Thoughts on the Orbital Data acquisition
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On Monday Citrix announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire privately-held Orbital Data, a network appliance builder out of San Mateo, California. This makes the fourth Citrix acquisition of Silicon Valley appliance makers (Net6, NetScaler, Teros and now Orbital Data).
How does this box fit in with the rest of Citrix? Citrix WANScaler Citrix NetScaler already optimizes traffic to web browsers, relying on standard HTTP optimizations that are available in all modern browsers and by tuning the TCP connections to the client and back-end web servers. When users go through a NetScaler device to access a web server farm, they get better performance without having to install any software on their client machine. This asymmetric aproach is perfect for dot-coms like Google or MySpace who need to push out tons of HTTP traffic to anonymous clients all over the web. But what about non-HTTP traffic? NetScaler can't really help there unless you are using it as an SSL VPN. The NetScaler SSL VPN client can perform multi-protocol compression. What about, for example, users in a branch office who need access to file servers at the company headquarters? It would be overkill to make all the branch office users log into an SSL VPN when there's already a WAN link in place. That's where Orbital Data fits in. It's a symmetric solution, where you put one box in HQ and then another box at the branch office. The two Orbital Data devices perfrom site-to-site traffic optimization for any protocol. Its transparent "bump-in-the-wire" architecture means that clients in the branch office and servers at HQ need no software to get the benefits. If you've worked with Citrix for a while, you already know that one of our core compentencies as an organization is rapid and frequent product renaming. ;-) We've already got a brand new brand name in mind for the Orbital Data boxes: Citrix WANScaler. I think this is a perfect name actually, it rolls off the tongue and conveys its purpose succinctly. How does this mesh with the Citrix VOS strategy? Citrix is all about delivering applications to users. For the past year or so we have been communicating a three-pronged approach for dealing with three different types of applications:
WANScaler will extend the "Optimize" message to embrace more than just HTTP traffic. It optimizes traffic on WAN links between offices within an organization. There's a nice little Powerpoint presentation posted on citrix.com that summarizes the WANScaler benefits and how it fits in with the rest of our VOS strategy. What does WANScaler have to do with Presentation Server? Not much really. The ICA protocol is already highly efficient and compressed so there's not a tremendous amount of value that a network appliance can add. The sweet spot for Orbital Data is optimizing traffic for applications and data that would otherwise use overly chatty protocols that run like molasses over a high-latency WAN link (like CIFS). However, most WAN links are not dedicated to ICA traffic, and by optimizing the other protocols on the WAN link, more room will be left over for ICA traffic. So Presentation Server users may notice better performance too by virtue of having a WAN link that is less congested. I think this is a good move for Citrix, and one that was widely anticipated. Jay |
Comments
Jay,
Great article, but a couple things you said directly conflict with the Citrix PowerPoint presentation you linked. Just wondering if you could clarify the following statements:
1.
You said:
"...clients in the branch office and servers at HQ need no software to get the benefits."
Citrix said (slide 3):
"Best solution for Small Branches and Mobile Users
Compact version of software installs directly on PCs."
2.
You said:
"What does WANScaler have to do with Presentation Server?
Not much really."
Citrix said (slide 3):
"Best Acceleration of Citrix Presentation Server
Demonstrated improvements of up to 5x"
Posted by: Sam | August 9, 2006 03:25 PM
Good eye Sam!
1. It's both. The Orbital 6000 series is a solution that delivers transparent WAN acceleration to clients and servers with no software required. Orbital Data also has an offering called "OrbitalEdge" that allows any client in any location to receive the benefits of connecting through a single appliance. When users are in the branch office, this software would not be required, but when they leave the network that has an appliance connected to it, they can take the benefits of WAN acceleration with them if the software is installed on the client. See: http://www.orbitaldata.com/products/orbitaledge.php
2. It's true that internal Citrix tests have demonstrated up to 5x acceleration of ICA traffic, but the benefits are contingent upon the type of traffic going through the ICA tunnel. Print jobs and large file copies (where the ICA packets are stuffed full) trigger a performance gain when going through WANScaler, but normal point-and-click ICA actions (where the ICA packets are generally small) would see very little benefit. At least that's my initial understanding of the technology.
Jay
Posted by: JayT | August 9, 2006 04:01 PM