Network Optimization News
Today on Network Optimization News:
Equalizing Technology:
NetEqualizer Offers A New Approach To Application Shaping
By: Julie Sartain, Processor.com
(Article courtesy of Processor.com)
Current application shaping products examine the content of Internet packets as they pass through the packet shaper.
Using pattern-matching techniques, the packet shaper determines, in real time, the application type of each packet
and then proceeds to restrict or allow the data based on a set of rules established by the system administrators.
Administrators can use these programs and define rules to restrict or allow any application that exists, but it takes an
incredible amount of effort to keep pace. There is one product, however, that’s trying a new approach called equalizing
technology. This product is NetEqualizer (800/918-2763; www.netequalizer.com) from a Colorado-based company
called APconnections.
The Problems
According to Art Reisman, CEO at APconnections, pattern-matching techniques work on most classified packets, but
what if the rules are set to restrict all packets containing ASCII characters or words such as Rhapsody, Napster, or bit
torrent? One of these packets might contain a company-wide memo explaining the corporate policies regarding the
usage of these programs on company computers. Pattern-matching rules would restrict this memo attachment.
In addition, many companies intentionally refuse to classify their communications, so their packets slip past the
application-shaping products. Seems like a small issue, unless hundreds of these junk mail packets are slipping
through onto thousands of desktops in your company nationwide on a daily basis. Then it becomes a huge problem,
as the bandwidth is usurped to process this unwanted garbage.
Even if an application-shaping product can identify 90% of the spectrum of apps (and that’s a lot), notes Reisman,
10% is still unclassified. Your options are to either monitor and manually classify that 10%, which is very time-
consuming and costly, or allow those packets to pass without restrictions.
Solutions
“Our products can, generally, extend the capacity of your Internet from 25 to 50%,” says Reisman. “This means you can
have that many more people using the Internet without adding more bandwidth.”
There is always the potential for a few users to overwhelm the Internet connection, he notes. But when applied to
many verticals such as ISPs, libraries, schools, colleges, and businesses with 50 or more employees, the
NetEqualizer prevents this from happening.
“NetEqualizer appliances automatically shape traffic based on built-in fairness rules,” notes Reisman. “This method
allows network administrators/operators to quickly and easily bring network traffic into balance without having to build
and manage extensive policy libraries and all without changes to their existing network infrastructure.”
How It Works
Reisman explains that APconnections looked at how systems keep one process from locking up the whole computer.
For example, Microsoft Windows (www.microsoft.com) does not handle this well; however, Linux and Unix, as well as
some of the other server equipment that’s available, do. The premise of these products is that no single computer
program is allowed to dominate the CPU, so everything that’s running gets a turn. “We then applied this tried-and-true
methodology to an Internet link,” says Reisman. “The result is NetEqualizer.”
NetEqualizer uses behavior-based shaping, adds Reisman. It looks at the behavior of abuse on an Internet link and
then takes action based on that. When the network is congested, the fairness algorithm favors business-class
applications, such as VoIP, Web browsing, chat, and email, at the expense of large file downloads.
The other available products (that is, the competition) try to classify specific varieties of traffic by type. Intuitively, the
classification by type is easy for customers to understand, but implementing that process is very time-consuming, and
the cost of trying to identify every type of traffic on the Internet is overwhelming and nearly impossible. NetEqualizer, on
the other hand, always gets the bad guys because bad behavior is not a function of application type. And, as an added
bonus, customers do not have to relicense the technology every month; it just works.
In addition, says Reisman, all the settings can be changed in real time, with no effect on network service quality. And,
NetEqualizer allows priority to traffic for hosts that are not supposed to be shaped. Also (for organizations that require
100% network uptime), the NetEqualizer architecture allows customers to build a redundant system by configuring two
NetEqualizer products running in parallel.
R&D History
“We started with no backing money, so we built a simple open-source version of the concept and begged people to try
it,” says Reisman. The product excelled and then rose to one of the top 100 open-source projects in the world. (That’s
considered extremely high when most top open-source projects are targeted to the general consumer.) Then, the
company commercialized and enhanced it and contracted with a hardware manufacturer to produce it. There are now
more than 1 million end users on six continents behind the NetEqualizer equipment.
“We had many setbacks in the early going,” says Reisman. “Mostly just trying to get the product stable and keep it
running on a reasonably priced piece of hardware.”
Most of APconnections’ market is customers who desperately need something but don’t want to pay $50,000 to
optimize their $500-a-month Internet trunk. Getting the product stable in heavy use required the company to purchase
sophisticated simulation equipment to troubleshoot the last few hard-to-find bugs. (That was more than three years
ago.) Since then, APconnections has had reports of its servers in continuous, heavy use for years at a time without
rebooting. “We are very proud of that,” says Reisman.
What’s New?
According to Reisman, the company has recently adopted this technology into an AP (access point) and, quite by
accident, have solved a common problem called the hidden node issue, which has plagued 802.11 operators for
years. There are other options for this problem, but these choices lock customers into proprietary solutions.
APconnections’ solution is completely compatible with existing 802.11 wireless technologies, so customers can mix
and match its AP without replacing everything.
Equalizing Technology:
NetEqualizer Offers A New Approach To Application Shaping
By: Julie Sartain, Processor.com
(Article courtesy of Processor.com)
Current application shaping products examine the content of Internet packets as they pass through the packet shaper.
Using pattern-matching techniques, the packet shaper determines, in real time, the application type of each packet
and then proceeds to restrict or allow the data based on a set of rules established by the system administrators.
Administrators can use these programs and define rules to restrict or allow any application that exists, but it takes an
incredible amount of effort to keep pace. There is one product, however, that’s trying a new approach called equalizing
technology. This product is NetEqualizer (800/918-2763; www.netequalizer.com) from a Colorado-based company
called APconnections.
The Problems
According to Art Reisman, CEO at APconnections, pattern-matching techniques work on most classified packets, but
what if the rules are set to restrict all packets containing ASCII characters or words such as Rhapsody, Napster, or bit
torrent? One of these packets might contain a company-wide memo explaining the corporate policies regarding the
usage of these programs on company computers. Pattern-matching rules would restrict this memo attachment.
In addition, many companies intentionally refuse to classify their communications, so their packets slip past the
application-shaping products. Seems like a small issue, unless hundreds of these junk mail packets are slipping
through onto thousands of desktops in your company nationwide on a daily basis. Then it becomes a huge problem,
as the bandwidth is usurped to process this unwanted garbage.
Even if an application-shaping product can identify 90% of the spectrum of apps (and that’s a lot), notes Reisman,
10% is still unclassified. Your options are to either monitor and manually classify that 10%, which is very time-
consuming and costly, or allow those packets to pass without restrictions.
Solutions
“Our products can, generally, extend the capacity of your Internet from 25 to 50%,” says Reisman. “This means you can
have that many more people using the Internet without adding more bandwidth.”
There is always the potential for a few users to overwhelm the Internet connection, he notes. But when applied to
many verticals such as ISPs, libraries, schools, colleges, and businesses with 50 or more employees, the
NetEqualizer prevents this from happening.
“NetEqualizer appliances automatically shape traffic based on built-in fairness rules,” notes Reisman. “This method
allows network administrators/operators to quickly and easily bring network traffic into balance without having to build
and manage extensive policy libraries and all without changes to their existing network infrastructure.”
How It Works
Reisman explains that APconnections looked at how systems keep one process from locking up the whole computer.
For example, Microsoft Windows (www.microsoft.com) does not handle this well; however, Linux and Unix, as well as
some of the other server equipment that’s available, do. The premise of these products is that no single computer
program is allowed to dominate the CPU, so everything that’s running gets a turn. “We then applied this tried-and-true
methodology to an Internet link,” says Reisman. “The result is NetEqualizer.”
NetEqualizer uses behavior-based shaping, adds Reisman. It looks at the behavior of abuse on an Internet link and
then takes action based on that. When the network is congested, the fairness algorithm favors business-class
applications, such as VoIP, Web browsing, chat, and email, at the expense of large file downloads.
The other available products (that is, the competition) try to classify specific varieties of traffic by type. Intuitively, the
classification by type is easy for customers to understand, but implementing that process is very time-consuming, and
the cost of trying to identify every type of traffic on the Internet is overwhelming and nearly impossible. NetEqualizer, on
the other hand, always gets the bad guys because bad behavior is not a function of application type. And, as an added
bonus, customers do not have to relicense the technology every month; it just works.
In addition, says Reisman, all the settings can be changed in real time, with no effect on network service quality. And,
NetEqualizer allows priority to traffic for hosts that are not supposed to be shaped. Also (for organizations that require
100% network uptime), the NetEqualizer architecture allows customers to build a redundant system by configuring two
NetEqualizer products running in parallel.
R&D History
“We started with no backing money, so we built a simple open-source version of the concept and begged people to try
it,” says Reisman. The product excelled and then rose to one of the top 100 open-source projects in the world. (That’s
considered extremely high when most top open-source projects are targeted to the general consumer.) Then, the
company commercialized and enhanced it and contracted with a hardware manufacturer to produce it. There are now
more than 1 million end users on six continents behind the NetEqualizer equipment.
“We had many setbacks in the early going,” says Reisman. “Mostly just trying to get the product stable and keep it
running on a reasonably priced piece of hardware.”
Most of APconnections’ market is customers who desperately need something but don’t want to pay $50,000 to
optimize their $500-a-month Internet trunk. Getting the product stable in heavy use required the company to purchase
sophisticated simulation equipment to troubleshoot the last few hard-to-find bugs. (That was more than three years
ago.) Since then, APconnections has had reports of its servers in continuous, heavy use for years at a time without
rebooting. “We are very proud of that,” says Reisman.
What’s New?
According to Reisman, the company has recently adopted this technology into an AP (access point) and, quite by
accident, have solved a common problem called the hidden node issue, which has plagued 802.11 operators for
years. There are other options for this problem, but these choices lock customers into proprietary solutions.
APconnections’ solution is completely compatible with existing 802.11 wireless technologies, so customers can mix
and match its AP without replacing everything.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Sponsored Links
NetEqualizer Bandwidth Control
Simple to use with the
features you need.
www.netequalizer.com
Bandwidth Management
Network Bandwidth Prioritization
Take Control Of Your Network!
www.xroadsnetworks.com
Bandwidth Control Switch
24 X 10/100 Rate Controlled Ports &
2 X Gig Uplinks For Under $400!
www.netsys-direct.com
Buy Packeteer Today
Education discounts, Internet
pricing, Rentals, SW Contracts
www.BandWidth-Management.org
Bandwidth Control
Web filtering appliance for your
business. WP, Demo, Eval Unit
iPrism.StBernard.com
Bandwidth Control
Software for controlling bandwidth
based on Time, User, IP & Network
24online.elitecore.com
Bandwidth Management
High-end Appliances and Software
solutions at affordable prices.
www.etinc.com
Bandwidth Management
Bandwidth management solutions
for enterprises & service providers
www.allot.com
Free Bandwidth Tester
Free bandwidth analysis and reports
using NetFlow. Live Demo online.
www.netflowanalyzer.com
NetEqualizer Bandwidth Control
Simple to use with the
features you need.
www.netequalizer.com
Bandwidth Management
Network Bandwidth Prioritization
Take Control Of Your Network!
www.xroadsnetworks.com
Bandwidth Control Switch
24 X 10/100 Rate Controlled Ports &
2 X Gig Uplinks For Under $400!
www.netsys-direct.com
Buy Packeteer Today
Education discounts, Internet
pricing, Rentals, SW Contracts
www.BandWidth-Management.org
Bandwidth Control
Web filtering appliance for your
business. WP, Demo, Eval Unit
iPrism.StBernard.com
Bandwidth Control
Software for controlling bandwidth
based on Time, User, IP & Network
24online.elitecore.com
Bandwidth Management
High-end Appliances and Software
solutions at affordable prices.
www.etinc.com
Bandwidth Management
Bandwidth management solutions
for enterprises & service providers
www.allot.com
Free Bandwidth Tester
Free bandwidth analysis and reports
using NetFlow. Live Demo online.
www.netflowanalyzer.com
|
|
Most Popular Stories
Building a software company from
scratch
Editor's review of bandwidth
control, QOS and traffic shaping
solutions
Set up network monitoring for free
Analysis: Blocking Skype won't be
easy
Looking to block P2P?
Top eleven things to look for when
choosing your Internet service
provider
Traffic shaping appliance
automatically prioritizes network
traffic
Five tips to look for when testing
your network speed
Network Performance Management
Buyer's Guide
Other News
Report: Absent new investment,
Internet will face rush hour traffic jam
APconnections details hidden node
802.11 solution in AirEqualizer
When Trojans go phishing -
500,000 users already infected
Study: Data governance projects
highly prone to delays and failure
Broadband improves performance
of both apps and malware
802.11 hidden node solution
released
Cybercrime drives growth and
increased competition in
anti-malware market.
Building a software company from
scratch
Editor's review of bandwidth
control, QOS and traffic shaping
solutions
Set up network monitoring for free
Analysis: Blocking Skype won't be
easy
Looking to block P2P?
Top eleven things to look for when
choosing your Internet service
provider
Traffic shaping appliance
automatically prioritizes network
traffic
Five tips to look for when testing
your network speed
Network Performance Management
Buyer's Guide
Other News
Report: Absent new investment,
Internet will face rush hour traffic jam
APconnections details hidden node
802.11 solution in AirEqualizer
When Trojans go phishing -
500,000 users already infected
Study: Data governance projects
highly prone to delays and failure
Broadband improves performance
of both apps and malware
802.11 hidden node solution
released
Cybercrime drives growth and
increased competition in
anti-malware market.
 |  |  |
|
|
|
|