WAN-optimization Data Services
Remote data replication over Wide Area Networks (WAN) has become increasingly widespread with the mass adoption and deployment of iSCSI-based storage appliances. However, despite its popularity, it is not without challenges.
One of the biggest challenges now facing replication over long distances is the delay incurred when doing so. Signals transported at nearly the speed of light are saddled with delays, resulting in latencies that can no longer be ignored, as is the case with WAN/LAN data transfers. These round-trip delays can range from a couple of milliseconds for inter-city connections to around 80-100 ms from coast-to-coast, and as much as 250-300 ms for submarine transmissions across the globe.
Since it is founded in iSCSI technology, StorTrends iTX Data Storage Software relies heavily on the TCP/IP protocol, optimized for LAN and SAN environments, for serving front-end I/Os and for synchronous replication operations. StorTrends iTX harnesses standards-based transport protocols to minimize the inefficiencies and high latencies of TCP/IP in WAN situations, and greatly improve and increase data transfer speed, approaching the theoretical maximum of the connection speed.
StorTrends iTX also provides additional performance gains through its WAN-optimization Data Services (WDS) module, which features data reduction technologies such as compression and data deduplication. Designed to provide the most efficient and optimal asynchronous replication capability, WDS does so through powerful data deduplication and WAN acceleration features.
