Routing Optimization

Information Technology, in current times, is improving at an accelerating rate. Technology has enabled an exponential growth in almost all areas of business, well evidenced by the mushrooming of Enterprises, Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs). Innovative applications, powered by advanced technology, have made organizations and individuals more organized, adept, and productive. With businesses largely depending on their Wide Area Networks (WANs) for commerce, information sharing, online services, etc., the necessity for optimizing applications to render maximum performance is imperative.

Routing Optimization has emerged as a significant concept in traffic engineering. It is a dynamic tool that equips network administrators with the ability to route traffic over the data networks efficiently. The process of selecting a network path to direct network traffic is called routing. The objective of optimal routing is distributing the traffic flow evenly over available network resources to avert network congestion and degradation of Quality of Service (QoS). Data networks, both wired and wireless, require optimal routing of network traffic based on different criteria. In wired networks, Routing Optimization is determined by the network connection capacities that are usually given and fixed. Whereas, wireless networks have the flexibility of reallocating communication resources (frequency, time slots, for instance) since the link capacities are not always fixed.

Certain key factors involved in Routing Optimization are Interpreting, phasing, and evaluating requirements. These help in analyzing the requisites, segregating and then enabling optimal routing. Optimal routing on packet switching networks involves forwarding, i.e., the transport of data packets from the source to the intended destination through intermediate nodes such as routers, firewalls, bridges, gateways, and switches. Multiple network cards on computer systems also enable forwarding of data packets along the network and optimize routing performance. In order to perform Routing Optimization, there are many standards used, which includes Routing tables, algorithms, and protocols.

Routing algorithms and techniques that are employed to render optimal routing include multipath routing, policy-based routing, static routing, and QoS in routing, among others. The routing optimization performed based on traditional routing protocols involves forwarding packets of data by hops, on a destination-based method. Research has proven over time, that using multipath routing and the dual-metric concept connections in routing optimization can produce superior results compared to default single-metric routing. Policy-based routing is a popular technique that is employed by large enterprises to monitor and route data traffic over the network. The routing decisions are made based on a set of policies defined by the network administrator. Routing optimization is effectuated when the IP traffic is routed based on specific policies and protocols. For instance, the network administrator has the privilege to specify the type of data that should go over a particular WAN connection. This enables administrators to prioritize, allocate and optimize data transmission over the network. Multipath routing leverages multiple alternative paths through networks and render options such as fault tolerance, maximum bandwidth utilization, and secure connectivity during data transfer.

Technology, which enables optimization of routing performance and consequently better WAN performance are in great demand. Businesses are always looking at enhancing performance and achieving superior end results, for that is a vital key to business continuity. There are a diversified lot of technology solutions providers who render optimization products. A company that stands out in the market place for its suite of WAN optimization solutions is FatPipe Networks. It has created the technology to provide innovative, cost-effective solutions for businesses that require ‘always-up’ availability of their WANs for business continuity, without compromising the integrity or security of data transmissions.

FatPipe is the innovator of router clustering technology and multiple patents holder of technology that provides the highest levels of WAN optimization, reliability, security, and bandwidth management. FatPipe Technology allows multiple and varied connections to ISPs. It takes disparate connections such as DSL, T1, ISDN, T3, Cable Modem, Wireless, ATM etc and dynamically load balances across the lines. It also fails over the network traffic by sensing the active link, when any of the connections fail.

FatPipe’s patented WARP technology solution is for those companies that require high levels of redundancy and availability for their Wide Area Networks. It enables high fault tolerance for WAN infrastructures, and dynamically load balances inbound and outbound data traffic. Advanced product features of WARP include SmartDNS, Policy Routing, Reverse mapping, and Fastest Route, a new load balancing method, which aid in Routing Optimization. WARP’s routing options allow administrators to have greater control over IP traffic delivery. It also enables them to define routing criteria based on application and provider. Routing optimization can thus be effectively carried on with businesses having better control of bi-directional IP traffic.