Looks like Cisco is expanding right into the WAN optimization market held by Expand Networks, F5 Networks, Juniper Networks, Riverbed and Packeteer. This time Cisco is adding new features like Protocol
optimizations, caching, content distribution, and streaming media technologies. Cisco Wide-Area Application Services (WAAS) combines the company's existing Wide-Area Application Engines (WAE) and integrated network modules running Cisco WAFS and Cisco Application and Content Networking System (ACNS) software. Its good to see this market expanding as it will incur newer technologies to help speed things up for slower DSL lines.
According to Arnnet :
Cisco Tuesday is set to introduce a product suite that couples the company's Wide-Area File Services and content distribution technologies with optimization features to deliver an integrated feature set that tackles application performance over the WAN and at branch offices. Cisco acquired its WAFS technology with Actona back in 2004, and incorporated other technologies (TCP and HTTP optimization, delta-based caching and compression) from various groups within Cisco. According to Cisco, WAAS will offer enterprise network managers responsible for multiple branch offices "the benefits of centralized infrastructure and simple remote access to applications, storage and content."
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