Silver Peak Research Report Sample

WAN optimization appliances play a critical role in the ecosystem of application delivery technologies. Application delivery is the emerging category of devices that not only seek to take data off the wire through compression and deduplication but also use deep packet inspection to employ traffic intelligence at the application layer — commonly referred to as Layer 7 visibility — to more efficiently deliver data. This suite of technologies uses a series of techniques such as caching, protocol optimization, compression, traffic management/quality of service (QoS), and error correction in the optimization of WAN performance. None of these techniques alone can solve your WAN headache, but combining all five simultaneously means that you can apply the right optimization to the right application.

As a result, many of the vendors in this analysis have focused on improving their application intelligence either through acquisition or continued development of their technology. Vendors are branding solutions as “application delivery” controllers, networks, or solutions as a result of the expanded set of functionality that comprises their solution, a key component of which is the WAN optimization appliance.