computer science

Wide area application services

Wide area application services is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wide area application services rather than just read about it. In short: Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) is technology developed by Cisco Systems that optimizes the performance of any Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)-based application operating in a wide area network (WAN) environment while preserving and strengthening branch security. Overview WAAS combines WAN optimization, acceleration of TCP-based applications, and Cisco's Wide Area File Services (WAFS) in a single app…

Key takeaways

Wide area application services belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wide area application services to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wide area application services from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) is technology developed by Cisco Systems that optimizes the performance of any Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)-based application operating in a wide area network (WAN) environment while preserving and strengthening branch security.

Overview WAAS combines WAN optimization, acceleration of TCP-based applications, and Cisco's Wide Area File Services (WAFS) in a single appliance or blade. It is Cisco's attempt to keep WAN optimization residing firmly in the router, eliminating the need to deploy acceleration appliances throughout the infrastructure. The technology preserves TCP information within the network while offering the performance benefits that come along with using WAN optimization technology.

Limitations WAN optimization appliances have traditionally limited IT when it comes to maintaining functions such as security, quality of service, visibility, and monitoring end-to-end transactions because they tend to cause problems for most network monitoring devices and tools. By design, WAN Optimization “confuses” performance monitoring systems by changing packet header data.

Latest release Cisco's latest WAAS software release, announced at the 2007 Cisco Networkers conference, is the industry's first solution for both end-to-end monitoring and acceleration of application traffic.

Notes

References http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps5680/Products_Sub_Category_Home.html http://www.networkworld.com/supp/2007/ndc4/061807-cisco-app-optimization.html?nlhtc=0618ciscoalert1& money.cnn.com WAAS up with Cisco's WAN Optimization Initiative? Archived 2007-08-21 at the Wayback Machine

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wide area application services

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wide area application services claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wide area application services before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wide area application services ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wide area application services

In research: Wide area application services appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wide area application services in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wide area application services is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cisco products, Network performance, Wide area networks, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wide area application services outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wide area application services in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wide area application services means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wide area application services out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wide area application services in simple terms?

Why does Wide area application services matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wide area application services?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wide area application services.