Cisco – What’s the difference between Cisco WAAS en WAE

ciscowaaswan-optimizer

To facilitate WAN optimization Cisco has several options available.

One option is to deploy 2 (or more) WAAS capable routers e.g. 1941 with WAAS software (and the maximum RAM) talking to each other.

But then there is also a WAE option. This is a storage box with a harddisk, cpu and RAM.
I'm not sure what the WAE provides on top of just the router with WAAS software.

My question is: what is the difference between the two.
Do I need both options if I want WAAS to work in my WAN, or is the WAE an optional extension?

If so what extra does it provide?

I've had a look at the Cisco documentation available, but it just confuses me. They don't clearly differentiate the difference between the options and whether something is optional or required.

Best Answer

Yes, generally you need at least one WAE device for the head-end or Core. For a very simple point to point scenario it is possible to use two routers running Express, but the optimization will be relatively low since DRE won't be used.

As far as I recall the software version in the 1941 is only WAAS Express, which does not save the data to disk. This has major limitations because a feature like DRE which is deduplication needs quite large disk space to work most efficiently. Due to memory limitations, DRE is disabled on the 1921, which further limits the efficiency of the optimization.

The WAE/WAVE appliances are the real deal that provide the full feature set. A while ago Cisco had a few small WAE modules for the first generation ISR's like the 2800. These modules had a CPU and laptop hard drive which provided the required resources for the advanced features.

If you want a minimal and simple Wan Optimization solution, then the WAAS Express could be an option. If the requirement is to reduce network traffic volumes, look for something that stores the deduplication data on disk.

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Cisco – After a memory upgrade of the Cisco WAAS, why is the connection limit still the same, how can I raise it

At first, ensure that the memory modules work and are recognized:

#show memory
Total memory             :    5986852 KB

After adding RAM, it's necessary to repartition the disks for resetting the space allocation for the data redundancy elimination:

disk delete-data-partitions

A reload forces rebuilding of the partitions. You can watch the progress using

show disks details

If this is finished, check your connections:

#show tfo detail

   Policy Engine Config Item            Value
   -------------------------            -----
   State                                Registered
   Default Action                       Use Policy
   Connection Limit                     1300
   Effective Limit                      1290
   Keepalive timeout                    3.0 seconds

I could see, the connection limit has been doubled now after doubling the memory.

Cisco – What’s the difference between CRS-1 and CRS-3

In March 2010, Cisco announced the introduction of the CRS-3 family. The switching capacity of this new product-line is increased more than three times as each switch-fabric line card can process 140 Gbit/s instead of 40 Gbit/s as in the old system. According to Cisco, the current users can upgrade to the CRS-3 system step by step and without serious outage as the chassis, interface-cards, management-systems etc. are the same. The main changes are in the switching-fabric and the option to use new interface modules supporting these higher speeds (14 or 20 × 10 Gb interfaces and 1 × 100 Gb ethernet interface).

For information about migrating from a Cisco CRS-1 to a Cisco CRS-3 chassis, refer to the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System to Cisco CRS-3 Carrier Routing System Migration Guide at the URL http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps5763/prod_installation_guides_list.html

Best Answer

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Cisco – After a memory upgrade of the Cisco WAAS, why is the connection limit still the same, how can I raise it

Cisco – What’s the difference between CRS-1 and CRS-3

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