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RVBD » Topics » Wide-Area Distributed Computing Challenges

These excerpts taken from the RVBD 10-K filed Feb 23, 2009.

Wide-Area Distributed Computing Challenges

Technological advances in computing, networking, semiconductor and storage technologies have improved users’ ability to access data and use applications rapidly across their LANs and store enormous amounts of information economically. However, these same applications and storage technologies, which were often designed to operate optimally on LANs, perform slowly across WANs and frequently exhibit the following performance challenges:

 

  Ÿ  

delays in accessing, saving and transferring files;

 

  Ÿ  

slow execution of critical software application functions;

 

  Ÿ  

incomplete or inconsistent back-up and recovery of sensitive data; and

 

  Ÿ  

loss of worker productivity and increased end-user frustration.

Although many companies have attempted to solve these problems solely by adding bandwidth, we believe these performance problems can best be solved by addressing not only bandwidth challenges but also, and usually more importantly, the effects of latency and protocol chattiness:

 

  Ÿ  

Latency and protocol chattiness — “Latency” is the amount of time it takes data to travel distances across a WAN. “Chattiness” refers to the numerous interactions between clients and servers that are often required by applications or network transport protocols to complete an operation or transfer data. When combined in geographically distributed computing environments, latency and chattiness can result in dramatically slower performance. For example, a simple request to open a file may require hundreds if not thousands of sequential round-trip interactions that, when aggregated, can result in substantial delays. This problem arises from two distinct sources:

 

  – Application protocol chattiness — Many business applications were designed for optimal use within LAN environments and employ unique communications procedures that cause high chattiness, resulting in slow performance for the end-user when transmitted over a WAN; and

 

5

Table of Contents
  – Network protocol chattiness — Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the underlying transport protocol for most WAN traffic, divides data into relatively small packets that are sent sequentially across the WAN, and require return acknowledgement from the recipient. These numerous round trips across the WAN can result in slow performance for the end-user.

 

  Ÿ  

Bandwidth limitations — Bandwidth is defined as the amount of data that can traverse a network in a given amount of time and is typically measured in megabits per second (Mbps). While most organizations’ LANs typically operate at 100 or 1,000 Mbps, their remote office WAN connections typically operate at 2 Mbps or less. This often results in WAN congestion and poor application and data services performance. In addition, WAN outages limit the effectiveness of workers who are dependent on remote access to data and applications.

Wide-Area Distributed Computing Challenges

SIZE="2">Technological advances in computing, networking, semiconductor and storage technologies have improved users’ ability to access data and use applications rapidly across their LANs and store enormous amounts of information economically.
However, these same applications and storage technologies, which were often designed to operate optimally on LANs, perform slowly across WANs and frequently exhibit the following performance challenges:

STYLE="font-size:6px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"> 







 Ÿ 

delays in accessing, saving and transferring files;

 







 Ÿ 

slow execution of critical software application functions;

 







 Ÿ 

incomplete or inconsistent back-up and recovery of sensitive data; and

 







 Ÿ 

loss of worker productivity and increased end-user frustration.

SIZE="2">Although many companies have attempted to solve these problems solely by adding bandwidth, we believe these performance problems can best be solved by addressing not only bandwidth challenges but also, and usually more importantly, the
effects of latency and protocol chattiness:

 







 Ÿ 

Latency and protocol chattiness — “Latency” is the amount of time it takes data to travel distances across a WAN. “Chattiness” refers to the
numerous interactions between clients and servers that are often required by applications or network transport protocols to complete an operation or transfer data. When combined in geographically distributed computing environments, latency and
chattiness can result in dramatically slower performance. For example, a simple request to open a file may require hundreds if not thousands of sequential round-trip interactions that, when aggregated, can result in substantial delays. This problem
arises from two distinct sources:

 






 –Application protocol chattiness — Many business applications were designed for optimal use within LAN environments and employ unique communications procedures that cause high
chattiness, resulting in slow performance for the end-user when transmitted over a WAN; and

 


5






Table of Contents







 –Network protocol chattiness — Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the underlying transport protocol for most WAN traffic, divides data into relatively small packets that are sent
sequentially across the WAN, and require return acknowledgement from the recipient. These numerous round trips across the WAN can result in slow performance for the end-user.
STYLE="font-size:6px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"> 







 Ÿ 

Bandwidth limitations — Bandwidth is defined as the amount of data that can traverse a network in a given amount of time and is typically measured in megabits per
second (Mbps). While most organizations’ LANs typically operate at 100 or 1,000 Mbps, their remote office WAN connections typically operate at 2 Mbps or less. This often results in WAN congestion and poor application and data services
performance. In addition, WAN outages limit the effectiveness of workers who are dependent on remote access to data and applications.

SIZE="2">Limitations of Alternative Approaches

Historically, organizations have implemented partial solutions in attempting to improve the
performance of wide-area distributed computing, including:

These excerpts taken from the RVBD 10-K filed Feb 15, 2008.

Wide-Area Distributed Computing Challenges

Technological advances in computing, networking, semiconductor and storage technologies have improved users’ ability to access data and use applications rapidly across their LANs and store enormous amounts of information economically. However, these same applications and storage technologies, which were often designed to operate optimally on LANs, perform slowly across WANs and frequently exhibit the following performance challenges:

 

  Ÿ  

delays in accessing, saving and transferring files;

 

  Ÿ  

slow execution of critical software application functions;

 

  Ÿ  

incomplete or inconsistent back-up and recovery of sensitive data; and

 

  Ÿ  

loss of worker productivity and increased end-user frustration.

Although many companies have attempted to solve these problems solely by adding bandwidth, we believe these performance problems can best be solved by addressing not only bandwidth challenges but also, and usually more importantly, the effects of latency and protocol chattiness:

 

  Ÿ  

Latency and protocol chattiness — “Latency” is the amount of time it takes data to travel distances across a WAN. “Chattiness” refers to the numerous interactions between clients and servers that are often required by applications or network transport protocols to complete an operation or transfer data. When combined in geographically distributed computing environments, latency and chattiness can result in dramatically slower performance. For example, a simple request to open a file may require hundreds if not thousands of sequential round-trip interactions that, when aggregated, can result in substantial delays. This problem arises from two distinct sources:

 

  – Application protocol chattiness — Many business applications were designed for optimal use within LAN environments and employ unique communications procedures that cause high chattiness, resulting in slow performance for the end-user when transmitted over a WAN; and

 

5

Table of Contents
  – Network protocol chattiness — Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the underlying transport protocol for most WAN traffic, divides data into relatively small packets that are sent sequentially across the WAN, and require return acknowledgement from the recipient. These numerous round trips across the WAN can result in slow performance for the end-user.

 

  Ÿ  

Bandwidth limitations — Bandwidth is defined as the amount of data that can traverse a network in a given amount of time and is typically measured in megabits per second (Mbps). While most organizations’ LANs typically operate at 100 or 1,000 Mbps, their remote office WAN connections typically operate at 2 Mbps or less. This often results in WAN congestion and poor application and data services performance. In addition, WAN outages limit the effectiveness of workers who are dependent on remote access to data and applications.

Wide-Area Distributed Computing Challenges

SIZE="2">Technological advances in computing, networking, semiconductor and storage technologies have improved users’ ability to access data and use applications rapidly across their LANs and store enormous amounts of information economically.
However, these same applications and storage technologies, which were often designed to operate optimally on LANs, perform slowly across WANs and frequently exhibit the following performance challenges:

STYLE="font-size:6px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"> 







 Ÿ 

delays in accessing, saving and transferring files;

 







 Ÿ 

slow execution of critical software application functions;

 







 Ÿ 

incomplete or inconsistent back-up and recovery of sensitive data; and

 







 Ÿ 

loss of worker productivity and increased end-user frustration.

SIZE="2">Although many companies have attempted to solve these problems solely by adding bandwidth, we believe these performance problems can best be solved by addressing not only bandwidth challenges but also, and usually more importantly, the
effects of latency and protocol chattiness:

 







 Ÿ 

Latency and protocol chattiness — “Latency” is the amount of time it takes data to travel distances across a WAN. “Chattiness” refers to the
numerous interactions between clients and servers that are often required by applications or network transport protocols to complete an operation or transfer data. When combined in geographically distributed computing environments, latency and
chattiness can result in dramatically slower performance. For example, a simple request to open a file may require hundreds if not thousands of sequential round-trip interactions that, when aggregated, can result in substantial delays. This problem
arises from two distinct sources:

 






 –Application protocol chattiness — Many business applications were designed for optimal use within LAN environments and employ unique communications procedures that cause high
chattiness, resulting in slow performance for the end-user when transmitted over a WAN; and

 


5






Table of Contents







 –Network protocol chattiness — Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the underlying transport protocol for most WAN traffic, divides data into relatively small packets that are sent
sequentially across the WAN, and require return acknowledgement from the recipient. These numerous round trips across the WAN can result in slow performance for the end-user.
STYLE="font-size:6px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"> 







 Ÿ 

Bandwidth limitations — Bandwidth is defined as the amount of data that can traverse a network in a given amount of time and is typically measured in megabits per
second (Mbps). While most organizations’ LANs typically operate at 100 or 1,000 Mbps, their remote office WAN connections typically operate at 2 Mbps or less. This often results in WAN congestion and poor application and data services
performance. In addition, WAN outages limit the effectiveness of workers who are dependent on remote access to data and applications.

SIZE="2">Limitations of Alternative Approaches

Historically, organizations have implemented partial solutions in attempting to improve the
performance of wide-area distributed computing, including:

This excerpt taken from the RVBD 10-K filed Feb 9, 2007.

Wide-Area Distributed Computing Challenges

Technological advances in computing, networking, semiconductor and storage technologies have improved users’ ability to access data and use applications rapidly across their LANs and store enormous amounts of information economically. However, these same applications and storage technologies, which were often designed to operate optimally on LANs, perform slowly across WANs and frequently exhibit the following performance challenges:

 

  Ÿ delays in accessing, saving and transferring files;

 

  Ÿ slow execution of critical software application functions;

 

  Ÿ incomplete or inconsistent back-up and recovery of sensitive data; and

 

  Ÿ loss of worker productivity and increased end-user frustration.

Although many companies have attempted to solve these problems solely by adding bandwidth, we believe these performance problems can best be solved by addressing not only bandwidth challenges but also, and usually more importantly, the effects of latency and protocol chattiness:

 

  Ÿ Latency and protocol chattiness — “Latency” is the amount of time it takes data to travel distances across a WAN. “Chattiness” refers to the numerous interactions between clients and servers that are often required by applications or network transport protocols to complete an operation or transfer data. When combined in geographically distributed computing environments, latency and chattiness can result in dramatically slower performance. For example, a simple request to open a file may require hundreds if not thousands of sequential round-trip interactions that, when aggregated, can result in substantial delays. This problem arises from two distinct sources:

 

  – Application protocol chattiness — Most business applications were designed for optimal use within LAN environments and employ unique communications procedures that cause high chattiness, resulting in slow performance for the end-user when transmitted over a WAN; and

 

5

Table of Contents
  – Network protocol chattiness — Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the underlying transport protocol for most WAN traffic, divides data into relatively small packets that are sent sequentially across the WAN, and require return acknowledgement from the recipient. These numerous round trips across the WAN can result in slow performance for the end-user.

 

  Ÿ Bandwidth limitations — Bandwidth is defined as the amount of data that can traverse a network in a given amount of time and is typically measured in megabits per second (Mbps). While most organizations’ LANs typically operate at 100 or 1,000 Mbps, their remote office WAN connections typically operate at 2 Mbps or less. This often results in WAN congestion and poor application and data services performance. In addition, WAN outages limit the effectiveness of workers who are dependent on remote access to data and applications.

EXCERPTS ON THIS PAGE:

10-K (2 sections)
Feb 23, 2009
10-K (2 sections)
Feb 15, 2008
10-K
Feb 9, 2007

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