HP StorageWorks Enterprise File Services WAN Accelerator 3.0.4 installation and configuration guide (AG424-96004, March 2007)

16 1 - OVERVIEW OF THE HP EFS WAN ACCELERATOR
 Data Transfer. The HP EFS RCU efficiently transfers data from a client to a
specified target directory on a server across the WAN. The HP EFS RCU
eliminates extra round-trips caused by Common Internet File System (CIFS),
reducing that amount of time it takes to transfer data across the WAN.
 Auto-discovery. The process by which an HP EFS WAN Accelerator determines
if another appliance is receiving the data for a particular TCP connection. When a
second HP EFS WAN Accelerator is found, the two appliances work together to
optimize the connection. By default, auto-discovery is applied to all IP addresses
and the ports which are not secure or interactive.
 Fixed-Target. Fixed target rules directly specify out-of-path HP EFS WAN
Accelerators near the target server that you want to optimize. You determine
which servers you would like the HP EFS WAN Accelerator to optimize (and,
optionally, which ports), and add fixed-target rules to specify the network of
servers, ports, and out-of-path HP EFS WAN Accelerators to use.
 Pass-Through. Pass-through describes WAN traffic that traverses the network
unoptimized. You define pass-through rules to exclude subnets from
optimization. Traffic is also passed through when the HP EFS WAN Accelerator
is in bypass mode. Pass-through might be due to in-path rules or because the
connection was established before the HP EFS WAN Accelerator was put in place
or before the HP EFS WAN Accelerator service was enabled.
 Bypass. The HP EFS WAN Accelerator is equipped with a bypass card to prevent
a single point of failure. If there is a serious problem with the HP EFS WAN
Accelerator or it is not powered on, it goes into bypass mode and the traffic is
passed through unoptimized.
 Failover. You can deploy redundant HP EFS WAN Accelerators in your network
to ensure optimization continues if there is a failure in one of the HP EFS WAN
Accelerators. You can enable failover support in the HP EFS WAN Accelerator
Management Console (Management Console) or you can use the HP EFS WAN
Accelerator command-line interface (CLI).
Bypass Mode The HP EFS WAN Accelerator is equipped with one of the following types of network
interface bypass cards (depending on your order):
 HP EFS N2c WAN Accelerator 2-port 1000TX NIC
 HP EFS N4c WAN Accelerator 4-port 1000TX NIC
 HP EFS N2f WAN Accelerator 2-port 1000SX NIC
For detailed information about bypass card status lights, see “Bypass Card Status
Lights” on page 66.
If there is a serious problem with the HP EFS WAN Accelerator or it is not powered
on, it goes into bypass mode to prevent a single point of failure. If the HP EFS WAN
Accelerator is in bypass mode, you are notified in the following ways:
 The Intercept/Bypass status light on the bypass card is triggered. For detailed
information about bypass card status lights, see “Bypass Card Status Lights” on
page 66.
 The Welcome page of the Management Console displays Critical in the Status
bar.