Blue Coat SG Client

This SG Client for application delivery to endpoint devices is ideal for remote or mobile enterprise users. According to the company, it is the first integrated client for extending security, policy control and application acceleration to the endpoint regardless of its location. SG Client currently focuses on acceleration, even within existing VPN sessions. It incorporates protocol optimisation for CIFS and TCP, as well as client-side object caching and compression. Built-in policy-based acceleration enables granular control over which traffic is accelerated and when, while the Real Time Performance Indicator graphically displays acceleration results. The vendor claims initial trials show performance increases of up to 35 times. SG Client incorporates portions of Blue Coat's patent-pending MACH5 application acceleration technology, which provides protocol optimisation, object and byte caching and compression, to speed applications and content and reduce bandwidth usage.
Distributed by LAN Systems and Firewall Systems.
RRP: from $83.11 per licence including a one-year client maintenance service. The client is available in packs of 50-5000 licences.

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Cisco WAAS Network Module

The Cisco WAAS Network Module is the industry's first router-integrated application acceleration and WAN optimisation solution, the vendor claims. It integrates with Cisco's Integrated Services Routers to help facilitate branch-office infrastructure consolidation, accelerating application performance over the WAN, optimising WAN use, and simplifying data protection and backup. It is offered as two models - the Cisco NME-WAE-302/K9 and the Cisco NME-WAE-502/K9. The NME-WAE- 302/K9 provides customers with a low-cost, high-performance platform for accelerating access to applications over the WAN and for optimising use of WAN bandwidth. The NME-WAE-502/K9 allows customers to consolidate branch servers, storage, and data protection solutions in the datacentre; accelerates application access; and provides near-LAN performance to centralized applications across the WAN while reducing the cost of WAN bandwidth.
Distributed by Express Data, Ingram Micro and LAN Systems.
RRP: from $8000

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Exinda 2800 UPM

Aimed at significantly improving WAN access, this unified performance management (UPM) appliance combines WAN traffic optimisation, WAN application and TCP acceleration technologies onto a single platform. It is designed to help improve network response and performance, raise staff productivity and strongly reduce communications costs in multiple remote and small office locations. It ensures optimal and predictable performance of Citrix and VoIP services across distributed enterprise networks. Applicable to locations with up to 30 workstations, the Exinda 2800 will support optimisation and acceleration options from 1Mbps-10Mbps. The platform delivers TCP acceleration, policy-based QoS, WAN memory (acceleration), CIFS protocol optimisation (WAFS), cross-flow compression, comprehensive Layer 2 to Layer 7 monitoring and reporting, Adaptive Response, policy controls (P2P control) and Application Response Measurements.
Distributed by Firewall Systems and Tech Plus.
RRP: $3000 for 1MB appliance; $7600 for a hybrid 6MB-10MB appliance

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Packeteer iShared 3.2

Packeteer's latest infrastructure solution is aimed at organisations pursuing server, storage and resource consolidation to meet cost, security and regulatory compliance objectives. The Microsoft Windows-based appliance offers seamless interoperability with Microsoft Windows Server technologies. It effectively replaces branch servers and storage with one small device allowing remote office users near LAN-speed access to centralised enterprise applications and local services over the WAN. It delivers WAFS (CIFS acceleration, fi le differencing, storage caching, distributed file system) with WAN optimisation (gigabyte-level dictionary caching, compression, TCP acceleration, MS Exchange acceleration, and Web object caching) as well as advanced Microsoft application services. This integrated set of solutions moves beyond simple acceleration to provide key IT services including SMS, Domain Controller, Print, DNS and DHCP. These are all managed within and compatible with the Microsoft framework and security. The capabilities represent new requirements for enhancing branch office service levels and extending branch office manageability.
Distributed by LAN Systems and Express Data.
RRP: from $6000

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Juniper WXC 590

Juniper's platforms accelerate applications between datacenter locations and branch offices, delivering faster response times for users accessing datacenter resources. The WXC 590 platform delivers new features to accelerate application performance, ensure high availability and deliver advanced network visibility and intelligence. With this functionality, it helps enterprises meet key IT initiatives - datacentre consolidation, Web-enablement of applications, data replication and backup, implementation of high availability architectures, and regulatory compliance. To increase application performance, the new WXC 590 can be deployed in a stack configuration that can be licensed up to 155Mbps and support up to 840 sites. It can be deployed on OC-3 links in a 3-client stack configuration supporting up to 420 remote sites, or as a single platform for 45Mbps links supporting 140 sites.
Distributed by ChannelWorx.
RRP: from $33,300

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RAD Vmux-400 GSM

The Vmux-400 GSM optimisation gateway maximises bandwidth utilisation in large, central or remote site installations by eliminating redundant silence and idle frames in the A-bis protocol. Supporting both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint GSM A-bis/A-ter optimisation, this appliance is particularly useful in applications where landlines do not exist or are not available, or where expensive satellite and/or microwave links, with their limited bandwidth, are used to backhaul the GSM traffic. When employed in conjunction with other Vmux voice compression and bandwidth optimisation components, cellular operators can significantly reduce both their operational and capital expenditures. By applying technology that optimises the A-bis protocol interface (the encapsulated traffic running between the BTS and the BSC), however, it is possible to realise significant reduction in bandwidth, resulting in cost savings, according to the vendor.
Distributed by Paclink, UGL and TR Telecom.
RRP: from $US5500

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