Branch repeater technical training presentation 26 oct-12

Editor's Notes

• #5: The SDX is based on the Netscaler SDX hardware we already have but had been modified to meet the additional requirements of WAN optimization. A single instance of Netscaler VPX is used to Load Balance up to 6 Repeater VPX instances. Additional hardware has been added to the base SDX platform as an example additional memory and SSD drives have been added to meet the requirements of compression and other Repeater processes. A pay to grow architecture continues the trend of Citrix network appliances for flexibility and growth.
• #7: Several market drivers have led to a requirement for increased capacity. Leading the charge is the continuing migration to Xen Desktop with it’s increased requirements for BW. Server consolidation in the large enterprise have led to increased WAN Bandwidth requirements as well as an application performance issues that WAN optimization help smitigate . Overall we are seeing a growing demand from the large enterprise for WAN optimization that our current product set cannot address.
• #8: Several market drivers have led to a requirement for increased capacity. Leading the charge is the continuing migration to Xen Desktop with it’s increased requirements for BW. Server consolidation in the large enterprise have led to increased WAN Bandwidth requirements as well as an application performance issues that WAN optimization help smitigate . Overall we are seeing a growing demand from the large enterprise for WAN optimization that our current product set cannot address.
• #9: Several market drivers have led to a requirement for increased capacity. Leading the charge is the continuing migration to Xen Desktop with it’s increased requirements for BW. Server consolidation in the large enterprise have led to increased WAN Bandwidth requirements as well as an application performance issues that WAN optimization help smitigate . Overall we are seeing a growing demand from the large enterprise for WAN optimization that our current product set cannot address.
• #11: The Repeater SDX architecture should be familiar since it is based on the same principles as the Netscaler SDX platforms. The Repeater uses a Netscaler image to Load Balance 3 Repeater VPX images in the 11505 and 6 in the SDX 13505. Policies in the Netscaler distribute traffic evenly among the virtual repeaters ensuring that no single image is over subscribed. There is a service VM for management everything running on the Citrix SDX purpose built Hypervisor. Most management functions can be accomplished through the Service VM but there are requirements for management at the VM level.. This hypervisor enables SDX to take full advantage of the under lying hardware.
• #12: The Repeater SDX architecture should be familiar since it is based on the same principles as the Netscaler SDX platforms. The Repeater uses a Netscaler image to Load Balance 3 Repeater VPX images in the 11505 and 6 in the SDX 13505. Policies in the Netscaler distribute traffic evenly among the virtual repeaters ensuring that no single image is over subscribed. There is a service VM for management everything running on the Citrix SDX purpose built Hypervisor. Most management functions can be accomplished through the Service VM but there are requirements for management at the VM level.. This hypervisor enables SDX to take full advantage of the under lying hardware.
• #13: Based on the tried and tested Corinth 11500 and 13500 hardware platforms. Significant changes have been made to accommodate the demands of Optimization. Additional storage capacity comprised of 48 GB of ram and 2.6 TB of SSD have been added. The addition of SSD significantly improves the performance of Disk based Compression. The additional available ports and the Netscaler capabilities add some flexibility to the deployment of the Repeater SDX. We now have 10GigE ports as well as Eight 1GigE ports up from 4 ports in the 8000 series appliances. It is important to note that Fail to Wire has not yet been implemented into the SDX but that we can use the HA mode available in Netscaler for Failover. We can also use many of the other advanced features of Netscaler to assist in deployment in complicated network environments environments.
• #14: Based on the tried and tested Corinth 11500 and 13500 hardware platforms. Significant changes have been made to accommodate the demands of Optimization. Additional storage capacity comprised of 48 GB of ram and 2.6 TB of SSD have been added. The addition of SSD significantly improves the performance of Disk based Compression. The additional available ports and the Netscaler capabilities add some flexibility to the deployment of the Repeater SDX. We now have 10GigE ports as well as Eight 1GigE ports up from 4 ports in the 8000 series appliances. It is important to note that Fail to Wire has not yet been implemented into the SDX but that we can use the HA mode available in Netscaler for Failover. We can also use many of the other advanced features of Netscaler to assist in deployment in complicated network environments environments.
• #15: Based on the tried and tested Corinth 11500 and 13500 hardware platforms. Significant changes have been made to accommodate the demands of Optimization. Additional storage capacity comprised of 48 GB of ram and 2.6 TB of SSD have been added. The addition of SSD significantly improves the performance of Disk based Compression. The additional available ports and the Netscaler capabilities add some flexibility to the deployment of the Repeater SDX. We now have 10GigE ports as well as Eight 1GigE ports up from 4 ports in the 8000 series appliances. It is important to note that Fail to Wire has not yet been implemented into the SDX but that we can use the HA mode available in Netscaler for Failover. We can also use many of the other advanced features of Netscaler to assist in deployment in complicated network environments environments.
• #17: Selling the SDX is a technical sale that requires the right information to not only select the right appliance but to set the customer expectations for success. BandwidthFind out the bandwidth so you can start the process of selecting the right applianceRemember that Bandwidth is just the first step do not stop thereXA and XD have very different BW requirements on average XA uses 45k to 75k per user while XD can use 225k. This is a significant differenceTCP ConnectionsWhile the Repeater on NS SDX has tremendous capacity for TCP connections ICA uses more SDX resources plan accordinglyNetwork DiagramMost problems happen during the installation phase Diagrams leave no doubtApplication ListKnow what the critical apps are it is information that will help set expectations for performanceIn PBR mode the route policy will determine what is sent to the SDX
• #20: It is important to counsel with the customer to select the right deployment method this is of particular importance since there are some limitations to remember.There is no fail to wire cardWCCP is not currently supportedCare must be taken to size the deployment correctly. Of particular note is the number of maximum Concurrent ICA connections.A routed installation is preferred for reasons of HA and failure of the data path in case of hardware failure. No FTW means that if the SDX fails then connectivity is lost to the WAN. WCCP is not available in the current release So PBR is the only out of line option. Fortunately there is flexibility for physical connectivity with both 10 Gig and 1 gig interfaces available. Internally the virtual network connections between the Netscaler VPX and the repeaters is one armed and do not directly affect the external connectivity. A fully redundant configuration would include multiple Repeater SDX appliances using the Integrated Netscaler to manage failover. What happens when the capacity requirements exceed the capabilities of a single SDXAlways “one-armed” internally (only one interface required), but the SDX as a whole can be deployed in inline or virtual inline mode.No bypass support. The appliance will not pass traffic until it is fully configured. Production use of inline mode will cause an outage. Routed mode preferred as it is more reliable. Management functions for all VMs use the management port 0/1.
• #21: The combination of Netscaler and Repeater SDX give us incredible flexibility regarding capacity. This drawing illustrates the routed mode capability to grow beyond the capacity of a single appliance. A Netscaler can load balance multiple Repeater SDXs. Using Repeater SDX 13505 this simple configuration can Optimize8000 Concurrent ICA connections240,000 concurrent TCP connections2GB of BandwidthUp to 1Gb of CompressionAs an example the same 8000 configuration would only yield 300Meg of compression.
• #22: The combination of Netscaler and Repeater SDX give us incredible flexibility regarding capacity. This drawing illustrates the routed mode capability to grow beyond the capacity of a single appliance. A Netscaler can load balance multiple Repeater SDXs. Using Repeater SDX 13505 this simple configuration can Optimize8000 Concurrent ICA connections240,000 concurrent TCP connections2GB of BandwidthUp to 1Gb of CompressionAs an example the same 8000 configuration would only yield 300Meg of compression.