Tacit Networks Adds WAN Optimization to WAFS Solutions
Ishared platform integrates WAN optimization to become the industry’s first Windows-based all-in-one WAFS and WAN optimization “Branch Office in a Box” solution
South Plainfield, N.J. -- March 27, 2006 -- Tacit Networks®, a leader in enterprise-wide remote office IT solutions, today broadened its Ishared platform to include WAN Optimization, making it the industry’s most comprehensive single “Branch Office in a Box” solution. This new platform now features Tacit Networks’ ARC (Accleration, Reduction and Compression) WAN Optimization technology to enhance a wide range of TCP-based enterprise applications.
ARC WAN Optimization will become a standard feature, along with other key enhancements on the company’s Ishared 3.0 software release for enterprise branch, remote and small office / home office (SOHO) locations. With this new release, Tacit Networks now offers the industry’s first all-in-one solution bringing customers reduced costs, storage, and server consolidation and increased productivity through WAN Optimization, Wide Area File Services (WAFS), Exchange E-mail Services, and Windows-based branch office IT services, deployed either as an appliance or via software on existing customer servers and filers.
Previously, only point solutions such as replication products or network-level accelerators that address single branch-office technology challenges were available. With the additional technologies in Tacit Networks’ 3.0 software release, however, the company’s Ishared platform now becomes the industry’s first solution that encompasses all critical branch office technology in a single “Branch Office in a Box.”
Tacit Networks’ Ishared 3.0 software release also includes key enhancements for streamlining system deployments, advanced management and resiliency features, and integration with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2. Additionally, the 3.0 release continues to build on Tacit Networks’ pioneering WAFS functionality while supporting critical branch-office IT services including print, e-mail, management, and networking services, as well as supporting enterprise-class security schemes and disconnected operations. These new feature-rich capabilities are available to customers as either a software-based solution on industry-standard hardware platforms, or on the standard Ishared appliance platform.
About Tacit Networks’ ARC WAN Optimization Technology
ARC WAN Optimization integrates advanced technologies that reduce WAN latency and bandwidth consumption to accelerate all TCP-based applications, including Web (HTTP) applications, Microsoft SharePoint, FTP, and replication and backup applications. These technologies include:
Acceleration of the TCP protocol by providing local acknowledgements and transparent WAN re-transmissions to reduce the impact of network latency and packet loss, as well as large window sizes to enable maximum throughput for broadband high-latency connections
Data reduction by using wide dictionary technology to eliminate redundant data transfer over the WAN by analyzing traffic flows and transmitting references to repeated data patterns rather than the data itself, resulting in effective compression ratios of up to 100 to 1
Compression that applies powerful data aggregation techniques to unique TCP traffic flows to compress data across multiple TCP segments, reducing bandwidth consumption by 50-80 percent and optimizing even the initial access to data
Taken together, Tacit Networks’ ARC WAN Optimization technologies enable enterprises to centralize a wide variety of applications without compromising end-user performance, while saving WAN bandwidth. ARC WAN Optimization seamlessly co-exists with Tacit Networks’ WAFS technology, which offers native CIFS protocol support and the industry’s strongest end-to-end security, allowing full support for security schemes such as SMB Signing for CIFS traffic to protect data from “man in the middle” attacks, as well as Kerberos Authentication and optional site-to-site data encryption.
About Tacit Networks’ Ishared 3.0 Software Release
In addition to Tacit Networks’ new ARC WAN Optimization technology, the Ishared 3.0 software release also delivers important features for enabling faster enterprise-wide deployments, improved management capabilities, advanced resiliency options, and Windows Server 2003 R2 integration. Key enhancements include:
Web Cache Control Protocol (WCCP) and Policy-Based Routing (PBR) support for enabling WAFS and WAN optimization deployments that are transparent to desktops and existing server infrastructure
Disaster recovery (DR) support that enables an entire system of appliances to switch over to a secondary datacenter in the event of a DR event without compromising performance and remote device failover support for critical branch offices %%Improvements in product usability and management, including a device setup wizard, enhanced cache pre-population and bandwidth management, additional cache statistics, and diagnostics and new SNMP and e-mail-based alerts
Integrated support for Microsoft’s latest Windows Server 2003 R2 operating system, which includes key features for more efficient replication, file server namespace and printer management for the branch office
Availability and Pricing
Tacit Networks’ ARC WAN Optimization technology is in beta testing now and will be available in April 2006. The solution will be offered as an upgrade at no charge to current customers and as part of Tacit Networks’ standard Ishared offering to new customers.
About Tacit Networks
Tacit Networks is a pioneer in Wide Area File Services (WAFS) and WAN Optimization, enabling businesses to consolidate, accelerate, and control information. For more information visit http://www.tacitnetworks.com.
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