Riverbed Steelhead 6050 Series
Accelerating Applications for the Global Workforce - Large Office or Data Center

Overview:

Riverbed Steelhead products accelerate application performance and data transfer over the wide area network (WAN), overcoming bandwidth and geographical limitations to improve productivity and enable global collaboration. With Riverbed, file transfers that once took hours or minutes, now take minutes or seconds.

Workers today need access to information wherever and whenever they work – whether at corporate headquarters, a branch office on another continent or on-site with a customer. The demand for anywhere / anytime access to data puts tremendous strain on IT to deliver an increasing number of applications over the WAN.

Riverbed’s award-winning WAN optimization solutions strategically enable IT to centralize and reduce operational overhead and expense, while improving end-user satisfaction. Riverbed’s products have been proven in some of the most demanding and complex networks in the world, with thousands of customers deploying Steelhead WAN optimization solutions.

Benefits:

• Accelerate the broad range of applications businesses care about most, including file sharing (CIFS and NFS), Exchange (MAPI), Lotus Notes, web (HTTP- and HTTPS-based applications), database (MS SQL and Oracle), and disaster recovery (EMC SRDF and FCIP) applications, using a range of application protocol-specific features that are unique to Riverbed
• Enable the consolidation of file, email, and application servers from remote branches to reduce costs and complexity — without sacrificing performance
• Cut bandwidth usage, typically by 60- 95 percent, allowing you to defer expensive upgrades
• Offer real-time visibility into application and WAN performance, so you can use applications and resources more efficiently and effectively
• Optimize performance while maintaining security to help you meet audit, compliance regulations, and other security requirements
• Deploy in minutes without changes to applications, users, routers, or IT infrastructure
• Integrate easily and seamlessly into the most complex environments
• Scale to hundreds of sites with any-to-any connectivity; support tens of thousands of users on one device

With Riverbed Virtual Steelhead appliances, WAN optimization now extends to deployments where physical hardware may not be conveniently suited. Military deployments typically use ruggedized custom hardware, on which running a virtual machine is more convenient. Space-limited scenarios, such as mobile news vans or construction trailers may also require a form factor that is free from the physical limitations of hardware appliances.

The Virtual Steelhead appliance can be managed by industry standard virtualization tools such that it fits seamlessly into fully virtualized data center environments, where interoperability with existing management infrastructure is a must have. While targeted specifically for the above mentioned scenarios, Virtual Steelhead appliances can also be deployed as a cluster in order to scale to data center environments.

The Riverbed Difference: Speed, Scalability, Simplicity

Speed
Riverbed Steelhead products address performance limitations using a multitiered optimization approach. Unlike older generation technologies, such as wide area file services (WAFS) or file caching, Steelhead products optimize traffic using a patented application agnostic algorithm to achieve massive-scale data deduplication. The Riverbed solution layers TCP and UDP optimization as well as application protocol optimization on top of its data reduction technique to deliver a multi-tiered optimization strategy that sets the technological highbar for WAN optimization, and delivers unparalleled application acceleration over the WAN.

Scalability
Riverbed's universal data store provides greater scalability than per-peer storage models and reduces WAN optimization storage requirements. By avoiding the per-peer storage limitation, companies can easily scale to hundreds of sites with any-to-any connectivity. Steelhead products also utilize a TCP-based transport, which avoids the pitfalls of running a proprietary transport on a shared network. The Steelhead product family supports up to 12 Gbps of optimized throughput and 1 million concurrent connections. The product family is one of the most scalable in the industry. With the RiOS-aware Riverbed Interceptor product, connections are always re-directed to the correct Steelhead appliance in a cluster, to ensure maximum performance. The 7050 series of Steelhead appliances also ensure easy integration into disaster recovery environments that require massive scalability and performance.

Simplicity
Companies can deploy Steelhead products in a matter of minutes. Steelhead deployments can be performed from a single console with virtually plug-andplay installations, and the Riverbed solution does not require any changes to clients and servers nor the use of specific routing protocols. Steelhead products have been proven in a broad range of network environments alongside VoIP, video conferencing, and QoS, giving customers flexibility and seamless integration with the existing infrastructure.

Benefits:

Acceleration of key enterprise applications
Riverbed Steelhead products accelerate the broad set of applications important to business. Riverbed application modules, combined with the company's data streamlining and transport streamlining, deliver dramatic performance increases across the WAN for all TCP applications, by up to 100 times.

IT infrastructure consolidation and virtualization
Consolidate file, email, and application servers, and storage from remote branches to cut costs and operational complexity without sacrificing performance. Deploy virtual servers, desktops, and applications with reduced bandwidth requirements and response times, improving the end user experience.

Reduced bandwidth utilization
Companies that have deployed Riverbed Steelhead products typically reduce bandwidth utilization by 60-95 percent, often allowing them to defer costly network bandwidth upgrades.

Enhanced data protection
Organizations can eliminate remote backup infrastructure and remediate the risk of data disclosure through lost tapes or media. By speeding data transfer, Riverbed enables speedy, resilient, and secure replication and backup over the WAN, often reducing replication times from hours to minutes.

Secure application acceleration
Riverbed is the only company that can optimize SSL traffic without compromising the end-to-end trust model. Companies subject to compliance regulations such as SOX, HIPAA, PCI, or other security requirements can deliver both performance and security for their applications.

Visibility and analytics
Riverbed gives the visibility needed in order to determine where problems exist, analyze how those problems can be addressed, and then tune infrastructure in order to best solve those problems. Complete WAN optimization solutions not only provide order of magnitude performance improvements, but the ability to measure and monitor those improvements across optimized locations and sites that could benefit from further optimization.

Enable the mobile workforce
Mobile workers often receive sub-optimal application performance when they connect to resources from remote locations. With Steelhead Mobile, IT can deliver local performance to remote workers wherever they connect.

Virtual Steelhead appliance for custom deployments
Whether organizations need to support ruggedized environments or need elastic capacity for their Steelhead deployment, the virtual Steelhead appliance fits the bill. The virtual Steelhead appliance also provides dual-ended virtualization capability wherein organizations can migrate their infrastructure to a public cloud without sacrificing application performance.

Features:

Steelhead Appliances

• Cost-effective deployment – Appliance models that scale to meet the deployment needs of any office
• Application acceleration – Accelerate the broadest range of applications that are critical to business
• Simplicity – Transparently deploy in minutes without changes to applications, users, routers, or other IT infrastructure
• Scalability – One of the most scalable acceleration solutions available on the market, supporting thousands of users on one device

Network Integration and Deployment Options

• Transparency – Export real-time flows from a Steelhead appliance to a third-party Netflow collector (including v.9), giving full visibility into WAN traffic by source, destination, IP address, application port, and more
• Auto discovery – Appliances automatically find in-path peers in the network, with no tunnel configurations required
• Deployment – Installs transparently in-line or as a "one arm" attachment to routers/switches with direct configuration, WCCP, PBR, and L4 switch redirection modes
• Multi-port interfaces – 4 Port GigE Card available (optional on all rackable models); Up to 3 cards (12 ports total) per Steelhead appliance
• Asymmetric routing – Asymmetric route detection and connection forwarding for support of route asymmetry on both the client and server sides
• Network agnostic – Full mesh, hub and spoke, and multi-drop topologies supported; MPLS, IP VPN, Satellite, Frame, ATM and any other IP transport supported
• Seamless integration – Works easily with existing QoS, VoIP, video conferencing and other real-time traffic

Management and Policy

• Configuration – Web UI, CLI, and Central Management Console (CMC), Steelhead Management Console (SMC)
• Marking – DSCP, port, and VLAN mapping and/or preservation. Automatic port-toapplication mapping for reporting
• Reporting – Robust real-time performance statistics gathering, export, and graphical reporting; local, CMC, SMC, and Syslog logging; report on traffic by QoS class, application, and more; SNMP support
• Optimization policy – Per-application admission and optimization controls
• Bandwidth management – HFSC-based QoS allows for application prioritization, low-latency queuing for VoIP; settable WAN bandwidth rate controls included

High Availability

• Clustering – Serial (in-path), parallel (out-of-path), or virtual in-path clustering for massive scalability
• Fail-to-wire – Ensures no loss in network connectivity in the event of device failure
• N:1 and 1:1 redundancy – Hot-standby redundancy and N:1 clustering
• Redundant disk and power – Available RAID and dual power supplies on larger models
• Dual image SW upgrades – Schedule over-the-wire software upgrades with dual image, rollback, and scheduled restart/reboot
• Fault Tolerant Solid State Disks (SSDs) – In the 7050 series of Steelhead appliances for combining high availability and higher performance

Security

• SSL acceleration that maintains traffic encryption without breaking the preferred trust model
• RADIUS and TACACS+ support for authenticating access
• Configurable SSL encryption for WAN traffic
• Secure registration ensures only approved devices communicate with the central management console (CMC)
• Support for Microsoft Online and other online services from Microsoft

Technical Specifications:

Steelhead Appliances are available in a range of different models to suit the needs of any office.

	Large Office or Data Center
Model	5050 Series			6050 Series	7050 Series
Configurations	L	M	H		L	M
Profile	3U Rackmount			3U Rackmount	3U Rackmount
Upgradeable to	5050-M/H	5050-H	-	7050-M	-	-
Total Throughput Capacity1	90 Mbps2, 12	90 Mbps2, 12	155 Mbps2	310 Mbps	1 Gbps2, 3, 11	1 Gbps2, 3, 11
Optimized TCP and UDP flows4	7,500	10,000	18,000	50,000	75,000	100,000
Raw Capacity	2 TB	2 TB	3 TB	8 TB	2.8 TB	5 TB
Data Store Capacity	600 GB	600 GB	800 GB	3.5 TB	2.2 TB SSD	4.4 TB SSD
RSP Partition9	100 GB5	100 GB5	150 GB5	150 GB5	100 GB5	100 GB5
RSP 64 Bit Packages	Yes			Yes	Yes
Storage Fault Tolerance	RAID			RAID	RAID6
Front Swappable Drives	87	87	127	167	167	307
RAM10	8 GB			24 GB	32 GB	48 GB
Expansion Slots (PCI-e)8	4	4		4	4	4
Onboard Bypass ports (Copper)	4	4		4	4	4
Max # of Bypass Ports	20	20		20	20	20
Power & Physical Spec.	5050 Series			6050 Series	7050 Series
Dual Power Supplies	Yes			Yes	Yes
Power [Watts] (Typical)	203	203	225	352	425	430
BTU	693	693	768	1670	1455	1470
Temperature	10 - 40 deg C / 50 - 95 deg F (Operating) -40 - 65 deg C / -40 - 149 deg F (Storage)
Relative Humidity14	20% - 80% non-condensing (Operating)5% - 95% non-condensing (Storage)
Operating Acoustic Noise	61 dBA Sound Pressure (Typical)
System Dimensions (LxWxH)15	25.72 x 17.0 x 5.2 in 653.4 x 431.6 x 131.9 mm
Packaging Dimensions	34.1 x 23.7 x 15.9 in 866 x 602 x 403 mm
Max Weight (without packaging)	59 Lbs / 26.7 Kg	59 Lbs / 26.7 Kg	64 Lbs / 29 Kg	71 Lbs / 32.2 Kg	55 Lbs / 25 Kg	59 Lbs / 25.8 Kg
Rail Information	Mounting rail kit included. Orderable spare part RMK-003

(1) Inbound (WAN to LAN) Steelhead capacity is unrestricted; outbound WAN capacity can be expected up to the amount listed. On the 2050, 5050, and 6050, total WAN capacity equals inbound traffic + outbound traffic
(2) No enforced optimized WAN bandwidth limit
(3) For Data Center to Data Center workloads, WAN capacity is up to 1 Gbps. For DC to remote office workloads, recommended WAN capacity is up to 622 Mbps
(4) TCP and UDP flows can be expected up to the amount listed
(5) No PFS support
(6) Data store uses fault tolerant striped configuration
(7) Hot swappable disks
(8) Optional Network Bypass cards: Dual and Quad LX and SX GigE Fiber GigE, Quad Copper GigE, Dual 10GbE SR/LR
(9) Raw disk capacity allocated to the RSP partition. About 7GB is used by RSP package and filesystem. Partner packages need additional storage (based on the size of the package)
(10) RSP requires additional 2GB of memory, 6050 requires 4GB, 7050 requires 8GB. RSP packages on the 550 are limited to 1.5GB memory since the software is unable to use the full 2GB of additional memory.
(11) Over 4Gbps of LAN performance with 2.5X data reduction when configured to use jumbo Ethernet frames.
(12) The 5050L and the 1050 B/W increases require RiOS 5.5.7 or 6.0.2 onwards
(13) Multiple inpath interfaces were used to achieve this throughput. Up to 40Gbps throughput (rx+tx traffic). Requires version INT 3.0 with XBridge enabled. WCCP and PBR configurations are not supported when XBridge is enabled.
(14) Operating altitude up to 10,000 feet
(15) Length is without bezel

Deployment:

Riverbed Framework Deployment

Comprehensive Riverbed Product Deployment

Steelhead Appliance deployment providing optimization anywhere.

Steelhead Products Accelerate a Broad Range of Applications

Steelhead appliancess accelerate the widest range of enterprise applications.

Technological Leadership to Enable Your Business:

Riverbed Steelhead products have been proven to dramatically accelerate application performance in some of the most demanding customer environments. Our customers range from the Fortune 50 and Global 1000, to companies with one office.

Riverbed's award-winning products have consistently proven themselves as the highest performing WAN optimization solutions, consistently earning recognition as the "Technology of the Year - WAN Accelerators" by InfoWorld for six years running, and have been positioned by Gartner in the leaders quadrant in the "Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers" report.

IT Infrastructure Consolidation - The Performance Trade-Off

Many organizations are looking to consolidate their IT infrastructure as a way to simplify management, increase resource utilization, and reduce costs. Unfortunately, the consolidated IT model can often result in diminished application performance and a hit to user productivity that offsets any consolidation cost savings. Riverbed Steelhead products allow users to access consolidated IT resources without trading off performance.

Moving into the Cloud

Whether companies are consolidating their IT infrastructure to create a "private cloud" infrastructure or outsourcing their infrastructure to Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) or Platform as a Service (PAAS) vendors that provide "public cloud" infrastructure, the limitations on bandwidth and latency still remain. End users are far away from the data and applications they are trying to access, which results in poor user response and inefficient data delivery. Deploying WAN optimization appliances is a great way to defeat both these problems, while saving money on costly bandwidth upgrades. In short, WAN optimization can be the driving force to enable consolidation to public or private cloud architectures.

The Stateless Branch Office

Companies are approaching consolidation and virtualization of IT in branch offices in two ways. First, moving servers and storage out of the branch and into data centers where it can be more efficiently aggregated and managed, and then delivering access back to end users across the WAN. Second, taking local branch office servers and virtualizing them to run directly on VMware on the Steelhead appliances that are already deployed in every site, for edge services like printing or security. With no more complex build outs or remote servers to buy, install and manage, branches get set up faster and leaner, administrative overhead decreases, and users are more productive.

Enhanced Data Protection - The New Paradigm

Headline stories about tapes falling off trucks and the potential leakage of sensitive data have become all too common for both the enterprise and the consumer. CxOs require assurance that sensitive data will remain private and are looking for ways to reduce their data loss risk. With Riverbed, organizations can perform WAN-based backups or data replication without struggling to finish jobs in a tight backup window. Most enterprise storage vendors' solutions, including EMC and HDS, are already supported and previously unacceptable performance on the WAN can be improved by over 30 times with enhanced support for protocols such as FCIP and SRDF/A.

With accelerated replication, customers can also take more frequent snapshots and dramatically improve their recovery time in the event of a failure. Riverbed has advanced features for high end data center to data center disaster recovery, including special enhancements for more optimized throughput, tunable compression, and clustering for high availability and scalability. Customers can "fill the pipe" for high bandwidth environments maximizing speed, or choose to adopt higher compression, deduplication, and QoS to limit the impact on bandwidth for other applications on a shared WAN.

Enabling the Mobile Workforce

IT has often struggled to support remote users who need access to corporate data and applications, and mobile users have come to expect sub-optimal performance when they work remotely. Steelhead Mobile software extends Riverbed's award-winning technology to any PC or laptop to deliver acceleration wherever users connect. With Steelhead Mobile, applications run faster and remote workers are no longer "remote." Desktop virtualization solutions can also be optimized for use on the WAN.

Riverbed Optimization System (RiOS):

RiOS software powers Steelhead products through a combination of patented data reduction, TCP and UDP optimization, and application- level protocol optimizations. Together, these technologies, along with RiOS management capabilities, provide a comprehensive solution for enterprise WAN optimization. RiOS consists of four key components:

Data streamlining – RiOS data streamlining works across all TCP and UDP applications to reduce bandwidth utilization, typically by 60-95 percent. Data streamlining works across file sharing, email, CAD, ERP, VDI, web-based HTTP and HTTPS applications, databases , and all other applications that use TCP and UDP.

Transport streamlining – RiOS transport streamlining reduces the number of TCP packets required to transfer data by 65-98 percent. Transport streamlining also enables the acceleration of SSL-encrypted traffic throughout the enterprise to eliminate the security and performance trade-off. With HS-TCP and MX-TCP, RiOS can enable greater utilization of high bandwidth links (i.e. long fat networks (LFN) such as OC3, OC12, metrofiber).

Application streamlining – RiOS application streamlining offers the broadest support of application-specific modules for key enterprise applications to provide additional application performance improvements on top of the data streamlining and transport streamlining optimizations performed on all TCP traffic. By reducing application protocol chattiness up to 98 percent and minimizing application overhead, RiOS can provide massive throughput increases to applications including file sharing (CIFS and NFS), Exchange (MAPI), Lotus Notes, Web (HTTP and HTTPS),database (MS-SQL and Oracle) and storage protocols like FCIP and SRDF/A (EMC).

Management streamlining – RiOS enables easy deployment through auto-discovery of peers and auto-interception of traffic, with no reconfiguration of clients, servers, or routers. Many customers deploy Steelhead products in minutes and RiOS simplifies ongoing management by providing simple, but powerful web-based and command-line interfaces, in-depth reporting and real-time NetFlow export. Simple integration into the network has led to Riverbed deployments in a vast array of network environments and topologies including, but not limited to, MPLS, VoIP, video conferencing, QoS, VPN, satellite infrastructure, ATM, frame relay, microwave, and wireless.

Documentation:

Download the Riverbed Steelhead Product Family Datasheet (.PDF)

Download the Riverbed Steelhead xx50 Series Appliances SpecSheet (.PDF)