Announcing RiOS 7.0: Accelerating the Satellites

This week we are announcing our new release of RiOS 7.0 with a series of blog articles and videos on the various features.  This is day two; we'll be focusing on Satellite Optimization in this article.  The accompanying video will discuss our new ability to optimize UDP and IPv6 among others.

In every new release of the Riverbed Optimization System (RiOS) Riverbed engineers diligently work to add new capabilities that make life easier for customers – and RiOS 7.0 is no exception.  This time around in addition to the new features my colleagues have already given you the inside scoop on we’ve also integrated Skipware, the satellite-specific, TCP-layer acceleration technology we acquired along with its creator, Global Protocols, only a short year ago.

For those unfamiliar, first off let me give a quick description of what Skipware is and a then a bit of background on where it’s been up thru now:

Several years ago NASA and the United States Space Command joined forces to solve the nagging performance challenges of  space-based networks.  We’re not just talking about dealing with skinny network pipes and latency (huge when you have to send a signal 22,000 miles up, 22,000 miles back), but also “dirty” links suffering from environmental problems such as weather (ever had your Dish TV reception interrupted by blowing trees and snow, right in the middle of Dancing with the Stars?).  

The result of the effort is the Space Communications Protocol Standards (SCPS). The bottom line is that SCPS helps overcome performance loss with satellite networking.

Skipware was the first commercial software implementation of SCPS and quickly became the de facto standard for government and military satellite communications.  One reason why is that Skipware delivers capabilities well beyond a simple SCPS implementation – read here for full details.

Riverbed’s WAN optimization solution is also widely used by satellite customers and we quickly realized that the combination of Steelhead + Skipware delivers a powerful one-two punch for accelerating space-based networks.  Optimization for the complete stack – from the transport layer all the way thru to the application layer – delivers the kind of experience that makes users productive – and happy. What used to take hours takes minutes.  Beyond delivering time savings (and happier users) if you consider how scarce and costly satellite bandwidth can be, Steelhead + Skipware can SAVE customers LOTS of MONEY.

Prior to RiOS 7.0, users of the solution deployed the Riverbed Services Platform (RSP) on Steelhead appliances and ran Skipware on a RSP protected partition.  

NOW with RiOS 7.0, Skipware/SCPS functionality is integrated natively as a part of the Steelhead software platform.  Easier to set up.  Easier to use.  RSP is no longer required.  Beyond simplicity, this change means EVEN BETTER PERFORMANCE because SCPS in RiOS 7.0 now scales up to the maximum rate of the Steelhead appliance. It also delivers the flexibility to interoperate with legacy Skipware and other SCPS peers through Single-Ended Interception (SEI).

By the way, you don’t have to be a government or military customer to benefit from Skipware.  We’ve seen the technology successfully used by diverse satellite networking users like cruise ship lines, retail outlets, and offshore oil rigs. Anywhere there is interference, packet loss, or extremely high latency (550ms+) Steelhead and Skipware can help make possible what is otherwise impossible.

Comments

[William Peters]

Hi guys (and girls),

thanks for integrating this feature. I was with an NGO customer today who will be using Steelheads to optimize traffic between their main office and the refugee camps around the globe where they provide services. Needless to say, some of these locations have no communications infrastructure and satellite links are the only option. Directly integrating Skipware into RIOS will make it faster, cheaper and easier to set up the Steelheads in these locations. So your hard work is not only accelerating global traffic in widgets & digits, but also helping provide basic services to those desperately in need.