We looked at a few different vendors before choosing the right Transparent Caching solution. It did take a little while to get an apples to apples comparison as each of the vendors had differing terminologies for the same thing. Once we were able to figure that out it was easy enough to create a matrix for all vendors comparing like information. There were 4 other big name vendors that you all would recognize like PeerApp, Juniper, Bluecoat and Fortinet. We did the web conference and demos for all of the products. But based on what our requirements were, Qwilt was the solution that we worked best for us.
We've had a really good experience with Qwilt. The purchasing model and price fit our budget nicely. The install went smoothly and it has been solid. We see on average 35-45% of cached savings depending on the time of the day and utilization. We originally looked into upgrading our bandwidth. In our case upgrading bandwidth to more than 1 gig per circuit meant that we would need to budget for other network equipment upgrades. Like firewalls and switches that would be able to support more than the 1 Gbps interface and throughput limit. That was something that we wanted to hold off on for a little while longer. Qwilt helped us remediate that concern. You can't just look at the cost of the appliance in my opinion if you are looking to make a decision. There are so many external factors that come into play and each of your environments will differ, so you'll have a better understanding of what those are for you. A really great thing is that there is no real configuration needed. We provided the specs, the unit came already configured. Once we identified where the appliance would fit in the topology is was straightforward. Because the unit is passive and doesn't sit inline, upgrades can be done at any time. And the best thing about it is, we don't do the upgrades. A certified SE will take care of this remotely. Their support is top notch. I call, or email and our SE is very responsive for any questions or feature requests. The reporting is great. Having the ability to export the reports to be able to provide to management is great. Upper level management always like to have reports with pictures and graphs. Lol. It helps to really understand it more rather just having data metrics. All in all, Qwilt has been a good fit for our environment. I think that if you are in the market for a transparent caching solution, Qwilt is definitely something you should look into further. If you are looking to provide a better experience to your end users for video, then it's well worth looking into it as well. If you are looking to reduce the amount of video of traffic going out of your circuits to your ISP, it's worth looking into. If you are getting complaints about videos constantly buffering, and things of the sort, it is worth looking at. Reaching out to their sales to get more information about cost should not be a concern nor should you be intimidated. It's just information. Get all the right information upfront so that you can make an educated decision based on your needs and ROI. Relying on others to provide you their cost for their implementation is most likely not a good option as their implementation and needs could be different from yours. Good luck to anyone who is looking at this solution. If you are interested to reach out directly to me, feel free to do so and I can share with you our experiences and help answer any questions based on those experiences. Take Care [http://lynnda/DesktopAuthorityConsole/Images/Upload/9fcddab6-8cf5-43af-97db-6d11a7f75a10/Lynn.jpg] Joey Rego Network Security Administrator Information Technology Lynn University 3601 N Military Trail Boca Raton, FL 33431 T: +1 561-237-7982 re...@lynn.edu<mailto:re...@lynn.edu> +1 561-237-7000 | lynn.edu<http://www.lynn.edu/> This email is intended for the designated recipient only, and may be confidential, non-public, proprietary, protected by the attorney/client or other privilege. Unauthorized reading, distribution, copying or other use of this communication is prohibited and may be unlawful. Receipt by anyone other than the intended recipients should not be deemed a waiver of any privilege or protection. If you are not the intended recipient or if you believe that you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete all copies from your computer system without reading, saving, or using it in any manner. Although it has been checked for viruses and other malicious software, malware, we do not warrant, represent or guarantee in any way that this communication is free of malware or potentially damaging defects. All liability for any actual or alleged loss, damage, or injury arising out of or resulting in any way from the receipt, opening or use of this email is expressly disclaimed. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
