Like Exchange and Windows servers, Lotus Notes suffers from the same performance issues caused by TCP, as well as the frequent and high volume replication Notes generates. Since the Notes RPC protocol is quite efficient over WANs, it does not require a separate latency optimization module (unlike CIFS and MAPI). However, the throughput of Notes over WANs is often hampered by the lack of WAN bandwidth and by the latency effect of TCP. Since Notes is built on a replication model, there is a huge volume of repetitive traffic that can be removed by Steelhead appliances.

The benefits of consolidating distributed Notes servers are very similar to those of Windows and Exchange servers.

• Reduced complexity. Maintaining dozens or even hundreds of distributed Notes servers is very complicated. Notes servers require frequent maintenance, patches, and upgrades. Since even large enterprises maintain little to no IT staff in remote offices, keeping distributed Notes servers up to date requires travel and other additional costs that can be avoided through consolidation.

• Increased efficiency. Consolidating distributed Notes servers that are lightly utilized can save you both hardware and software costs. In many cases, the disk and CPU utilization on distributed file servers is very low, yet each one requires a full server license and all the associated upgrades and maintenance. Consolidating servers to a couple or even a single data center requires fewer large centralized servers to be deployed with much higher utilization.

• Reduced risk. Maintaining distributed Notes servers mean distributed files and other potentially confidential data that needs to be secured and backed up regularly. Since in most cases remote office Notes servers can’t be backed up to data centers over the WAN, backup is often done locally. Most IT managers agree that local tape backup processes are risky, with the odds of a successful restore after a server failure less than 50%. By centralizing Notes servers, backup is performed in the data center by professional staff using highly reliable backup systems.

Steelhead appliances will help you run a simpler, more reliable, and more secure Notes environment.