What Is Application Acceleration in SASE?
Application acceleration is a network optimization function designed to reduce latency for particular types of traffic, typically to SaaS apps. As companies increasingly adopt cloud-based solutions, these apps play a critical role in the business and are highly sensitive to latency. Application acceleration helps to address this problem, improving the user experience and employee efficiency.
Historically, application acceleration has been offered as part of an appliance-based WAN optimization offering. Cloud-native Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions incorporate this functionality, which eliminates the burden of appliance management and the need to backhaul traffic through the corporate headquarters network.
Understanding Application Acceleration
Application acceleration is a set of techniques designed to improve application performance. Historically, WAN optimization appliances used tools like TCP optimization, caching, and deduplication to reduce network latency and improve the user experience.
However, these solutions were introduced before the growth of cloud computing and remote work. As a result, this appliance-based approach has significant limitations, and organizations are increasingly adopting a cloud-native alternative, like SASE.
Traditional Approaches vs. Cloud Reality
Traditionally, application acceleration was offered via WAN optimization appliances. A controller deployed at each of an organization’s branch locations was responsible for identifying high-priority cloud traffic and routing it accordingly. However, this approach had significant limitations. Its reliance on hardware controllers limited its scalability since these appliances could become a bottleneck.
Additionally, this approach is ill-suited to organizations with significant SaaS adoption and a remote/hybrid workforce since traffic intended for the cloud would need to be backhauled through the headquarters network or would bypass the appliances entirely. For this reason, cloud-delivered application acceleration is necessary to meet the needs of the modern business.
Acceleration Within a SASE Platform
SASE, according to Gartner, converges the security functions of Security Service Edge (SSE) with networking capabilities under a cloud-native model. Application acceleration is a core component of SASE’s network functions, optimizing routing and accelerating application traffic at each PoP in a global network. This design enhances scalability, reduces latency, and enables seamless delivery for remote users.
Core Acceleration Techniques in SASE
SASE application acceleration uses some of the same techniques as traditional WAN optimization controllers, but adds some and eliminates others. Some of the most common functions include:
- Protocol Optimization: SASE PoPs have a deep understanding of the TCP and UDP protocols and the various types of application traffic that they carry. This allows them to modify traffic to take advantage of potential opportunities for optimization, such as protocol multiplexing, use of HTTP2, and prioritizing business-critical traffic. These techniques reduce bandwidth utilization and ensure that important traffic is given first priority.
- SaaS Acceleration: Along with understanding and optimizing network protocols, SASE solutions are also familiar with the traffic of various SaaS apps, such as Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Zoom, Google Workspace, Slack, and ServiceNow. This allows SASE acceleration to optimally route and prioritize this traffic, and potentially take advantage of application-specific optimizations.
- Cloud Data Optimization: Along with applications, SASE can also tailor traffic routing and prioritization to cloud data storage and IaaS providers like AWS and Azure. Applying corporate policies at the network edge and intelligently selecting CDNs and SASE PoPs can also reduce network latency and hop count.
- Compression and Caching: Like WAN optimization solutions, SASE can take advantage of compression and caching to reduce the amount of bandwidth in use. Compression reduces the volume of data being transmitted, while caching allows the SASE PoP to serve common, static content directly rather than sending requests on to the origin server and awaiting responses.
- Security Integration: SASE converges network optimization and enterprise security functionality into a single, cloud-native solution. If security is applied as part of a single-pass engine, eliminating inefficiencies and redundancy can decrease latency.
Traditional WAN Optimization vs. Application Acceleration in SASE
Cato’s Global Private Backbone Advantage
The Cato SASE Cloud Platform implements application acceleration within a global network of over 85 geographically-distributed PoPs, reducing latency between traffic sources/endpoints and the nearest PoP. This network is backed by a global private backbone, offering improved performance over the public Internet and further reducing packet loss, jitter, and latency that could negatively impact application traffic.
Why Cato’s Architecture Works
Cato’s cloud-native architecture integrates application acceleration and other WAN optimization functions alongside enterprise security features within its Single-Pass Cloud Engine (SPACE). With SPACE, all traffic is inspected only a single time to apply all network optimization, security inspection, and policy enforcement functionality. This both reduces latency and provides unmatched visibility into network traffic to support Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) and Optimized Networking for SaaS application traffic.
Business Benefits of Application Acceleration in SASE
Implementing application acceleration in SASE allows it to take advantage of the benefits of the cloud. Increased scalability and globally distributed PoPs translate to faster applications and enhanced productivity and user experience. Eliminating reliance on appliance-based solutions also offers the potential for cost savings and enhances the resiliency of acceleration functionality.
Improved User Experience
Application acceleration is designed to improve application response time, especially for cloud-based and SaaS apps. This improves the performance of latency-sensitive applications like Zoom and Teams and reduces downtime due to lag. As a result, the user experience improves, and employees are more productive since they waste less time waiting for apps to load.
Lower Costs and Simplified Operations
Cloud-native SASE eliminates the need for WAN optimization appliances. This reduces CapEx by eliminating the need to purchase and upgrade appliances and OpEx by simplifying management and negating the need for patching and refresh cycles.
Scalability for Modern Enterprises
Cloud-native solutions are inherently and instantly scalable with the ability to deploy new instances as needed to handle increased load or support mobile or remote workers. In contrast, WAN appliances require additional hardware if load increases or new remote branches are opened.
Application Acceleration in SASE: Why It Matters
As companies become more reliant on SaaS and other cloud-based applications, latency can have a significant impact on efficiency and user experience. Cloud-native acceleration as part of a SASE solution not only overcomes the limitations of WAN optimization appliances but also offers additional benefits due to security convergence, global reach, and enhanced resiliency.
The Cato SASE Cloud Platform’s unique single-pass engine and global private backbone offer unmatched performance, even when compared to other cloud-based acceleration options. Learn more about how enterprises reduce latency with Cato’s global private backbone by requesting a demo.
FAQ about Application Acceleration
What is application acceleration?
Application acceleration is a collection of techniques to enhance application performance that evolved from WAN optimization appliances. With SASE, these capabilities are embedded in cloud-native PoPs, enhancing performance, efficiency, and scalability.
How does application acceleration in SASE differ from WAN optimization?
WAN optimization is implemented via physical appliances deployed at branch locations, which limits its scalability and support for remote work and mobile devices. SASE offers the same capabilities in a cloud-native solution, eliminating the overhead associated with hardware appliances and better supporting a global and cloud-forward enterprise.
Why is application acceleration important today?
Most organizations are heavily reliant on SaaS apps and cloud resources, which are geographically distant and latency-sensitive. Application acceleration enables cloud usage and hybrid work by enhancing application performance and reducing network latency.
How does Cato accelerate SaaS applications?
Cato operates a global network of PoPs with integrated application acceleration that are connected by a private backbone. The Cato SASE Cloud Platform optimizes SaaS app traffic routing and performance, and the private backbone eliminates the unpredictability and latency of the public Internet.