ENDING THE BRANCH OFFICE E-MAIL TRADEOFF

Brocade Tapestry WAFS Exchange Services Optimizes Microsoft Exchange for Wide Area Networks (WANs)

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For most distributed organizations, the fundamental technical obstacles of extending their Microsoft Exchange e-mail infrastructure to branch offices has caused numerous IT tradeoffs that have resulted in complicated workarounds and severe budget overruns. To help eliminate these tradeoffs, Brocade Tapestry Wide Area File Services (WAFS) and the optional Exchange Services (ES) feature provide a solution that seamlessly integrates with Exchange and Outlook. As a result, this solution delivers dramatic performance and bandwidth benefits for organizations that utilize these Microsoft applications at branch offices across a Wide Area Network (WAN). This paper describes the technical issues for remote e-mail operations and how Tapestry WAFS helps organizations implement data center-class e-mail operations across their distributed enterprises.
THE GRoWInG E-mAIl CHAllEnGE foR DIsTRIbuTED EnTERPRIsEs

As the worlds leading messaging and collaboration platform, Microsoft Exchange has become the backbone of enterprise e-mail infrastructures everywhere. Organizations of all sizes have implemented Microsoft Exchange messaging servers and Microsoft Outlook desktop clients to complement their existing investments in Microsoft technology. Although Exchange is a critical part of the data center communications infrastructure for many organizations, running it in distributed (branch office) environments can present substantial challenges related to performance, network resource consumption, and management. In fact, the issues of inefficient communication between Outlook clients and Exchange servers and redundant data delivery to branch offices have forced IT organizations to make an unappealing tradeoff. They must accept lower-performing branch office e-mail and over-provisioned WAN links, or they must deploy Exchange servers in branch offices, where deployment and administration costs are high. Several factors impact Exchange performance in WAN environments, including redundant data delivery to users in branch offices, multiple sends/receives of the same message between Outlook clients and servers, and a communication protocol that was not designed for bulk transfers over the WAN. These technical obstacles are described in detail below.
Redundant Data Delivery

The issue of redundant data delivery can quickly become significant. For instance, consider an e-mail with a 1 MB attachment sent to 10 employees in a branch office. Each employee would log into e-mail using Outlook. Each employee would, in turn,

multiple sends/Receives

Even when e-mail messages are sent to just one or two users, additional WAN traversals occur. For example, the Outlook Sent Items folder often contains a copy of the sent message, and messages where the sender is carbon copied would also reappear in the Outlook Inbox. Messages also repeatedly traverse the WAN when Outlook is closed, in order to synchronize folders. If these messages have attachments, the attachments travel over the WAN repeatedly as well. With this penalty incurred on every message, and with potentially thousands of users sending tens or hundreds of messages a day, the extra WAN bandwidth requirements can become enormous.
Inefficient bulk Data Transfers

When accessing data over the WAN, Outlook and Exchange transfer data only in small blocks of 8 to 16 kilobytes. As each block is sent, an acknowledgement must be received before the next block is sent. This process results in hundreds or thousands of round trips across the WAN. Each round trip incurs a latency penalty that slows communication noticeably at 30 ms per round trip delay and even more dramatically as latency increases. For users, this means lost productivity as they wait for attachments to download over the WAN and for their e-mail to synchronize with the Exchange server.
THE nEED foR A moRE EffECTIvE soluTIon

To address these challenges, organizations have turned to various technologies and deployment strategies, including distributed Exchange servers, Outlook Web Access (OWA), WAN optimization (bandwidth compression) technology, and upgrades to Exchange 2003. Unfortunately, each of these approaches introduces new problems and challengesfrom higher costs and reduced functionality to compatibility and security concerns, as described below.
Distributed servers

One approach to solving Outlook/Exchange issues over the WAN is to deploy Exchange servers at every branch office. While this approach eliminates some performance issues, it dramatically increases remote IT costs, including remote servers, storage, software licensing, and IT resources. That is because Exchange servers are relatively complicated to deploy and administer, and regulatory and compliance requirements dictate that all e-mail must be backed up and archiveda significant challenge when Exchange servers are located all around the world. Because IT best practices dictate that organizations maintain a tightly consolidated e-mail environment, distributing Exchange servers to branch offices is rarely done by choice.

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download the e-mail and the 1 MB attachment over the WAN. Although each employee would be accessing the same 1 MB of data, it would be sent over the WAN 10 times consuming 10 MB of WAN bandwidth. In many branch office environments, this phenomenon can slow e-mail communications to a crawl and saturate WAN links during peak periods (such as when employees arrive at work in the morning).

outlook Web Access (oWA)

Another option is to have users at branch offices access Exchange through OWA, a browser-based interface to Exchange data. While OWA has improved significantly in recent years, it still lacks the full functionality of Outlooks desktop client. In addition, OWA still generates excess traffic over the WAN for attachments sent to multiple users at branch offices.
WAn optimization (bandwidth Compression)

Some organizations have deployed WAN optimization solutions to address Exchange issues over the WAN.These devices operate by intercepting Outlook/Exchange communications and reducing the amount of WAN traffic though data compression or protocol spoofing techniques. While these approaches offer some benefits, they can introduce other problems. Because these approaches do not leverage native Microsoft technologies, they are incompatible with end-to-end security techniques such as Remote Procedure Call (RPC) over HTTPS. Moreover, optimization is often tied to specific versions of Outlook and Exchange, and the solution might become obsolete if either is upgraded.
upgrades to microsoft Exchange/outlook 2003

While the majority of organizations are running Microsoft Exchange 5.5 or Exchange 2000, many have upgraded to Exchange 2003. This version includes special features for branch office users, including Cached Exchange Mode in which e-mail content is proactively retrieved from the Exchange server and cached on the users desktop. Although this helps eliminate some of the perceived latency problems, this feature can actually worsen the WAN bandwidth requirements as well as the risk of link saturation at branch offices. With Cached Exchange Mode, e-mail attachments are pulled over the WAN all at once, regardless of whether the user actually needs to access the attachment. During business hours, this can cause significant spikes in WAN bandwidth consumption that negatively impact other critical applications and exacerbate the redundant transmission problem. Furthermore, this mode can suffer from performance issues on large mailboxes or folders with thousands of items.
THE TAPEsTRy WAfs ExCHAnGE sERvICEs (Es) soluTIon

To avoid these types of tradeoffs, Brocade has leveraged its industry-leading Tapestry WAFS platform to solve the technical issues that have historically hindered Exchange deployment in branch offices. Tapestry WAFS, with the optional Exchange Services (ES) feature, addresses these technical obstacles by eliminating redundant e-mail attachment delivery to branch offices and by natively integrating with Exchange and Outlook to reduce latency issues and accelerate the transmission of e-mail attachments over the WAN.

 Optimizes performance with LAN-like global file access over WANs Increases administrator and user productivity by automating repetitive tasks and enabling worldwide file sharing Simplifies IT infrastructure with transparent network integration, storage consolidation, and centralized management Reduces capital and operating expenditures through stackable features as well as consolidation, greater resource utilization, and lights-out remote operations Improves resiliency and business compliance by tracking common WAN disruptions and integrating advanced security standards Increases operational flexibility by supporting both CIFS and NFS data

A more Intelligent Design Approach

Tapestry WAFS utilizes a client/server architecture that optimizes Exchange traffic over the WAN. The client component runs transparently in Microsoft Outlook, and the sever component runs on the Tapestry WAFS appliance located in the data centerno additional hardware is required (see Figure 1). As users in branch offices receive e-mail attachments, their Outlook clients pull attachments over the WAN using Tapestry WAFS rather than the slower and more inefficient RPC protocol that Exchange and Outlook use by default.

Exchange Server

Tapestry WAFS Core Appliance

CIFS NFS Exchange

Tapestry WAFS Edge Appliance

CIFS NFS Exchange

SC/IP

SC/IP

WIDE AREA NETWORK DATA CENTER File Server BRANCH OFFICE

figure 1. Tapestry WAFS with the optional Exchange Services feature.

Because e-mail attachments typically make up 90 percent of Exchange storage, Tapestry WAFS is designed to address the vast majority of distributed Exchange problems. For instance, one advantage is that e-mail attachments are delivered compressed over the WAN in less time. Moreover, attachments sent to multiple users at the same branch office are delivered only once. The first user to access an e-mail enjoys WAN-optimized delivery, and the second user receives even faster performance because the attachment can be pulled directly from the Tapestry WAFS Edge Appliances file cache. Revisions to attachments then take advantage of delta processing so only differences in the files are propagated across the WAN and available to users accessing the file. Figure 2 illustrates the dramatic performance acceleration that can be achieved.

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In fact, Tapestry WAFS ES ensures that e-mail attachments are delivered only once per branch office and that only file differences are delivered via the WAN when e-mail attachments are revised and saved. These techniques save network bandwidth, enable Exchange e-mail server consolidation, and significantly reduce e-mail wait times for branch office users. Just as importantly, native integration with Microsoft technologies ensures that Tapestry WAFS ES is future-proofed against changes in Microsoft Exchange and capable of supporting end-to-end security mechanisms such as RPC over HTTPS.

Tapestry WAfs Highlights

figure 2. Performance results using Outlook/ Exchange 000 on a simulated T network.

400 ms latency Results  MB  MB  MB 200 ms latency Results  MB  MB  MB 100 ms latency Results  MB  MB  MB

Outlook 68 8  Outlook 8  9 Outlook 9  

Tapestry WAFS First Access   8 Tapestry WAFS First Access 8 7 6 Tapestry WAFS First Access   

Tapestry WAFS Second Access    Tapestry WAFS Second Access    Tapestry WAFS Second Access   

InnovATIvE funCTIons To ADDREss sPECIfIC TECHnICAl CHAllEnGEs

Tapestry WAFS utilizes the latest breakthrough technologies to provide several key functions: Single-instance attachment delivery: E-mail attachments sent to multiple recipients at the same branch office traverse the WAN only once, saving valuable bandwidth. When users access an attachment they have sent using their Sent Items folder or a carbon copy, it will open without traversing the WAN. WAN optimization: Access to e-mail attachments leverages the Tapestry WAFS WAN-optimized protocol, Storage Caching over IP (SC/IP), to achieve substantial performance gains on initial access and LAN-like speeds on subsequent accesses to the same attachment by other users at the branch office. Native Microsoft integration: Unlike man-in-the-middle WAN optimization products, Tapestry WAFS natively integrates with Outlook and communicates directly with Exchange servers, optimizing Exchange data regardless of Outlook/ Exchange version. Delta processing for attachment revisions: For e-mail attachments that are revised and sent between users at a branch office, Tapestry WAFS can extract and send only the revised data over the WAN. When a user opens the revised attachment, most of the data is already stored in local file cache, saving additional bandwidth. Support for RPC over HTTPS: For end-to-end security, Tapestry WAFS enables branch office Outlook clients to communicate with Exchange servers using RPC over HTTPS.
unPRECEDEnTED busInEss vAluE

Organizations that implement Tapestry WAFS ES can benefit from increased server consolidation, lower WAN bandwidth and IT administration costs, and improved branch office user productivity. For Exchange administrators and storage managers, the solution enables branch offices to access centralized Exchange data without the usual performance and bandwidth penalties associated with Outlook/Exchange communication over the WAN.


For branch office IT managers, Tapestry WAFS ES substantially reduces WAN bandwidth usage, especially in larger offices with many employees. With the elimination of redundant data delivery over the WAN, branch office network links no longer have to be over-provisioned to handle peak periods where hundreds of users attempt to synchronize their e-mail at the same time. Figure 3 illustrates the bandwidth savings that can be achieved.

number of offices        0 0 0 0

number of users Receiving Attachment**  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00

Outlook 6          0

Tapestry WAFS . . . .       

figure 3. Bandwidth savings (WAN bandwidth consumed by  MB attachment*).

* Results based on centralized Exchange server and attachment compression of 80 percent; results include bandwidth consumed by sender and receivers of e-mail ** Assumes that users are equally divided among branch offices Outlook consumes more WAN bandwidth for every user copied on a message. Tapestry WAFS consumes bandwidth for each new branch office only when the message is delivered, not for each recipient.

foR moRE InfoRmATIon

For most distributed organizations, Tapestry WAFS and the optional Exchange Services feature can end branch office e-mail tradeoffs with a solution that seamlessly integrates with Exchange and Outlook to deliver dramatic performance and bandwidth benefits across the WAN. This innovative solution enables organizations to extend the benefits of Microsoft Exchange from their corporate data centers across their distributed enterprises. For more information, contact an authorized Brocade sales partner or visit www.brocade.com.

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Consequently, administrators are free to consolidate Exchange servers on a global basis at a single location, saving substantial licensing, hardware, storage, and support/management costs. In addition, Tapestry WAFS ES does not impact the structure of the Exchange data store, and it does not require simultaneous deployment to all locations.

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2005 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11/05 GA-WP-769-00 Brocade, the Brocade B weave logo, Fabric OS, Secure Fabric OS, and SilkWorm are registered trademarks and Tapestry is a trademark of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of, and are used to identify, products or services of their respective owners. Notice: This document is for informational purposes only and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or implied, concerning any equipment, equipment feature, or service offered or to be offered by Brocade. Brocade reserves the right to make changes to this document at any time, without notice, and assumes no responsibility for its use. This informational document describes features that may not be currently available. Contact a Brocade sales office for information on feature and product availability. Export of technical data contained in this document may require an export license from the United States Government.