WAN Data Redundancy Elimination

What Is WAN Data Redundancy Elimination?

WAN Data Redundancy Elimination (DRE) employs data compression technology within data communication networks to compress packets transmitted across WANs. This approach substantially enhances data transmission efficiency without necessitating additional bandwidth, thereby offering customers a more favorable return on investment (ROI) for their network deployments.

How Does WAN DRE Work?

The WAN DRE process comprises four steps: packet identification for compression, packet compression, forwarding of compressed packets, and packet decompression, as illustrated in the figure below. Each packet undergoes individual compression and decompression, maintaining consistent data throughout the entire process.

• 1. Packet Identification for Compression.

When WAN DRE is activated on a device, a compression policy specifying the packets to be compressed must also be set up. Upon receiving packets that meet the policy criteria, an interface on the device redirects these packets to the data compression board or module.

• 2. Packet Compression.

The data compression board or module employs a compression algorithm to compress the packet data. It then encapsulates the resultant packets with an IP payload compression protocol (IPComp) header, while setting the protocol number in the IP header to 108.

• 3. Forward Compressed Packets to the Receiving End. The compressed packets are sent across the WAN.

• 4. Decompress Packets.

At the receiving end, packets with a protocol number of 108 that adhere to the compression policy are directed to the data compression board or module for decompression.

Why Do We Need WAN DRE?

Wider roads accommodate more cars, similarly, higher WAN bandwidth handles larger data volumes. However, WAN bandwidth is limited and expensive. How can more data be transmitted on WANs within the same timeframe without increasing the bandwidth? This is where WAN DRE comes into play.

WAN DRE utilizes data compression technology within data communication networks to compress the data packets to be transmitted. Consequently, more data packets can be transmitted within the same timeframe, thereby enhancing data transmission speeds on WANs.

Why Do We Need WAN DRE?

Wider roads accommodate more cars, similarly, higher WAN bandwidth handles larger data volumes. However, WAN bandwidth is limited and expensive. How can more data be transmitted on WANs within the same timeframe without increasing the bandwidth? This is where WAN DRE comes into play.

WAN DRE utilizes data compression technology within data communication networks to compress the data packets to be transmitted. Consequently, more data packets can be transmitted within the same timeframe, thereby enhancing data transmission speeds on WANs.

WAN DRE holds superiority over conventional data compression solutions in terms of reliability, transmission performance, compression efficiency, and networking flexibility.

• High Reliability:

Huawei's egress device incorporates the WAN DRE feature via an integrated data compression board or module, eliminating the need for additional devices. This simplifies networking and ensures reliability.

• High Performance:

Systems lacking adequate computing capabilities may fail to meet data compression demands in high-traffic WAN scenarios, resulting in significant network latency and degraded service quality. WAN DRE utilizes a cutting-edge compression algorithm to achieve compression ratios of up to 30% while maintaining less than 0.1 ms latency during compression and decompression.

• Lossless Compression:

Traditional compression protocols may lead to the loss of some 5-tuple information during compression, hindering detailed management of service flows. In contrast, WAN DRE preserves the 5-tuple information of original data packets during compression. This ensures precise identification, accurate statistics collection, and execution of Quality of Service (QoS) policies for service flows during data forwarding.

• Flexible Networking:

Conventional data compression solutions are primarily suited for point-to-point leased lines and may not be suitable for multipoint-to-multipoint large-scale networking scenarios. Conversely, WAN DRE does not necessitate the establishment of a session between the compression and decompression ends. As a result, compressed data can be transmitted to any destination based on service requirements, with the destination end simply identifying and decompressing the compressed data. This meets the demands of distributed multi-point interconnection.

WAN DRE: Common Usage Scenarios

• Financial Sector

Within the financial sector, there exists a substantial requirement for the batch replication of service data, both between data centers and from a data center to a disaster recovery (DR) center. As financial services continue to expand, the necessity for batch replication of data escalates, placing increased demand on WAN bandwidth. To address the challenge of WAN bandwidth scarcity, implementing WAN DRE on egress devices offers an effective solution for optimizing WAN bandwidth utilization between data centers and between a data center and a DR center.

• SD-WAN Solution

WAN DRE can be utilized in the following situations:

When there is inadequate bandwidth for communication between a branch site and the headquarters (HQ) site, implementing WAN DRE at both locations can enhance data transmission speed.

Similarly, if the available link bandwidth is insufficient for mutual communication between branch sites, deploying WAN DRE at each site can improve data transmission speed.