1/28/2008 -- Cisco Systems Inc. last week announced new products and services designed to extend its Application Network Services (ANS) portfolio to support end-to-end application delivery networks.

In addition, Cisco announced that it has validated the performance of enterprise applications from Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp. and SAP AG over its ANS-powered end-to-end application delivery networks.

Analysts say it's a feather of sorts in Cisco's cap. "[N]ot only do the new products extend the reach of Cisco's application delivery strategy," said Michael Brandenburg, an analyst for enterprise network systems with consultancy Current Analysis, "[they also put] Cisco in the mobile client market, which is currently a hot new market area for application delivery vendors."

To recap, Cisco announced the ACE 4710, a new Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) Mobile client, and new application delivery services.

The ACE 4710 is a standalone asymmetric application acceleration appliance that Cisco plans to pitch to small- and medium-sized enterprise customers.

"[T]he ACE 4710 breaks the Web accelerator from the bonds of the Catalyst 6500 chassis, while offering up to 2Gbps of appliance traffic and support for up to 50 virtual devices," Brandenburg said. "The WAAS Mobile solution is a Windows based solution that puts application optimization software directly on remote user's machines. With the WAAS Mobile client, users can access file, mail and other network resources from home or in the field with the same type of optimized connection previously found on branch office WAN links."

On the whole, Brandenburg continued, Cisco's new ANS deliverables fill existing gaps in that portfolio.

"The ACE product was previously tied to modules for the Catalyst 6500 series, largely putting it out of reach for many in the small and medium tier of the market," he said. "The ACE 4710 directly addresses this by rolling its Web acceleration into an appliance form factor. Similarly, the WAAS Mobile client targets the newest frontier of application optimization: the remote user. By selecting a concurrent licensing model, Cisco's solution allows enterprise to deploy WAAS Mobile as part of their standard laptop install, while only activating those clients that need it."

Cisco's ANS refresh isn't a slam dunk, of course. "Cisco does face some challenges with its growing application delivery products. WAAS Mobile is a software based solution, requiring a dedicated Windows server to connect the remote clients," Brandenburg said.

Products like Riverbed's Steelhead Mobile leverage a head-end application acceleration appliance to service mobile clients, Brandenburg pointed out.

"By essentially functioning as a standalone solution, WAAS Mobile will appeal to new customers, but the installed base of WAAS customers will surely question the need for another server in the data center," Brandenburg continued. "Furthermore, many IT organizations are likely going to bemoan the addition of yet another Cisco client on their corporate machines. The ACE 4710 is also going to face stiff competition from entrenched competitors, many of which focused on the small and mid-tier before moving up market." --Stephen Swoyer