Definition

WAN optimization controller (WOC) is a device or software deployed in data centers and branches. It uses technologies, such as flow reduction, stream compression, stream caching, and protocol acceleration, to improve application or WAN performance.

Purpose

Currently, an increasing number of distributed networks are constructed, and network construction between enterprise branches and headquarters has been gradually improved. Most enterprises prefer to build centralized data centers. As the heart of enterprise networks, centralized data centers face many challenges.

For example, WANs have many application performance issues caused by bandwidth limitation, delay, or protocol limitations. These application performance issues need to be addressed to shorten the application response time of key applications, helping IT administrators maximize return on investment (ROI).

Benefits

WOC can improve the issues of WAN access delay and packet loss and optimize the network layer and application layer to improve user experience in accessing different types of applications. In some applications, a delay may seriously affect user access experience, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and video conferencing (due to packet loss). In this situation, WOC can significantly improve user access experience.