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TCP Acceleration & WAN Optimisation

  • TCP Acceleration & WAN Optimisation

TCP Acceleration & WAN Optimisation

WAN Optimisation technology ensures the best use of existing infrastructure and the underlying network to allow applications to fully utilise the available bandwidth.

Applications operating across international links or cellular services often under perform by using only a proportion of the available bandwidth. WAN Optimisation addresses this issue by decoupling the application from the physical network limitations that cause the poor performance.

To unlock the benefits of WAN Optimisation there must be visibility on the underlying TCP and UDP traffic, as the appropriate management of the different protocols is essential. Similarly, if more than one network service is used, the WAN Optimisation algorithms must treat the characteristics of each network independently.

Livewire Digital has developed a unique and comprehensive approach to Wide Area Networks called RazorLink Smart Networking.  RazorLink is a Software Defined Networking (SDN) solution that offers WAN Optimisation across a wide variety of physical networks including cellular, satellite and international links. RazorLink can combine services offering a true Hybrid WAN for additional bandwidth or failover. Similarly, RazorLink can secure the link, encrypting data whatever route the traffic takes.

RazorLink is a software solution that can be installed on a Mac or PC, deployed like a router (physical or virtual) or embedded alongside system firmware. The counterpart can be run on dedicated hardware or virtualised on Private or Public Cloud services.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is WAN optimisation?

WAN optimisation is a collection of technologies and techniques designed to improve the performance, efficiency, and reliability of wide area networks. It helps reduce latency, improve application responsiveness, and optimise traffic flow across local, remote, cloud, and mobile environments.

How does WAN optimisation work?

WAN optimisation works by intelligently managing network traffic using techniques such as traffic prioritisation, compression, caching, protocol optimisation, and acceleration. These technologies reduce unnecessary data transmission and improve the efficiency of communications across the network.

What problems does WAN optimisation solve?

WAN optimisation helps solve problems such as high latency, packet loss, congestion, slow cloud application performance, inefficient bandwidth usage, and poor user experience across distributed or remote networks.

Can WAN optimisation improve cloud application performance?

Yes. WAN optimisation can improve the responsiveness of cloud applications by reducing latency, accelerating data transfer, and prioritising critical traffic. This is particularly valuable for organisations relying on SaaS platforms, remote access, and real-time collaboration tools.

What is the difference between WAN optimisation and WAN bonding?

WAN optimisation focuses on improving the efficiency and performance of network traffic, while WAN bonding combines multiple network connections to improve resilience, throughput, and continuity. Many modern networking solutions use both technologies together.

Does WAN optimisation reduce latency?

WAN optimisation can help reduce the impact of latency by accelerating protocols, optimising traffic flow, and reducing retransmissions. While it cannot eliminate physical distance, it can significantly improve perceived application responsiveness.

Can WAN optimisation help in high-latency satellite networks?

Yes. WAN optimisation is particularly valuable in satellite and remote networking environments where latency is naturally higher. Technologies such as TCP acceleration and intelligent traffic management can improve throughput and application performance over long-distance links.

Is WAN optimisation still relevant in modern SD-WAN environments?

Yes. Although SD-WAN improves traffic routing and network visibility, WAN optimisation technologies still play an important role in improving application performance, reducing congestion, and accelerating traffic across challenging network conditions.

Which applications benefit most from WAN optimisation?

Applications that are sensitive to latency or require large amounts of data transfer benefit most from WAN optimisation. These include cloud applications, video conferencing, VoIP, remote desktop services, file transfers, live streaming, and operational systems.

Can WAN optimisation improve performance in mobile environments?

Yes. Mobile and transport environments often experience fluctuating network conditions, congestion, and varying latency. WAN optimisation helps maintain more stable and responsive application performance across changing network links.

How does WAN optimisation support mission-critical communications?

WAN optimisation helps maintain reliable and responsive communications by prioritising critical traffic, reducing congestion, and improving application stability. This is especially important in emergency services, defence, transport, maritime, and industrial operations.

Which industries benefit most from WAN optimisation?

Industries that rely heavily on distributed networks, cloud applications, remote operations, and real-time communications benefit most from WAN optimisation, including emergency services, defence, transport, finance, maritime, utilities, and enterprise organisations.