration with CDW. Among 753 IT buyers, 1% have deployed Vista, 25% are implementing it and 61% plan to do so within the next 12 months or more.

Respondents acknowledged Vista's potential performance improvement; 56% cited that as a key perceived benefit.