Riverbed: WAN optimisation vs thin-client approaches for remote computing

WAN optimisation and thin-client offerings use fundamentally different approaches to dealing with WAN application performance problems.

Certainly, no single technology approach meets all requirements for all environments. In that regard, WAN optimisation and thin-client approaches should not necessarily be viewed as opposite or competing alternatives.

However, the advancement of WAN optimisation technologies now affords a new option for addressing the needs of remote office users where in the past, the thin-client computing
approach was often assumed to be the only available option.

Today, a significant number of application environments may be better served through
WAN optimisation solutions than through thin-client computing approaches. Identifying those environments is the key challenge, and is the primary objective of this Riverbed white paper.

Contents:
- WAN Optimisation
- Applying WAN optimisation to thin-client traffic
- Advantages of WAN optimisation approaches
- Advantages of thin-client computing approaches
- Other important considerations for thin-client computing