What you should know when reviewing Wide Area File Services solutions

When reviewing Wide Area File Services solutions, you need to know if they will address your specific production needs. Many solutions were developed 10 years ago, or are designed specifically for Web applications and are just not architected to leverage today's network and system capabilities for distributed servers and distributed files.
GlobalSCAPE's Wide Area File Services (WAFS) solution accelerates performance, optimizes all communications, and mirrors data better that any other product on the market today. Data exists (100 percent up-to-date) in multiple places at the same time, 24 hours a day - with inter-site traffic and chatter eliminated. No matter where the changes occur, all systems have instant local access performance with 100 percent version coherence and cross-site native file locking. WAFS is 100 percent software, 100 percent transparent to both Wide Area network and your LAN, and costs 1/10th the price of appliance-based solutions.

Questions to ask when considering WAFS

1. How does GlobalSCAPE WAFS handle files that change at multiple sites?
   With other systems, accelerating access to static files is straightforward with a simple cache. Web applications can be sped up with protocol acceleration. But what happens when the files change at other sites? Cache algorithms do not work, because transmissions can occur at the worst possible time - exactly when the user accesses the file. Only GlobalSCAPE WAFS ensures that files open locally, from the local server, every time the files are accessed, no matter how often, where, or when they are changed.
   
2. How much bandwidth does it need?
   GlobalSCAPE WAFS needs only enough bandwidth to transfer changes to modified files, not the entire file, temporary files, or unneeded system files created by the operating system. Transferring a modified file repeatedly is bandwidth intensive; however, GlobalSCAPE WAFS works by transferring only file deltas (byte-level differencing) when the file changes, at any location. Transferring data as the file changes is critical. Remember, the worst time to move data is when the user opens the file, which is exactly what the "accelerators" do - first you wait, second you cause a bandwidth spike. GlobalSCAPE WAFS acceleration protocols and differencing technology are ultra-fast and real time. GlobalSCAPE WAFS uses byte-level differencing and compression with all data transfers, so even an initial replication of files is extremely efficient. GlobalSCAPE WAFS includes bandwidth-throttling settings, the best "chattiness" elimination, and dynamically changes packet size and other parameters to ensure optimum performance and speed.
   
3. How do other managed file transfer applications work?
   Most vendor claims of "byte-level differencing" simply do not prove true in practice. Such applications often transfer the temporary and unneeded system files created by the operating system, in addition to the working file. So if you measure the traffic, you see that they actually send more bits than the original file size. Those applications are targeted for LAN-based deployments - using it on the WAN was an afterthought. Conversely, the so-called "network accelerators" are built for the WAN, but they perform only compressed file transfers, at the time of file open, which is very slow and causes network spikes. Some will also keep a limited local cache on an appliance at each site. This design is really optimized only for Web-based applications. If you have a private Web application, they will accelerate it with this limited cache. For distributed file sharing, however, this design is quite primitive and unworkable. Relying only on Common Internet File System (CIFS) optimizations and a limited cache to speed WAN file access makes no technical or practical sense, unless your remote file access needs are quite minimal. So if you are accelerating a Web application and additionally have an occasional file need - it might be OK.
   
4.  Does it operate remotely, as well as over the local network?
   GlobalSCAPE WAFS shares data between desktops on a LAN, WAN, Internet, or VPN. It works over HTTP or HTTPS and thus requires no special firewall. A VPN is not necessary. Systems can be located anywhere using any connection, at any distance. GlobalSCAPE WAFS customers share data between continents, and consolidate backups across continents.
   
5. Is it true real time?
   GlobalSCAPE WAFS operates in true real time. Files update instantly, and files open from the local hard drive of your existing server, for local disk performance. Compare that to other products that operate on a schedule, only upon a system scan, or when a file opens. Worse, it may detect a change immediately, but take a noticeably long time for the change to open on "the other side"? Or worst of all - a change at one location does not move all the way to the other location until a user clicks to open the file at the remote site. This is how caching works - an old technology that is impractical for critical distributed file use.
   GlobalSCAPE WAFS is the only application that performs end to end in real-time from any number of sites, on files in any state. With GlobalSCAPE WAFS, there are no stale versions of files. When you open a file, you are guaranteed that it's the latest. Of course, if you want to replicate on a schedule, GlobalSCAPE WAFS supports that too, but it never re-syncs.
   
6. What about data coherence between sites?
   Can users at different sites open and modify the same file at the same time, ever? Will they overwrite each other's data, or worse, cause data corruption?
   With GlobalSCAPE WAFS, file conflicts are eliminated. It operates in real time with the application's native file and data lock status. This is true regardless of where the users are, even if they are separated by an ocean. For example, only one user can open a PowerPoint file (PPT) in read-write mode. Others can open it at the same time, and the PPT "read-only" message appears - all users see the very last change, no matter how far apart the servers are. Only GlobalSCAPE WAFS offers this guaranteed real-time coherence. It is so real-time, it even supports Excel's on-line "share workbook" feature. No other product comes close. And it is not possible to open an old version. Even if the file was changed a split second earlier, only the latest version is opened.
   
7.  Can it scale?
   GlobalSCAPE WAFS supports any number of users per site, any data set, and any number of sites. For continuous backup, you can configure many remote servers to use the same central backup server. True data sharing between sites often needs multidirectional data transfer among all N sites. GlobalSCAPE WAFS is the only product fully supporting real-time, 24 x 7, multi-directional WAFS between any number of sites, with any number of files, and any file size. This is radically different than N sites simply broadcasting to each other. GlobalSCAPE WAFS is multi-directional, absolutely real time, with coherence.
   
8.  How are open files handled?
   If a file is open at any site - does it update? Does the ability to handle open files mean real time no longer works? Does this "feature" cost extra?
   GlobalSCAPE WAFS supports 100 percent usage of open files at all locations at all time, such as an Excel file that is modified and saved, but is kept open, or files that were left opened on a user's desktop at a remote site while they went to lunch. The file updates everywhere in real-time no matter what. We know of NO other product that can operate in real time on open files, and have them be open and in use at N sites.
   
9.  What is the interface? How transparent is it? What changes are needed at user workstations?
   With GlobalSCAPE WAFS, you do not need to learn a new interface, you do not need to install an appliance, and you do not need to change user profiles. The IT manager simply selects the folders on the various fileservers at the different sites. Users and applications change absolutely nothing and just keep working as they did before. You do not need to change the desktops and no user training is needed. You can share the folders over the LAN and leave all permissions and sharing exactly the same as before. Users access the files the same way, such as in Windows Explorer, a Web browser, or an Open/Save As dialog box.
   Can the product handle CAD data with XRefs? What happens if you want to include a very complex drawing with many external references? GlobalSCAPE WAFS handles it all transparently.
   
10. What is the setup like?
    Deploying a WAFS, sharing, or continuous backup solution does not have to be painful. It does not need an appliance that requires hours of setup by skilled technicians and reconfiguration of user connections. It does not have to involve writing scripts, or navigating complex dialog boxes. With GlobalSCAPE WAFS, deploying takes 5 minutes per site, can be done remotely, and needs no changes to workstations or user settings. It sets up and fully deploys on your existing Windows server, and the software download is small, about 2 MB.
    
11.  What is the end-to-end performance?
    GlobalSCAPE WAFS gives instant end-to-end performance. Even the largest data sets over long distances complete end-to-end functions in under tenths of a second. If a user in the Tokyo branch of your company creates a 50MB file, the file is instantly accessible in the London branch, or in the NYC branch. Data is accessible even before it finished replicating, thanks to GlobalSCAPE WAFS' streaming technology.
    
12.  What is the overhead? What platforms are supported?
    GlobalSCAPE WAFS is a software-only solution that uses negligible CPU time, a very small memory footprint, and no extra storage on any source or target. Load it on any machine, with any other applications. It supports any 32-bit Windows operating system including 2003, 2000, and NAS, embedded, and clusters. And you can use any network or local storage device.
    
13.  What happens if any remote site is offline or there is a failure at any point in the system?
    With GlobalSCAPE WAFS, users have 100 percent local access at every site, even if a line is down or if any component is down. What happens when it comes back? Are all the files the same again?
    GlobalSCAPE WAFS switches automatically from on-line to off-line mode and back, if the network (or any resource) is down. In off-line mode, the data is still fully accessible locally and changes are recorded. When the system comes back, it reconnects and automatically continues and handles any off-line conflicts. Compare that to all other systems - if offline, their data file replication can be missed forever.
    
14.  Past Versions? Deleted files?
    GlobalSCAPE WAFS can automatically keep past versions of each file. Want to rollback a document to its state two weeks or two hours ago? Want to retrieve a file that was deleted a month ago? With GlobalSCAPE WAFS, it can be done with a single click. Or, use a browser to securely access files from any location. Never pull tapes again. It can also keep scheduled point-in-time snapshots with expiration and overwrite settings.
    
15. How secure is the data access? How secure is the communication?
    GlobalSCAPE WAFS supports all Windows security (NTFS permissions - ACLs) and share settings. You can even replicate the security settings between all your sites. Plus, all communication between sites is fully encrypted.
    
16. Last but not least: Is it affordable?
    After comparing GlobalSCAPE WAFS features and capabilities with other alternatives, you'll be surprised to learn that it is 1/10th the cost of other systems. There are no hidden modules, no hardware to buy. It is inexpensive to purchase, inexpensive and fast to deploy, and inexpensive to maintain.