Add Visibility to Your SteelHead to Optimize Network Performance

For some reason, whenever I think about how Riverbed NPM and SteelHead WAN Optimization can work together to provide better visibility into optimized network performance, the Johnny Nash song “I Can See Clearly Now” comes to mind:

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day…

Whether you are an existing SteelHead user or just thinking about adding WAN optimization to your portfolio, adding Riverbed NetProfiler to your SteelHead environment makes a lot of sense. Check out the solution brief for more info.

You see, SteelHeads utilizes SteelFlow, Riverbed’s proprietary version of network flow data. SteelFlow allows SteelHeads to send unique and rich optimization metrics to NetProfiler, our enterprise flow monitoring and analysis solution. This flow information includes application mapping, bandwidth reduction, optimized traffic latency, QoS, and retransmission metrics.

I can see all obstacles

When your organization uses WAN optimization to improve application performance, it can complicate your network visibility story.WAN optimization can mask many of the details necessary to monitor end-to-end visibility. NetProfiler overcomes the visibility blind spots that WAN optimization sometimes introduces into the network by its very nature. When you add NetProfiler to your SteelHead deployment it becomes a bright sunny day in the NetOps Center again. You gain:

• The ability to see all applications (2000+ auto-defined apps, plus custom-defined apps) everywhere they run.
• Centralized quality of service (QoS) policy configuration and visibility. NetProfiler aligns both inbound and outbound QoS results with business objectives using NetProfiler QoS rules.

  

• Accurate response time analysis of optimized applications.
• The ability to understand bandwidth reduction benefits. Report on all SteelHead optimization results simultaneously, and uncover additional optimization opportunities.
• WAN visibility (optimized and non-optimized traffic) into utilization for every location.
• Centralized troubleshooting of remote LANs.

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

The results are widespread and instantaneous. By using NetProfiler to optimize network performance management with your SteelHead, you gain tremendous benefits:

• Understand the end-to-end picture of your optimized network and application performance for faster troubleshooting.
• Keep critical applications running at peak performance—all the time, in all places—not just across the WAN.
• Identify performance issues earlier, as soon as they start, to avoid business-impacting issues.
• Troubleshoot performance problems quickly and efficiently, no matter where they occur.

To learn more about how NetProfiler can provide comprehensive visibility into SteelHead WAN optimization, download the solution brief.