Citrix Systems, wasting no time launching WAN optimization appliances based on its recent Orbital Data acquisition, introduced Sept. 18 its WANScaler 8000 line along with a new release of its NetScaler Web application acceleration software.
With WAN optimization and application acceleration poised to go mainstream in some large enterprises, Citrix at Interop in New York unveiled its WANScaler 8000 family for data centers and branch offices.
The WANScaler 8000 appliances perform multilevel compression, allowing them to “dynamically select and apply the right compression algorithm for a particular application type, data flow and network bandwidth conditions,” said Greg Smith, a marketing director at Citrix, in San Jose, Calif.
WANScaler options, which include disk-based compression, Level 2 cache and memory-based compression, can improve application response time by as much as 300 times for users in branch offices. A new algorithm can compress data at up to a 3500-1 ratio. Such performance improvements can prevent the need to upgrade WAN links to remote branch offices, Smith said.
The new line includes the WANScaler 8800 and 8500. The 8800, designed in a 2U (3.5-inch) form factor for data centers, comes with dual power supplies, dual fans and RAID disks and supports WAN speeds of up to 500M bps. Citrixs 1U (1.75-inch) WANScaler 8500 is designed for midsize and large branch offices.
The WANScaler 8000 line also works with a WANScaler Client to bring performance benefits to remote users working in very small branches, home offices or on the road.
Pricing starts at $8,500 for the WANScaler 8500 and $40,000 for the WANScaler 8800. Both appliances are available now.
Version 7.0 of Citrixs NetScaler Web application acceleration software also focuses on scalability. The software can support up to 15,000 servers in a single data center. NetScaler 7.0 is also available now.