data sheet: riverbed® steelhead® Product family

Companies of all sizes depend on the Riverbed Steelhead

product family to accelerate the performance of applications over

the WAN.

Steelhead appliances and Steelhead Mobile deliver the highest

performing and most scalable WDS solution available, overcom-

ing both bandwidth and latency problems to deliver LAN-like per-

formance to branch offices or mobile workers across the globe.

With Riverbed, users are more productive, data moves faster and

applications perform seamlessly. Riverbed Technology brings the

world closer, changing the way people work.

Small Office

Mid-Size Office to Large Office or Data CenterMobile Client

accelerating applications for the Global Workforce

RiverbedSteelheadproductsaccelerateapplicationperformanceanddatatransferoverthewideareanetwork(WAN),overcomingbandwidthandgeographicallimitationstoimproveproductivityandenableglobalcollaboration.WithRiverbed,filetransfersthatoncetookhoursorminutes,nowtakeminutesorseconds.

Workerstodayneedaccesstoinformationwhereverandwhenevertheywork–whetheratcorporateheadquarters,abranchofficeonanothercontinent,oron-sitewithacustomer.Thedemandforanywhere/anytimeaccesstodataputstremendousstrainonITtodeliveranincreasingnumberofapplicationsovertheWAN.

Riverbed’saward-winningwide-areadataservices(WDS)solutionsstrategicallyenableITtocentralizeandreduceoperationaloverheadandexpense,whileimprovingend-usersatisfac-tion.Riverbed’sproductshavebeenproveninsomeofthemostdemandingandcomplexnetworksintheworld,withthousandsofcustomersdeployingSteelheadWDSsolutions.

key Benefits

application accelerationRiverbedSteelheadproductsacceleratethebroadsetofapplicationsimportanttobusiness.Riverbedapplicationmodules,com-binedwiththecompany’sdatastreamliningandtransportstreamlining,deliverdramaticperformanceincreasesacrosstheWANforallTCPapplications,byupto100times.

it infrastructure ConsolidationConsolidatefile,emailandapplicationserv-ers,andstoragefromremotebranchestocutcostsandoperationalcomplexitywithoutsacrificingperformance.

reduced Bandwidth utilizationCompaniesthathavedeployedRiverbed’sSteelheadproductstypicallyreduceband-widthutilizationby60%to95%,oftenallowingthemtodefercostlybandwidthupgrades.

optimized disaster recoveryWithRiverbed’sDRaccelerationmodule,organizationscanreplicateandbackupdatatoremotesitesevenfaster,oftenreducingtransferwindowsfromhourstominutes.Companiescanfurtherenhancetheirdataprotectionstrategybyeliminatingremotebackupinfrastructuretogreatlyreducetheriskofdatalossthroughlosttapesormedia.

secure application accelerationRiverbedistheonlycompanythatcanopti-mizeSSLtrafficwithoutcompromisingtheend-to-endtrustmodel.CompaniessubjecttocomplianceregulationssuchasSOX,HIPAA,PCIorothersecurityrequirementscandeliverbothperformanceandsecurityfortheirapplications.

enable the Mobile WorkforceMobileworkersoftenreceivesub-optimalapplicationperformancewhentheycon-necttoresourcesfromremotelocations.WithSteelheadMobile,ITcandeliverlocalperformancetoremoteworkerswherevertheyconnect.

“Steelhead appliances were the easiest to manage, which is a critical component to a successful global deployment as large as ours.” Kang-Seok Chung, Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure Group, LG Electronics

sPeedRiverbedSteelheadproductsaddressperformancelimitationsusingamulti-tieredoptimizationapproach.Unlikeoldergenerationtechnologies,suchaswideareafileservices(WAFS)orfilecaching,Steelheadproductsoptimizetrafficusingapatentedapplicationagnosticalgorithmtoachievemassive-scaledatadeduplication.TheRiverbedsolutionlayersTCPandapplicationprotocoloptimizationontopofitsdatareductiontechniquetodeliveramulti-tieredoptimizationstrategythatsetsthetechnologicalhigh-barforWDS,anddeliversunparalleledapplicationaccelera-tionovertheWAN.

the riverbed difference: speed, scalability, simplicity

sCalaBilityRiverbed’suniversaldatastoreprovidesgreaterscalabilitythanper-peerstoragemodelsandreducesWANoptimizationstoragerequirements.Byavoidingtheper-peerstoragelimitation,companiescaneasilyscaletohundredsofsiteswithany-to-anyconnectivity.SteelheadproductsalsoutilizeaTCP-basedtransport,whichavoidsthepitfallsofrunningaproprietarytransportonasharednetwork.TheSteelheadproductfamilysupportsupto4Gbpsofthroughputandonemillionconcurrentcon-nections.Theproductfamilyisoneofthemostscalableintheindustry.

siMPliCityCompaniescandeploySteelheadproductsinamatterofminutes.Steelheaddeploy-mentscanbeperformedfromasingleconsolewithvirtuallyplug-and-playinstalla-tions,andtheRiverbedsolutiondoesnotrequireanychangestoclientsandserversnortheuseofspecificroutingprotocols.SteelheadproductshavebeenproveninabroadrangeofnetworkenvironmentsalongsideVoIP,videoconferencing,andQoS,givingcustomersflexibilityandseamlessintegrationwiththeexistinginfrastructure.

aCCelerate key enterPrise aPPliCations

Steelhead products accelerate all TCP-based �applications through a multi-tiered optimi-zation approach.

Riverbed delivers specific application accel- �eration modules for CIFS, MAPI (5.5 thru 2007), HTTP/HTTPS, NFS, MS-SQL, and Oracle 11i.

An easy-to-use GUI provides dashboard �visibility of WAN traffic and optimization status.

MS Exchange (Email Flood): 6.4 MB email attachment over 256K WAN – Time to Complete (in seconds)

0 56 112 168 224 280 336 392 448 504 560

WithoutSteelhead

FirstSteelhead Transfer

SubsequentSteelhead Transfers More than 54x faster

SharePoint HTTP File Save: 6.14 MB file via Verizon Wireless v620 Broadband Card (788Kbps with 209ms RTT latency) – Time to Complete

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

WithoutSteelhead Mobile

Cold Run

Warm RunMore than 63x faster

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

WithoutSteelhead

FirstSteelhead Operation

SubsequentSteelhead Operations More than 90x faster

MS CIFS File Transfer: 2.37MB over 256K / 20ms Connection – Time to Complete (in seconds)

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

WithoutSteelhead

FirstSteelhead Operation

SubsequentSteelhead Operation

More than 45x faster

NetApp SnapMirror Full Datastore Initialization or Recovery (5GB Directory Tree) Over T1 WAN – Time to Complete (in minutes)

technological leadership to enable your Business RiverbedSteelheadproductshavebeenproventodramaticallyaccelerateapplicationperformanceinsomeofthemostdemandingcustomerenvi-ronments.OurcustomersrangefromtheFortune50andGlobal1000,tocompanieswithoneoffice.

Riverbed’saward-winningproductshaveconsistentlyproventhemselvesasthehighestperformingWDSsolutions,earningrecognitionasthe“TechnologyoftheYear-BestWANAccelerator”byInfoWorldforfouryearsrunning(2005,2006,2007,and2008)andhasbeenpositionedbyGartnerintheleadersquadrantinthe“WANOptimizationController(WOC)MagicQuadrant*twoyearsinarow.”

The Serverless Branch OfficeTherapidpaceofbusinessandtightdeadlinescanchallengeITtokeepupwiththedeploymentofnewbranchoffices.TheserverlessbranchofficeenabledwithSteelheadproductscanhelpITrampupandgetbranchesupandrunningfaster.Steelheadproductscanbedeployedeasilyinminuteswithminimalconfiguration.Withnomorecomplexbuildoutsorremoteserverstoinstallandmanage,branchesgetsetupfaster,administrativeoverheaddecreases,andusersaremoreproductive.

Headlinestoriesabouttapesfallingofftrucksandthepotentialleakageofsensitivedatahavebecomealltoocommonforboththeenter-priseandtheconsumer.CxOsrequireassurancethatsensitivedatawillremainprivateandarelookingforwaystoreducetheirdatalossrisk.Byeliminatingremotebackupinfrastructureandmedia,companiescansignificantlyenhancetheirdataprotectionstrategy.

Enabling the Mobile WorkforceIThasoftenstruggledtosupportremoteuserswhoneedaccesstocor-poratedataandapplications,andmobileusershavecometoexpectsub-optimalperformancewhentheyworkremotely.SteelheadMobilesoft-wareextendsRiverbed’saward-winningtechnologytoanyPCorlaptoptodeliveraccelerationwhereverusersconnect.WithSteelheadMobile,applicationsrunfasterandremoteworkersarenolonger“remote.”

Optimized Disaster Recovery – Data Protection and Availability BusinessesofallsizesdependontheirDRplanstobuildrobustfail-overcapabilities,ensuredataprotection,andprovideavailability.WithRiverbed’sDRacceleration,organizationscanperformWAN-basedback-upsordatareplicationwithoutstrugglingtofinishjobsinatightbackupwindow.Previouslyunacceptablebackuptimescanbeaccomplished30timesfaster,usingthesamebackupsoftware.Withacceleratedbackupandreplication,customerscanalsotakemorefrequentsnapshotsanddramaticallyimprovetheirrecoverytimeintheeventofafailure.

True Application Layer AccelerationRiverbed’smulti-tieredoptimizationapproachleveragesindustry-leadingdatade-duplicationandtransportlayeraccelerationalongwithabroadersetofapplicationspecificprotocoloptimizations.Attheapplicationlayer(layer7),Riverbedemploysseveralapplicationaccelerationmethodsthatresultinevengreaterperformancegains.Theneteffectisthatapplica-tionsanddatasimplymovefaster.Specificlayer7protocoloptimizationsareavailableforWindowsFileSharing(CIFS),Exchange(MAPIversions5.5thru2007),Web(HTTPandHTTPS),NFS,MS-SQL,andOracle11i.1

IT Infrastructure Consolidation - The Performance Trade-OffManyorganizationsarelookingtoconsolidatetheirITinfrastructureasawaytosimplifymanagement,increaseresourceutilizationandreducecosts.Unfortunately,theconsolidatedITmodelcanoftenresultindimin-ishedapplicationperformanceandahittouserproductivitythatoffsetsanyconsolidationcostsavings.Riverbed’sSteelheadproductsallowuserstoaccessconsolidatedITresourceswithouttradingoffperformance.

*Gartner Research “Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers, 2007,” by Andy Rolf and Joe Skorupa. December 14, 2007

1Riverbed is the only WDS vendor to accelerate MAPI 2K3, MAPI 2K7, and MS-SQL at the application layer.

“Our files and data now move more than 70 times faster between offices, giving us the ability to complete projects more quickly.” Bruce Bartolf, CTO, Gensler

the riverbed optimization system (rios™) RiOSsoftwarepowersSteelheadproductsthroughacombinationofpatent-pendingdatareduction,TCPoptimization,andapplication-levelprotocoloptimizations.Together,thesetechnologies,alongwithRiOSmanagementcapabilities,provideacomprehensivesolutionforenterpriseWDS.RiOSconsistsoffourkeycomponents:

Data streamlining–RiOSdatastreamliningworksacrossallTCPapplicationstoreduceband-widthutilization,typicallyby60%to95%.Datastreamliningworksacrossfilesharing(includ-ingWindowsandNFS),email(includingMSExchangeandLotusNotes),CAD,ERP,web-basedHTTPandHTTPSapplications,databases,andallotherapplicationsthatuseTCP.

Transport streamlining–RiOStransportstreamliningreducesthenumberofTCPpacketsrequiredtotransferdataby65%to98%.TransportstreamliningalsoenablestheaccelerationofSSL-encryptedtrafficthroughouttheenterprisetoeliminatethesecurityandperformancetrade-off.WithHS-TCPandMX-TCP,RiOScanenablegreaterutilizationofhighbandwidthlinks(ie.longfatnetworks(LFN)suchasOC3,OC12,metrofiber).

Application streamlining –RiOSapplicationstreamliningoffersthebroadestsupportofapplication-specificmodulesforkeyenterpriseapplicationstoprovideadditionalapplica-tionperformanceimprovementsontopofthedatastreamliningandtransportstreamliningoptimizationsperformedonallTCPtraffic.Byreducingapplicationprotocolchattinessupto98%andminimizingapplicationoverhead,RiOScanprovidemassivethroughputincreasestoapplicationsincludingfilesharing(CIFSandNFS),Exchange(MAPI5.5thru2007),Web(HTTPandHTTPS),anddatabase(MS-SQLandOracle11i).

Management streamlining–RiOSenableseasydeploymentthroughauto-discoveryofpeersandauto-interceptionoftraffic,withnoreconfigurationofclients,servers,orrouters.ManycustomersdeploySteelheadproductsinminutesandRiOSsimplifiesongoingmanagementbyprovidingsimple,butpowerfulweb-basedandcommand-lineinterfaces,in-depthreportingandreal-timeNetFlowexport.SimpleintegrationintothenetworkhasledtoRiverbeddeploy-mentsinavastarrayofnetworkenvironmentsandtopologiesincluding,butnotlimitedto,MPLS,VoIP,videoconferencing,QoS,VPN,satelliteinfrastructure,ATM,framerelay,micro-wave,andwireless.

BRANCH OFFICEDATA CENTERSteelheadAppliance

Maintain TCP sessions

Maintain TCP sessions

Initiate new TCP sessions

WAN

SteelheadAppliance

Steelhead Mobile Client

No tunnelsAuto-discoveryVirtually plug-and-play

the riverbed framework

“Steelhead appliances cut WAN-based backup windows from 16 hours to just 6 hours. This enables us to do more frequent, more reliable backups.” Rakesh Patel, Technical Architect, Liz Claiborne

Steelhead AppliancesCost-effective deployment• –appliancemodelsthatscaletomeetthedeploymentneedsofanyoffice

Application acceleration• –Acceleratethebroadestrangeofapplicationsthatarecriticaltobusiness

Simplicity• –Transparentlydeployinminuteswithoutchangestoapplications,users,rout-ers,orotherITinfrastructure

Scalability• –Oneofthemostscalableaccelera-tionsolutionsavailableonthemarket,sup-portingthousandsofusersononedevice

Upgradeable • –SimplelicenseupgradesletSteelheadappliancesgrowwithyourbusinessandprovideinvestmentprotection.

Reporting• –At-a-glancereportingonoptimi-zationandtrafficvisibilitywithsupportforNetflowexport.

Steelhead Mobile SoftwareAcceleration directly to any PC• –Mobileworkers,homeoffices,andverysmallbranchoffices.

Network Integration and Deployment Options

Transparency• –3WANvisibilitymodesforflexibility,exportreal-timeflowsfromaSteelheadappliancetoathird-partyNetflowcollector,givingfullvisibilityintoWANtrafficbysource,destination,IPaddress,applicationport,andmore

Auto discovery• –Appliancesautomaticallyfindin-pathpeersinthenetwork,withnotunnelconfigurationsrequired

Deployment• –Installstransparentlyin-lineorasa“onearm”attachmenttorouters/switcheswithdirectconfiguration,WCCP,PBR,andL4switchredirectionmodes

RiOS Services Platform (RSP) • –AprotectedservicesandapplicationpartitiontorunadditionalsoftwaremodulesontheSteelheadappliance

Multi-port interfaces• –On-boardGigEportsstandardonmostmodels;Optional4PortGigECardavailable);Upto3cards(12portstotal)perSteelheadappliance

Asymmetric routing• –Asymmetricroutedetec-tionandconnectionforwardingforsupportofrouteasymmetryonboththeclientandserversides

Fully transparent• –Deploywithoutanyinput,management,ormonitoringfromendusers.TransparenttonetworkconnectivityorVPN.

Steelhead InterceptorMassive scaling• –WiththeoptionalIntercep-tor,enterprisescanenablemassiveclustereddeploymentsofSteelheadappliances.Upto4Gbpsofoptimizedthroughputandupto1,000,000concurrentconnectionscanbeopti-mizedsimultaneously.

Support complexity• –Enablecomplexredun-dantdeployment,eveninenvironmentswithasymmetricrouting.

Central Management ConsoleDeployment • –Enabletouchlessconfigurationofnewappliances.Controlpolicies,optimiza-tionrules,QoSconfiguration,andmore.

Management• –Enableasinglemanage-mentinterfaceforenterprisedeploymentsofSteelheadappliances.One-touchsoftwareupgrades,healthalerts,jobschedulerandoptimizationperformancecanallbecon-trolledcentrally.

additional features

Visibility• –Enablesreal-timevisibilityintoapplicationandWANperformance.ConfigurereportingandpoliciesforNetflowexport.

Steelhead Mobile ControllerDeployment• –EnableautomateddeploymentofSteelheadMobileontoremotemachines.Controlpolicies,optimizationrules,andmore.

Management• –Accessasingle-sourceformonitoringandlicensemanagement.One-touchsoftwareupgrades,healthalerts,andoptimizationperformancecanbecontrolledcentrally.

Visibility• –Enablesreal-timevisibilityintoapplicationandWANperformance.Customiz-ablereportingisavailable.

Network agnostic• –Fullmesh,hubandspoke,andmulti-droptopologiessupported;MPLS,IPVPN,Satellite,Frame,ATMandanyotherIPtransportsupported

Seamless integration• –Workseasilywithexist-ingQoS,VoIP,videoconferencingandotherreal-timetraffic

Management and PolicyConfiguration• –WebUI,CLI,andCentralMan-agementConsole(CMC),SteelheadManage-mentConsole(SMC)

Marking• –DSCP,port,andVLANmappingand/orpreservation.Automaticport-to-applicationmappingforreporting

Reporting• –Robustreal-timeperformancesta-tisticsgathering,export,andgraphicalreport-ing;Local,CMC,SMC,andSysloglogging;ReportontrafficbyQoSclass,application,andmore;SNMPsupport

Optimization policy• –Per-applicationadmis-sionandoptimizationcontrols

Bandwidth management• –HFSC-basedQoSallowsforapplicationprioritization,low-latencyqueuingforVoIP;SettableWANbandwidthratecontrolsincluded

Hierarchical QoS• –GranularQoScapabilityfornetworkswithvaryingbandwidthlinks;allowsper-siteapplicationofQoSrulesandsimplifiedmanagement

High AvailabilityClustering• –Serial(in-path),parallel(out-of-path),orvirtualin-pathclusteringformassivescalability

Fail-to-wire• –Ensuresnolossinnetworkcon-nectivityintheeventofdevicefailure

N:1 and 1:1 redundancy• –Hot-standbyredun-dancyandN:1clustering

Redundant disk and power• –AvailableRAIDanddualpowersupplieson1Uand3Umodels

Dual image SW upgrades• –Scheduleover-the-wiresoftwareupgradeswithdualimage,rollback,andscheduledrestart/reboot

SecuritySSL acceleration• –AccelerateSSLencryptedtrafficwithoutbreakingthepreferredtrustmodel

Authentication• –RADIUSandTACACS+sup-portforauthenticatingaccess

Network encryption • –ConfigurableIPSecencryptionforWANtraffic

Encrypted data store• –SupportAES-128,AES-192,andAES-256encryptionfordatastoredondisk

Secure registration • –EnsuresonlyapproveddevicescommunicatewiththeCentralMan-agementConsole(CMC)

key features

data sheet: riverbed steelhead Product family

BRANCH OFFICE

DATA CENTER

Steelhead Appliance(In-path deployment)

Steelhead Mobile(Software deployment)

Steelhead Mobile Controller(Required for Steelhead Mobile)

Steelhead Appliance(Out-of-path deployment)

Central Management Console(Optional)

Interceptor(Optional)

WAN

MOBILE WORKERS

typical steelhead deployment

©2008RiverbedTechnology.Allrightsreserved.PortionsofRiverbed’s products are protected under Riverbed patents,as well as patents pending. Riverbed Technology, Riverbed,RiOS, Steelhead, Interceptor, and the Riverbed logo aretrademarksorregisteredtrademarksofRiverbedTechnology,Inc.DS-FPB072108

about riverbedRiverbedTechnologyistheperformanceleaderinWDSsolutionsforcompaniesworldwide.Byenablingapplicationperformanceoverthewideareanetwork(WAN)thatisordersofmagnitudefasterthanwhatusersexperienceordinarily,Riverbedischangingthewaypeoplework,andenablingadistributedwork-forcethatcancollaborateasiftheywerelocal.AdditionalinformationaboutRiverbed(Nasdaq:RVBD)isavailableatwww.riverbed.com.

25x 100x or more ->0 5x 10x 15x 20x

ERP - Oracle 11i, SAP NetWeaver

ERP - Fat Client

Database - Oracle SQL

Database - MS-SQL

Software Distribution - SMS

Backup & Replication

FTP

Web - HTTP, HTTPS, Intranet

Mail - Notes

SharePoint

Mail - Exchange (MAPI)

File Sharing - Unix (NFS)

File Sharing - Windows (CIFS)

120

10

5

5

20

44

50

Document Management

50

60

Peak PerformanceMost Likely range

50

70

200

55

45

riverbed accelerates all tCP applications

Riverbed Technology, Inc.199FremontStreetSanFrancisco, CA94105Tel:+14152478800Fax:+14152478801www.riverbed.com

Riverbed Technology Pte. Ltd.350OrchardRoad#21-01/03ShawHouseSingapore238868Tel:+6568328082

Riverbed Technology Ltd. 1,TheCourtyard,EasternRd.BracknellBerkshireRG122XBUnitedKingdomTel:+441344354910

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2005,2006,2007,2008